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History of Sweeping
In the 17th century the size of a house could be
determined by the number of chimneys or hearths it
contained, and owners were taxed accordingly by the Hearth
Tax.
As early as the Georgian period it was appreciated that
chimneys needed to be swept in order to avoid problems.
A Master Sweep would use small boys to climb up the inside
of flues and brush them clean. Metal scrapers were used to
remove hard tar deposited by wood or log smoke. These
youngsters were apprenticed and tied to the trade when as
young as seven years of age. The Master Sweep was paid a fee
which was to feed, clothe, and teach the child his trade.
Many Sweeps' Boys were parish children or orphans, although
others were sold into the trade by their families. Some grew
up to be Journeymen (assistants to the Master), the
remainder were put out to various trades to attempt to
become skilled at other work.
In London there was the London Society of Master Sweeps with
its own set of rules, one of which said that boys were not
required to work on Sundays but must go to Sunday School to
study, and read the Bible. Conditions for the children were
harsh and sometimes cruel. Some were forced to sleep in
cellars on bags of soot and washing facilities rarely
existed. Cancer of the testicles was a common illness
amongst the boys and was contracted from the accumulated
soot.
There was no safety clothing or safety regulations to
protect the boys and there are instances recorded where they
were choked and suffocated to death by dust inhalation
whilst trying to sweep clean the chimneys. They often became
trapped in the narrower flues or fell from the rotten stack
to their death.
Only in 1864, after many years of campaigning, was an Act of
Parliament finally approved by the House of Lords, to outlaw
the use of children for climbing chimneys. Lord
Shaftesbury's Act for the Regulation of Chimney Sweepers
established a penalty of £10 for offenders. This was a
considerable sum of money in those times.
In the early part of the 18th century various types of
cleaning methods were developed. A Bristol engineer named
Joseph Glass is generally recognised as the inventor of the
type of chimney cleaning equipment which is still in use
today. His designs consisted of a system of canes and
brushes, which could be pushed up into chimney from the
fireplace below. Early canes were Malacca, a timber imported
from the East Indies and the brushes were formed from whale
bones.
Another development, the ball, brush and rope system (which
was lowered from the top of the chimney) was came from
Europe The weight of a lead or iron ball pulled the brush
down, thus cleaning the flue. This procedure is still used
widely in Scotland.
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution and increased
demand for coal production, the profession of chimney sweep
thrived. In Victorian London over 1,000 Sweeps served the
city. The continued expansion of coal as the main fuel for
domestic heating ensured that the trade flourished.
In the early 1960s gas began to replace coal as a source of
domestic heating and by the 1970s many of the
old-established family sweeps had retired or given up the
business.