|
History of the English Chimney Sweep
In
the 17th and 18th century it was the governments wishes that all flues
and chimneys would be cleaned often to help prevent problems from
occurring. The chimneys of that period were very large so a master
chimney sweep would use small children to climb up inside flues with
brushes and metal scrapers to clean them. The young children, often
known as 'climbing boys', would use there hands and metal scrapers to
remove hard tar and soot which would be deposited from the smoke created
by burning wood, logs and coal.
It
was common for the child to become scared and reluctant to climb so
often the young child would be followed by a more experienced older
child who would poke the boy's feet with needles if they slowed down or
stopped, or for a small fire to be lit underneath the child, to force
them to climb to the top. Everyday the child would be put at great risk
from becoming stuck in the chimneys as they narrowed at the top, from
breathing difficulties and even falling to their death. The master sweep
would be paid a fee which was used to clothe, feed and teach the child
his trade. The
children used were parish boys, orphaned children and some were sold to
the trade by there by their families. During this time there were no
safety clothing or regulations to protect them. In London there was the
London Society of Master Sweeps which had its own set of rules, one of
which said that boys were not allowed to work on Sundays, they must go
to Sunday school and read the bible. The conditions in which these
children were kept was dreadful, some were forced to sleep in cellars on
bags of soot and washing facilities rarely existed. In
1803 the 'Society for Superseding Climbing Boys' was formed with the
intention of finding equipment to clean chimneys without using young
children. It was George Smart and then later improved upon by Joseph
Glass an engineer from Bristol who has been largely credited with
developing the method that is still in use today. There design consisted
of a system of canes and brushes which could be pushed up into the
chimney from the fireplace below cleaning the flue as it went. Unfortunately
at the time these methods were very rarely used as it was still cheaper
to use children rather than buy the equipment. In
1840 an Act of Parliament was approved forbidding anyone under the age
of 21 from climbing a chimney, but this had very little effect as
penalties were small. It wasn't until 1864 after many years of
campaigning was an Act of Parliament finally approved by the House of
Lords outlawing the use of children for climbing chimneys. Lord
Shaftsbury's Act for the Regulation of Chimney Sweepers
established a penalty of £10 pounds for offenders. The Act had wide
spread support from the police, public and courts which finally
signalled the end of 'climbing boys'.
|
Telephone
01773 749 903