In 1834, British Parliament passed The Chimney Sweepers Act. In the Victorian times, a chimney sweep was someone who would quite literally clean chimneys. Orphan boys as young as the age of 6 were being sued for this type of dangerous labor. They would wipe soot away from the walls of the chimney, and follow this action by disposing of the soot. This was certainly not an uncomplicated or safe job at the time, to say the least. Chimney sweepers were in high demands as well, due to the fact that much of the architecture in the Victorian era had chimneys. Chimney sweeping posed a risk for death in more ways than one, some chimneys were very narrow, causing sweepers to become stuck and die. Not to mention, there were even chimneys that held “changes in direction.” A chimney sweeper could also possibly be suffocated inside due to breathing in copious amounts of soot. Not only were these threats that posed themselves on the job, there was the threat of developing “Chimney Sweep’s Cancer or Cancer Scroti” later in life. The Chimney Sweepers Act outlawed the appreticing of children below the age of 10, further going on to state “that an apprentice must express himself in front of a magistrate that he was willing and desirous.” Young boys were needed and in high demand as they were perfect for fitting into the chimneys and being taught to climb and clean them.
In Dickens' novel, Oliver Twist, we are introduced to a chimney sweep by the name of Mr. Gamfield in Chapter 3. Oliver is fortunately saved from the threat of almost becoming an apprentice for him, who had “bruised three or four boys to death already”. (pg.18) This Act gives us a further and more specific understanding and realization of what many of the young orphans endured long ago. Although Oliver was spared and ended up taking a different route in his fictional story line, we are able to have a glimpse into a possible life experience that many other real people suffered from.
Works Cited
“Children and Chimneys.” UK Parliament, www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/19thcentury/overview/childrenchimneys/.
“Chimney Sweep.” Wikiwand, www.wikiwand.com/en/Chimney_sweep.
“LinkFang.” Chimney Sweepers Act 1834 - En.LinkFang.org, en.linkfang.org/wiki/Chimney_Sweepers_Act_1834.