This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Chimney sweep in the 1850s

A chimney sweep is a person who cleans chimneys for a living. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 382 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,480 × 2,320 pixels, file size: 4. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 382 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,480 × 2,320 pixels, file size: 4. ... Look up Chimney in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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. A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... Crow steps on a baronial building in Scotland Crow steps are a feature of buildings found in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. A gable end of a roof made into steps with stone or bricks are called crow steps. ... The House of the Seven Gables, Salem, Massachusetts, showing four gables in this view. ...

Climbing boys

In Victorian Age Britain, the business became notorious for employing young boys as they were small enough to enter the chimneys and clean them from inside. They were called "climbing boys". The work was dirty and dangerous, and their employers were notorious for abusing and exploiting them. Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ...

The boys also suffered from deformed joints, burns, and a form of testicular cancer caused by the carcinogenic chemicals in the soot. It was known for chimney sweeps to choke to death by inhaling soot. Chemical structure of benzo-[a]-pyrene Benzopyrene is a five-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon that is crystalline and yellow color as part of its physical properties. ...

Eventually, the public outcry against the practice led to a search for a substitute and the invention of a special brush with a telescoping handle and other more subtle innovations that allowed a sweep to reach right up the chimney without the need to enter it. In the mid twentieth century, the invention of a vacuum suction device that could be attached over the fireplace made the process cleaner than ever.

Legislation

In 1840 a law was passed making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to sweep chimneys ^[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. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...

Literature

Chimney sweeps were often depicted in Victorian literature as heartless, abusive scoundrels, typified in the book The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley. Image:Cg Charles Dickens is still one of the best known English writers of any era. ... The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a childrens novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley. ... Charles Kingsley A statue of Charles Kingsley at Bideford, Devon (UK) Charles Kingsley (June 12, 1819 – January 23, 1875) was an English novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and north-east Hampshire. ...

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 offers poems that both showcase the life of a common sweeper and expose those who allowed barbaric actions against them to take place. For other persons named William Blake, see William Blake (disambiguation). ... Blakes cover plate for Songs of Innocence and Experience Songs of Innocence is a collection of illustrated lyrical poetry, published by William Blake in 1789. ... The Songs of Experience is a poetry collection, forming the second part of William Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience. ...

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." ) Dickens redirects here. ... Oliver Twist (1838) is Charles Dickens second novel. ...

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." A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... For other uses, see Hans Christian Andersen (disambiguation). ... “Fine China” redirects here. ... In a draw in a mountainous region, a shepherd guides a flock of about 20 sheep amidst scrub and olive trees. ... The term prince, from the Latin root princeps, is used for a member of the highest ranks of the aristocracy or the nobility. ... For other uses, see Ladder (disambiguation). ...

With the development of newer brush equipment and the end of child labor, the profession 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 acrobatic dance. The song Chimney Sweeps' leader, "Bert", played by Dick van Dyke, sings the song "Chim Chim Cher-ee" which won the Oscar for "Best Song" in 1965. This article is about the Mary Poppins series of childrens books. ... ... For the 2004 stage musical, see Mary Poppins (musical). ... Richard Wayne “Dick” Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor, presenter and entertainer, with a career spanning 5 decades. ... Chim Chim Cher-ee is the Oscar winning song from Mary Poppins, the 1964 musical motion picture. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The Song of the Year is one of the two most prestigious awards in the Grammies, if not in all of the music industry. ... Date: 5 April Host: Bob Hope Location: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, USA Notes: For the first time, the Academy presents an award in the field of makeup. ...

Television

There was an episode of the animated cartoon Inspector Gadget in which Gadget is transported back in time to IR London and becomes friends with a family whose kids earn their living as chimney sweeps. Animation refers to the process in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result. ... For the 1999 live-action film, see Inspector Gadget (film). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

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. Bride Bride in formal dress North America. ...

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