Victorian wood and bristle chimney brush.

Social History (Museum of St Albans)

Victorian wood and bristle chimney brush from the St Albans Museums teaching collection. Boys, some as young as 5, had to climb up chimneys to scrape the soot off the walls using a brush like this. Some chimneys were as narrow as 23cm square. Boys were sometimes too tired or frightened to work. Their masters would then force them to work, for example by sticking pins in their feet, by lighting a fire underneath them to force them to keep climbing, or beating them. Chimney sweeps suffered many cuts and grazes.

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Digital Camera

[not applicable].

25/06/2007