When we
think of chimney sweeps, we can’t help but picture Mary Poppins
and Dick Van Dyke’s character, Bert, or extracts from Oliver Twist.
Depicted with long spiky
brushes and soot-ridden clothes and skin, the job of chimney sweeper originates
back to the 18th century.
As a
professional chimney sweep company, we know that the profession is very
different today but it’s important to know our roots. So, in this blog, we
explore a brief history of chimney sweeping, where it all began and how it
evolved.
The beginnings
The start of
the British Industrial Revolution, in the 18th century, saw coal fast becoming
a leading source of fuel. Feeding factory operations, city-to-city
transportation and domestic heating, Britain’s economic development relied
heavily on coal. Many city homes had chimneys that consistently produced smoke
from the fires, but if the chimney interiors became choked or blocked with a
build-up of soot, chimney fires could erupt. This is where the job of the
chimney sweep came in, ensuring that chimneys were clear and homes remained
safe.
How, what and who
The pop
culture depiction of a man or boy wearing black, dirty clothes and carrying a
tall brush isn’t an inaccurate image of what a chimney sweep used to look like.
Using circular brushes with long handles, the chimney sweeps would enter a home
and extend the brush up the chimney to clean, dust and dislodge any soot
blockages. But, what about the bits the sweepers couldn’t reach?
During the
Industrial Revolution, particularly moving into the 19th century and the
Victorian era, child labour wasn’t uncommon. From cotton mills to coal mines,
children were cheap labour and small enough to fit into the hard-to-reach
places such as sliding underneath looms to pick up loose cotton or wedging
themselves between rocks ready to open mining trap doors.
Chimney
sweep masters usually took on children as young as four as their workers, and
later they could become apprentices. These ‘climbing boys’ would be sent up to
dislodge the soot and some of them were as young as four years old up to the
age of 10 - the smaller they were, the better, as many chimneys were very
narrow.
21st Century chimney sweeps
Fortunately,
in 1864, the British Parliament passed the “Act for the Regulation of Chimney
Sweepers”, which ended the use of young boys as chimney sweepers. Around this
time period and through to the end of the 1800s, various devices were invented
to aid the chimney sweep in cleaning and brushing of the chimney, including
iron balls and rope pulley systems.
In the
1900s, chimney sweeps were still needed and even into the 1950s and 60s when
gas and electricity was only just beginning to replace coal. Chimneys were
still commonplace in homes across the country and a chimney sweeper job role
progressed and revised itself with the changes of fuel. From diagnosing
fireplace problems to keeping homes safe from carbon monoxide poisoning,
chimney sweepers today are educated in the sciences behind fireplaces and
chimneys and work to repair, maintain and install a whole range of heating
services.
We may not
practice chimney sweeping like our ancestors of old, but our team at Milborrow Chimney Sweeps
are experts in
all things to do with chimneys, fireplaces, boilers and repairs. Along with
professional fire and heating services, we can also don a traditional Victorian
chimney sweep costume and join your wedding festivities. For more information
on our wide range of chimney and fireplace services in the South East of
England, contact us
today.
