"Cleaned Chimney's Saves Lives"
A Chimney Sweep
7950 Nationford Rd.
6209 Ingleside Dr.
Charlotte NC. 28217
704-552-1609 Office
sales@achimneysweep.net
www.achimneysweep.net
It was understood even in the Georgian period of our history that chimneys had to be brush cleaned. Way back to the 17th century the Master Sweep of the day would employ small boys to climb and scramble up chimneys. The task for these climbing boys was to brush clean the inside of the flue with small hand-held brushes. They also used metal scrapers to remove the harder tar deposits left by wood or log fire smoke.
The
boys were apprentices and were bound to the trade as young as seven
years old. A Master was paid a fee to clothe, keep and teach the child
his trade. Sweeps' Boys were usually parish children or orphans, though
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 try to learn a new occupation. In London, there was a
London Society of Master Sweeps with its own set of rules, one of which
included that boys were not required to work on Sundays but had to
attend Sunday School to study, learn and read the Bible.
However,
conditions for the boys were harsh and often cruel. They slept in
cellars on bags of soot and were seldom washed. Years of accumulated
soot and grime often produced cancer of the testicles. It was a
dangerous and filthy job for the boys to undertake, especially without
the protection of safety clothing and respirators. Sadly there are
recorded instances where these Climbing Boys choked and suffocated to
death by dust inhalation whilst attempting to clean chimneys.
Casualties were also frequent as boys became stuck in narrow flues or
fell from climbing rotten chimney stacks.
It took many years and
campaigns before Acts of Parliament finally approved by the House of
Lords outlawed the use of Climbing Boys. In 1864 Lord Shaftesbury
brought in the "Act for the Regulation of Chimney Sweepers" which
established a penalty of £10.00 for offenders.
In
the early part of the 18th century various types of chimney cleaning
methods were being developed. An engineer from Bristol, Mr. Joseph
Glass, is widely recognized as the inventor of chimney cleaning
equipment, which has become universal even to this day. This was the
design and introduction of canes and brushes, which could be pushed and
propelled up from the fireplace into the chimney above. Early canes
were made of malacca and imported from the East Indies. Brushes were
made of whale bones, no nylon or polypropylene.
The
other method of cleaning flues that was developed originally came from
the Continent - Europe. This was the ball, brush and rope system which
was lowered down from the top of the chimney. The weight of the lead or
iron ball pulls the brush down, thus cleaning the chimney. This
procedure is still used widely in Scotland even today. This is because
of the historical contacts Scotland had with Europe. With the
Industrial Revolution and ever greater demand for coal production,
chimney sweeps grew in numbers. In Victorian London, there were over
1,000 chimney sweeps serving the area.
The continued expansion of coal as the main fuel for domestic heating ensured that the sweeping trade flourished. This was right up to the early 1960s when gas began to be installed and replace coal as a source of domestic heating. The switch to gas continued in the seventies and many of the old established family sweeps retired or gave up the business. Until this period, sweeps had traditionally cleaned only coal, wood and oil chimneys. Public awareness of the need for clean, safe and clear chimneys was almost non-existent. Carbon monoxide poisonings from blocked chimneys began to be noticed.
