Meaning
A person employed to clean soot and ash from chimneys.
Description
Chimney sweeps were a common sight in towns and cities throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Master sweeps employed climbing boys, often parish apprentices as young as five or six years old, who were sent up narrow chimney flues to dislodge soot with brushes and scrapers. The work was dangerous and many boys suffered burns, respiratory disease and cancer from long-term soot exposure. Legislation in 1875 finally required sweeps to be licensed and prohibited the use of children. Adult sweeps using mechanical brushes became standard thereafter.
Also Known As
Sweep, Master Sweep
Commonly Found In
- Census Returns
- Parish Registers
- Poor Law Records
- Apprenticeship Records
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