Brick to the Past
  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • Tigelfah Castle
    • London 1875
    • The Wall
    • England 793
    • Hastings 1066
    • Caithness Broch
    • Jacobite Risings
    • Henry Morgan
    • The Peterloo Massacre
    • Mosaics
    • Board Games
    • What's next? Have your say
  • Commercial
  • Blog to the Past
  • About
  • Contact

Blog to the Past

Chimney Sweepers Act 1975

11/8/2020

2 Comments

 
On this day in 1875 the Chimney Sweepers Act gained Royal Assent, which required sweeps to be licensed and made it the duty of the police to enforce all previous legislation.
 
In the 18th and 19th centuries it was common for children to be employed by chimney sweeps as apprentices. These were usually  boys from the local workhouses or children that were purchased from their parents and trained to climb the chimneys. Boys as young as four years old climbed up the hot flues that could be as narrow as 9 inches square. The work was dangerous, with children getting stuck in flues and suffocating. The poor conditions began to cause concern, with pamphlets describing the nature of the work bringing it to the public conscience. The fate of one such boy is described below:

"
After passing through the chimney and descending to the second angle of the fireplace the boy finds it completely filled with soot, which he has dislodged from the sides of the upright part. He endeavours to get through, and succeeds in doing so, after much struggling as far as his shoulders; but finding that the soot is compressed hard all around him, by his exertions, that he can recede no farther; he then endeavours to move forward, but his attempts in this respect are quite abortive; for the covering of the horizontal part of the Flue being stone, the sharp angle of which bears hard on his shoulders, and the back part of his head prevents him from moving in the least either one way or the other. His face, already covered with a climbing cap, and being pressed hard in the soot beneath him, stops his breath. In this dreadful condition he strives violently to extricate himself, but his strength fails him; he cries and groans, and in a few minutes he is suffocated. An alarm is then given, a brick-layer is sent for, an aperture is perforated in the Flue, and the boy is extracted, but found lifeless.”
Picture
Suffocation was not the only hazard that young chimney sweeps suffered, with general neglect being rife and . stunted growth and deformity of the spine, legs and arms being common
 
Therefore, late in the 18th century, efforts were made to improve the conditions of the young chimney sweeps. The first major piece of legislation was the Chimney Sweepers Act 1788, which stated that no boy should be a bound apprentice before he was eight years old. His parents’ consent must be obtained, the master sweep must promise to provide suitable clothing and living conditions, as well as an opportunity to attend church on Sundays. The clause inserted into the Bill requiring the Master Sweep to be licensed was voted down in the House of Lords, and without proper policing, the Act had little effect.
 
In 1834 therefore, the Chimney Sweepers Act 1834 was passed to yet again try to stop child labour as it was evident that many boys as young as six were still being used as chimney sweeps and their conditions had changed little. The act stated that an apprentice must express himself in front of a magistrate that he was willing and desirous, that masters must not take on boys under the age of fourteen, that an apprentice could not be lent to another master, that the master could only have six apprentices,  that boys under the age of fourteen who were already apprenticed, must wear brass cap badges on a leather cap and that apprentices were not allowed to climb flues to put out fires.
 
In 1840 the Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation 1840 were passed, making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to sweep chimneys. These where however largely ignored. The Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864, c37. tightened controls significantly, by authorising fines and imprisonment for master sweeps who were ignoring the law, giving the police the power of arrest on suspicion and authorising Board of Trade inspections of new and remodelled chimneys.
 
In 1863 the publication of 'The Water-Babies', a novel by Charles Kingsley, did much to raise public awareness about the gross mistreatment of children in this kind of employment through its central character, Tom, a child chimney sweep. Parliament responded the following year with a new Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864. This attempted to tighten controls significantly, by authorising fines and imprisonment for master sweeps who were ignoring the law, giving the police the power of arrest on suspicion and authorising Board of Trade inspections of new and remodelled chimneys. This was ineffective despite its humane purpose.
 
In 1875 a twelve year-old boy named George Brewster died in a chimney at Fulbourn Hospital, causing a scandal. As a response Lord Shaftesbury seized on the incident to press his anti-climbing boys campaign. He wrote a series of letters to The Times and in 1875 pushed another Bill through Parliament. The Chimney Sweepers Act was passed in 1875 requiring Master Sweeps to be authorised by the police to carry on their businesses in the district, this providing the legal means to enforce all previous legislation. George Brewster was the last child to die in a chimney. As a result George Brewster was the last child to die in a chimney.

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.
2 Comments
Jeff Carbine link
26/2/2022 05:36:23 am

I'm glad that you talked about the next year, Parliament passed the Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864. One of my parents' friends needs to know this article because they are trying to find specific information about it in a couple of days. Thank you for the tips about chimney sweeping.

Reply
Iris Smith link
19/1/2023 05:21:46 am

Thank you for pointing out that asphyxia was not the only danger that young chimney sweeps faced; general neglect was also a factor. My father stated that the chimney is filthy. I'll advise him to get in touch with a chimney sweeping business to clean the chimney to prevent asphyxia.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    BLOG TO THE PAST
    On LEGO, History and other things by Brick to the Past

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    America
    Anglo Saxons
    Archaeology
    Board Game
    Britain
    Broch
    Bronze Age
    Chartism
    Christmas
    Classics
    Commercial
    Competition
    England
    Europe
    Field Trip
    History
    Instructions
    Iron Age
    Jacobites
    Lego
    Lego Show
    MOC
    Northern Ireland
    On This Day
    Protest
    Romans
    Scotland
    Tudors
    Vikings
    Wales
    WWI
    WWII

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • Tigelfah Castle
    • London 1875
    • The Wall
    • England 793
    • Hastings 1066
    • Caithness Broch
    • Jacobite Risings
    • Henry Morgan
    • The Peterloo Massacre
    • Mosaics
    • Board Games
    • What's next? Have your say
  • Commercial
  • Blog to the Past
  • About
  • Contact