Chimney Sweeps Industrial Revolution
The First Industrial Disease in.
Chimney sweeps industrial revolution. New chimneys were being built with more right horizontal and vertical. In the late 1780s the famous poet William Blake published the first part of his poem in the Songs of Innocence entitled The Chimney Sweep perfectly encapsulating the sad tale of child labour replicated across the country in the age when Britain rose in strength as an industrial powerhouse. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution coal became the main fuel for domestic heating.
The profession came about with the Industrial Revolution when more and more buildings became home to chimneys. Moreover the use of iron increased in construction and machinery. The continued expansion of coal as the main fuel for domestic heating ensured that the sweeping trade flourished.
In Victorian London for example every surface was coated with soot from the widespread use of coal as a heating fuel. Mar 1 2019 Comments Off. In Victorian London there were over 1000 chimney sweeps serving the area.
According to Owlcation apprentice chimney sweeps of the Industrial Revolution and Victorian-era between 1760 and 1901 were some of the most broadly and badly abused. Chimney sweeps had plenty of work to do and would sometimes simply move from roof to roof cleaning the creosote and soot from chimneys. Chimney Sweep Cancer was unique to chimney sweeps and is the first recorded form of industrial cancer.
It wasnt long however before the working class began requesting that fireplaces and chimneys be built in every room of their homes. The industrial revolution brought many improvements like better transportation systems the advent of steam power invention of machine tools and different chemicals. Originally only the ruling class in England had chimneys and chimney sweeps had the filthy job of keeping them clean.
The air people breathed was often foggy with the smoke from the chimneys that vented the many coal fires coming from the. Many families were poor and the number of children who were looking for apprenticeships was high which meant master tradesmen had the pick of the litter so to speak. The act forbade the apprenticing of any boy under the age of 10 years and the employment of children under 14 in chimney sweeping.
The technology advancement resulted in a great increase in child labor. Many of them found either no work or work with wages guaranteed to keep them in poverty for the rest of their lives. On Chimney Sweeps Act 1834.
In September of 1875 a bill was pushed through which put a stop to the practice of using children as chimney sweeps. With the Industrial Revolution and ever greater demand for coal production chimney sweeps grew in numbers. Then down a green plain leaping laughing they run And wash in a river and shine in the sun.
Because of the industrial revolution there was a huge increase in homes being built with chimneys this resulted in the Master Chimney Sweep becoming much sought after. Many chimney-sweeps were recruited from the age of four. Chimney Sweeps Act 1834.
Apprentices were indentured to the master sweep. When overcrowded cities began to produce foggy smoke from chimney fires. Child Chimney Sweeps In The Industrial Revolution Well be looking at events that led to the recruitment of children to serve as chimney sweeps the health hazards they were exposed to and also the inhuman conditions they worked under during the Victorian Era.
Many families were poor and the number of children looking for apprenticeships was high which meant master tradesmen had the pick of the litter. According to Owlcation apprentice chimney sweeps of the Industrial Revolution and Victorian era between 1760 and 1901 were some of the most widely and badly abused. A child who worked as a chimney sweep rarely grew to live past middle age.
The Chimney Sweeps Act 1834 was enacted in an attempt to protect the children employed by the sweeping masters from cruel exploitation. Small boys were needed with bones soft enough to crawl through the tiny chimney flues or. Child chimney sweeps are remembered and honored every year in England in early May.
Chimney sweeps during this time were called master sweeps and would teach the craft to young boys and sometimes girls who were called apprentices or climbing boys The children were found at orphanages or bought from their parents for minor payments. The medieval City of London was gutted in the fire. Children were widely used as human chimney sweeps in England for about 200 years and the lives of these little ones who were forced to climb chimneys were the stuff of nightmares.
Efforts were made through the years to put an end to the cruel practice of using. The date of the annual event coincides closely with May. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution the chimney sweep profession thrived.
The prominence of using small children as chimney sweeps began after the Great Fire of London which occurred September 2nd through 5th 1666. The job of a chimney sweep was essential to avoid fires erupting in the home. For apprentice chimney sweeps the worst abuses occurred in England immediately before and during the Industrial Revolution and during the Victorian Era when thousands of people came to the cities seeking work.
Joseph Glass an engineer from Bristol England invented the original brushes and rods used to clean chimneys. New buildings being constructed of Portland stone didnt stay pristine for long.
