hardhewern.
/ˌhɑːdˈhjuːə/, U.S. /ˌhɑrdˈhjuər/ Now historical.
A type of stonemason, spec. one of lower skill and status; a person who quarries stone. Cf. roughmason n., Freemason n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > worker with stone > [noun]
masonc1275
hardhewer1448
masoner1492
Freemason1504
freestone mason1649
stonemason1758
stone-worker1898
stoneman1912
1448 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 400 xxiiij masons of kent called hard hewers.
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.vj Tylers, brycke leyers, harde hewers.
1531 Churchwarden's Accts. St Mary Hill London in J. Nichols Illustr. Antient Times Eng. (1797) 108 A hard hewer for pavying the kechen.
1602 MS Canterbury Marriage Licences Will's Jacobe de ffolkston hardhewer.
c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) Hardhewer, a stonemason.
1831 G. Henson Civil Hist. Framework-knitters iv. 120 The masons in England, even so late as the year 1680, were known by the terms of free mason, rough mason, hard hewer, and quarry men.
1940 R. S. Stites Arts & Man xiii. 428 Although the master architect supervised the stonework, three different classes, or degrees, of masons carried out his directions—the freemason, the layer, and the hardhewer.
1991 D. Parsons in J. Blair & N. Ramsey Eng. Medieval Industries i. 2 Much of the less skilled work..was in the hands of ‘roughlayers’ and ‘hardhewers’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1448