chimney sweep

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"Chimney sweeper" redirects here. For the geometer moth, see Odezia atrata.

Chimney sweep in the 1850s

A chimney sweep is a person who cleans chimneys for a living.

History

The occupation of chimney sweep is considered to be one of the oldest in the world, as chimneys have been around since ancient times, though it is only in the last two hundred years that the chimney has grown large enough to hold a man, giving rise to the image of the chimney sweep as it developed in the time of the Industrial Revolution. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Western Europe, construction of rooflines with crow-stepped gables became common to allow chimney sweeps convenient access to the chimney top. With the increased urban population, the number of houses with chimneys grew in pace and the occupation of chimney sweep became much respected and sought-after, although it is sometimes derided in verse, ballad and pantomime.

Legislation

In 1788, the Act for the Better Regulation of Chimney Sweepers and their Apprentices was passed, to limit a sweeper to six apprentices, at least 8 years old, but lacked enforcement.^[1]

In 1840 a law was passed making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to sweep chimneys. A Friendly Society for the Protection and Education of Chimney-Sweepers' Boys had been established in 1800^[2]. The 1840 Act became a dead letter. The Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864, c37. tightened controls significantly. Lord Shaftesbury was a main proponent of the Bill.

A Chimney Sweepers Act was passed in 1875 that required chimney sweepers to be authorised by the police to carry on their businesses in the district, providing enforcement.^[1]

Modern chimney sweep

With the rise of central heating systems and the decline in the use of chimneys, the sweep profession became less prevalent, though the service continues in most communities on a small scale.

Today

Today, chimney sweeps still maintain a thriving new industry in many parts of the world. The industry has expanded from the maintenance of wood-burning fireplace and appliance venting systems to include venting for many types of heating appliances. Venting systems for Heating Oil, natural gas, wood and pellet burning appliances, including building furnaces and space heaters are maintained by modern chimney sweeps. The standard chimney brush is still used, along with more modern tools (such as vacuums, cameras and special chimney cleaning tools), although most sweeps are done from the bottom of the chimney, rather than the top, to prevent the dispersion of dust and debris^[3].

Modern sweeps are laborers, and are usually trained to diagnose and repair hazards along with simple maintenance such as sweeps. In the US, two trade organizations that help to regulate the industry are the Chimney Safety Institute of America and National Chimney Sweeps Guild.

Literature

Chimney sweeps were often depicted in Victorian literature as heartless scoundrels who abused their child workers. They are typified in The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley. The English poet William Blake portrayed the chimney sweep as an abused child who hoped for a better life. In both "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience", Blake showcases the life of a common sweeper and exposes those who allowed barbaric actions against them to take place. In Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist a particularly vicious chimney sweep called Gamfield wants to take Oliver as an apprentice, but at the last minute the magistrate refuses to sanction the move ("Mr Gamfield did happen to labour under the slight imputation of having bruised three or four boys to death already." )

In "The Shepherdess and the Sweep" (1845), a fairy tale by the Danish poet and writer Hans Christian Andersen, a porcelain chimney sweep sits upon a table top near his love, a porcelain shepherdess. When the two are threatened, the chimney sweep gallantly conducts his love safely to the rooftop through the stove pipe. Andersen describes his chimney sweep as "black as coal, and also made of china. He was, however, quite as clean and neat as any other china figure; he only represented a black chimney-sweep, and the china workers might just as well have made him a prince, had they felt inclined to do so. He stood holding his ladder quite handily, and his face was as fair and rosy as a girl’s; indeed, that was rather a mistake, it should have had some black marks on it."

With the development of newer brush system and the end of child labor, the occupation changed its image to one of agile and good natured men, the chief example being in the book series Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film adaptation which has an extended dance sequence in which the jovial workers celebrate the end of the workday with fearless acrobatics. Ther leader, "Bert", played by Dick van Dyke, sings "Chim Chim Cher-ee" which won the Oscar for "Best Song" in 1965.

Barbara Vine's novel The Chimney Sweeper's Boy has as a central plot device a moth of that name, more formally identified as Epichnopterix plumella, which represents the main character's transformation and identity.

Superstitions

In parts of Great Britain it is considered lucky for a bride to see a chimney sweep on her wedding day. Many modern British sweeps hire themselves out to attend weddings in pursuance of this tradition. It is also considered good luck to shake hands with a chimney sweep or to be blown a kiss by one, but the origin of these traditions are unknown.

As a symbol of good luck, depictions of chimney sweeps are a popular New Year's gift in Germany; either as small ornaments attached to flower bouquets or candy, e.g. marzipan chimney sweeps.

In Croatia, Chimney sweeps still wear a traditional all black uniform with small black cap. It is considered good luck to rub one of your buttons if you pass one in the street.

References