Foreign Taker

An officer of the City of London who supervised open street markets and had the responsibility of cleaning up after them.

"Formerly, before the great Fire there were these Officers, Viz. a Serjeant and Yeoman of the Channel, and Yeoman of Newgate Market, and Foreign Taker, whose Office was to sweep and make clean the said Streets, where the Market People resorted, and to carry away the Soil thereof, and to furnish the Market People with Boards and such like Accommodations. But since Markets are removed out of the Streets these Officers retain only the Names."

John Strype, Stow's Survey of London (1720).