Some of the chimney stacks were so narrow that it really was an impossible task for the majority of adults. Usually, people would get a chimney sweeper to come as early in the day as possible, preferably before breakfast. Why were they needed? 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. The life of an old-timey chimney sweep during the Victorian Era was far from easy. The new buildings were taller with more narrow flues. A chimney sweep is a person who clears ash and soot from chimneys. In the UK a master sweep would take apprentices, who were boys from the workhouse or bought them from their parents, and train them to climb chimneys. Breathing in soot everyday also caused lung damage to the majority of the chimney sweeps. The bosses of these children would often watch as the emerged back out the chimneys covered in soot and blood from the scrapes and cuts that had picked up when inside. Boys as young as four climbed hot flues that could be as narrow as 9 inches square. It is argued that the children were in most cases needlessly used, as the work could be carried out by adults using brushes just as easily. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Please read description! Generally, sweepers were children, mainly boys and not adults. Those were fired for every day of the winter. Their tiny size made them a popular choice for going down the narrow chimney stacks.A Victorian Child Chimney Sweep may have been the most dangerous job for children in the 1800’s, especially when the child first started doing the job. This design has proved to become very popular in modern day repro fireplaces as they take t… Old-timey chimney sweeps had no legal protections until the Chimney Sweeps … Ultimately in 1875, the British parliament passed an act which said that all chimney sweeps had to be licensed and licenses were only issued to sweeps not using climbing boys. A life-threatening occupation. Has women’s place in society changed from Elizabethan and Victorian Eras. Horrible Histories if you (owners) want to REMOVED this video, PLEASE CONTACT US DIRECTLY. Finally everything that could be washed was washed, ready to be put back when the room had been cleaned up after the sweep had gone. Child Chimney Sweeps Imagine a child climbing up the small, dark and dirty flue of a chimney. They were usually quickly cleaned up with salty water and sent on to the next chimney. So unscrupulous taskmasters got around the problem by "purchasing" children from their poverty-stricken parents, who were generally saddled with too many mouths to feed. A Victorian pen and wash painting of a Leicester (UK) chimney sweeps festival procession in the 1850's. Sometimes breathing problem occurs to the boys due to lack of air. Some chimney sweeps were orphans or kidnapped and used as slaves to clean chimneys and then returned to the streets once they grew too big. Some of the boys who carried out this work were as young as 3-4 years old and had to work in sooty, unhealthy conditions. The sweeps carrying their tradesmen's brushes marched in procession, led by drummers and a large banner (protesting over the 'slavery' of chimney climbing boys used by less professional traders)' held by two men with top hats. Then he finds it filled with soot, which he has dislodged from the sides of the upright part. All the movable furniture was put into another room or covered with dust sheets. Children could do Chimney sweeping better than adults because they were so small that they could enter the chimney to clean it up. When first starting the job the inside of the chimney would often damage all parts of the youngsters body leaving open wounds and blood on their scraped arms and legs. Labor - Sweeps boys were children who were forced to climb inside of a chimney to clean hard-to-reach areas. Chimney sweeping was not only a harmful act but also a dangerous and horrible work. As coal fires were common, right up until the 1950's, there was always plenty of work for chimney sweeps. Their small bodies and frame made them the perfect size for entering and cleaning the chimneys. Aug 25, 2018 - Explore Elizabeth Burke's board "Mid Nineteenth Century Chimney sweeps" on Pinterest. Founded in 1979, family-owned and operated Victorian Chimney Service is dedicated to serving chimney sweeping, maintenance and repair needs for the entire DC, MD and VA region. Vintage Photographs Vintage Images Old Pictures Old Photos Heroic Age Chimney Sweep Edwardian Era Photo Black Black And White Pictures At ages sometimes as young as six, boys’ families signed contracts of indenture to master sweeps. your own Pins on Pinterest Some people got stuck inside the chimneys. The Victorian era had features utterly different from any other era. Sep 9, 2018 - Explore amy byrd's board "chimney sweep" on Pinterest. When the soot blocked the chimneys, dirty black smoke would come into the room. So it was necessary to have the chimney swept once or twice a year. It is reported that some homeowners would be completely unaware of chimney sweeps being inside of their property, leaving the child stuck in the chimney exposed to smoke and fire. Only in 1840, an act was passed forbidding anyone under the age of 21 from working as chimney sweeps. Preparation for chimney sweeping durigng Victorian times, Act to help Chimney Sweepers in Victorian era, Top 8 Victorian Era Poems That Must Be Read, Victorian era last name generator: Random last and first names. Their small bodies and frame made them the perfect size for entering and cleaning the chimneys. But unfortunately, it was not enforced. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk, Victorians  ©  2000 - 2020 - Privacy Policy. 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. See more ideas about chimney sweep, sweep, history. The homeowners of Victorian homes used chimney sweeps to go up the chimneys to clean the soot. Being a chimney sweep in the Victorian era was a poor existence for many children who were required to clean chimneys for a living. It was a brutal, dreary existence for Victorian child chimney sweeps. In the Victorian era the number of houses with chimneys grew apace and so chimney sweeps became more important than ever. For many children starting out chimney sweeping at such a young age, it was a very painful and upsetting experience. A life-threatening occupation. Chimney sweeper was considered a good luck omen for the bride on her wedding day. Chimney Sweeps Chimney sweeping was a job children could do better than adults. A child who worked as a chimney sweep rarely grew to live past middle age. Fireplaces from this period can be categorised into two main sub styles, the early and mid Victorian fireplaces and the late Victorian fireplaces. The soot-fall in 1910 was around 76,000 tons! 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