A Fendersmith is a person employed to clean and repair the metal fenders before fireplaces in mansions, fine estates, or

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s. The person is usually also responsible for lighting and keeping the fire contained within the

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

. Few fendersmiths exist today, but can be found in places like

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

and

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. A few bagpipe tunes exist with titles relating to fendersmiths such as ''A Salute to Willie the Royal Fendersmith''. It has been said that this was "Written by P.M James Banks as a tribute to Willie, the elder brother of James and Alex Banks". Another tune ''A Salute to the Royal Fendersmith'' was played at the end of the Committal of the late

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

.https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/committal_of_her_majesty_queen_elizabeth_ii_-_order_of_service.pdf

References

Obsolete occupations Cleaning and maintenance occupations Windsor Castle Buckingham Palace {{job-stub