In the 16th century in England, chimney sweeps were employed to keep chimneys clear. To do so, they had to brave cramped spaces, clouds of soot, and rickety rooftops.
Children were the best fit for the job because they were small enough to maneuver around in tight, narrow spaces that were inaccessible to adults.
The work was incredibly dangerous and highlights how widespread child labor was during Britain’s industrial age. Chimney sweeps were often orphans or came from impoverished backgrounds.
Some boys as young as four or five years old were made to work as chimney sweeps. Six was considered the appropriate age for entering the profession, though.
The boys relied on their employer, the master sweep, for food and clothing. Those who were sold into the job by their parents were legally bound to their master sweep until adulthood.
Master sweeps were paid by their local parish to take in children and teach them the ways of the trade. The only option for these child apprentices was to learn the ropes and climb through the ranks.
After seven years, they could become a journeyman sweep and possibly become a master sweep themselves later on.
By the 18th century, child chimney sweeps were common. But over the years, people made the transition from burning wood fires to coal, which meant that the chimneys were now covered in thick layers of soot.
In the 17th century, chimneys also adopted a more narrow and compact design as a way of skirting around the new hearth tax.
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As a result, adults were too large to fit into the confined spaces. As people began moving into towns and cities for work, chimney sweeps became increasingly in demand.
Chimneys could be as narrow as nine by nine inches, forcing the boys to remove their clothes and use just their knees and elbows to climb.
The jobs came with a number of perils. For one, the chimney would still be very hot from a fire. The boys’ skin would be stripped raw from climbing.
There was a high chance of getting stuck inside a chimney in a cramped position. They would be stranded for hours until someone helped them out with a rope.
Those who were not so lucky ended up suffocating and dying in the chimney. Then, the bricks would have to be removed to retrieve the body.
The boys suffered several health issues from the demands of the job. They experienced deformity of the bones and lung problems from inhaling soot. It was unlikely that chimney sweeps would reach old age or even adulthood.
Additionally, soot would get in their eyes, causing pain and inflammation. In some extreme cases, they experienced vision loss.
Furthermore, the occupation led to the diagnosis of one of the first industrial cancers. Sir Percival Pott identified it as chimney sweeps carcinoma.
As the plight of the boys came to light, people began to advocate for them. In time, the government passed the Chimney Sweepers Act to improve the living and working conditions of chimney sweeps.
By September 1875, a bill was passed that required sweeps to be licensed and registered with the police so they could be supervised.
Eventually, the practice of child chimney sweeps was put to a stop. Abuse, neglect, and forced child labor were no longer socially acceptable. Although they had a major cultural impact, the history of chimney sweeps is one of grit, grime, and cruelty.
