potwaller
/ˈpɒtwɒlə/Now historical
noun
A male householder or lodger with his own separate fireplace on which a pot could be boiled, which qualified him to vote in a parliamentary election in some English boroughs before the 1832 Reform Act.
- This system of determining the electorate was one of the abuses criticized by electoral reformers in the early 19th cent..
Origin
Early 18th century; earliest use found in Original Journals of the House of Commons. From pot + wall + -er. Compare earlier pot-walling.