A chimney fire can occur when the interior of
the flue is neglected by not being cleaned or when it becomes
choked and partially blocked with a build-up of soot deposited
by the coal or wood burning process.
In the 17th century
the size of a house could be determined by the number of chimneys
or hearths it contained, and owners were taxed accordingly by the
Hearth Tax.
As early as the
Georgian period it was appreciated that chimneys needed to be swept
in order to avoid problems.
A Master Sweep would
use small boys to climb up the inside of flues and brush them
clean. Metal scrapers were used
to remove hard tar deposited by wood or log smoke. These youngsters
were apprenticed and tied to the trade when as young as seven years
of age. The Master Sweep was paid a fee which was to feed, clothe,
and teach the child his trade.
Many Sweeps’ Boys were
parish children or orphans, although others were sold into the
trade by their families. Some grew up to be Journeymen (assistants
to the Master), the remainder were put out to various trades to
attempt to become skilled at other work.
In London there was
the London Society of Master Sweeps with its own set of rules, one
of which said that boys were not required to work on Sundays but
must go to Sunday School to study, and read the Bible. Conditions
for the children were harsh and sometimes cruel. Some were forced
to sleep in cellars on bags of soot and washing facilities rarely
existed. Cancer of the testicles was a common illness amongst the
boys and was contracted from the accumulated soot.
There was no safety
clothing or safety regulations to protect the boys and there are
instances recorded where they were choked and suffocated to death
by dust inhalation whilst trying to sweep clean the chimneys. They
often became trapped in the narrower flues or fell from the rotten
stack to their death.
Only in 1864, after
many years of campaigning, was an Act of Parliament finally
approved by the House of Lords, to outlaw the use of children for
climbing chimneys. Lord Shaftesbury’s Act for the Regulation of
Chimney Sweepers established a penalty of £10 for offenders. This
was a considerable sum of money in those times.
In the early part of
the 18th century various types of cleaning methods were developed.
A Bristol engineer named Joseph Glass is generally
recognised as the inventor of the type of chimney cleaning
equipment which is still in use today. His designs consisted
of a system of canes and brushes, which could be pushed up
into chimney from the fireplace below. Early canes were
Malacca, a timber imported from the East Indies and the
brushes were formed from whale bones.
Another development,
the ball, brush and rope system (which was lowered from the top of
the chimney) was came from Europe The weight of a lead or iron ball
pulled the brush down, thus cleaning the flue. This procedure is
still used widely in Scotland.
With the onset of the
Industrial Revolution and increased demand for coal production, the
profession of chimney sweep thrived. In Victorian London over 1,000
Sweeps served the city. The continued expansion of coal as the main
fuel for domestic heating ensured that the trade flourished.
In the early 1960s gas
began to replace coal as a source of domestic heating and by the
1970s many of the old-established family sweeps had retired or
given up the business. With the switch to gas the traditional
sweep, who had been used to cleaning coal, wood and oil chimneys,
was forced to encompass the new fuel and its problems.
The best way to
approach this one is to enter the Mount Sinai Congregational Church
parking lot and stay to the left. Go down the dirt road
[Chandler Pl.] and park either of the gates. Follow the
trails from there. Cache is about 10ft. off the trail, watch
the thorns. The cache is a 50cal ammo box filled with swag
from the 2006 LIGO summer event. Enjoy!