What It Was Like to Be a Chimney Sweeper In the Victorian Era

The jaunty image of the Victorian child chimney sweep is indelibly romantic, evoking the picturesque London glamorized in Mary Poppins. But the truth is that chimney sweep kids – and children living in Dickensian squalor, in general – usually led lives that were "nasty, brutish, and short," to quote the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. The history of chimney sweeps is, in many ways, the history of London itself. After the Great Fire of London gutted half the city in 1666, chimneys were rebuilt to minimize the risk of inferno. Their new, narrow, winding structures meant that children were the only humans small enough to fit through them.

The horrors of child labor were, of course, legion; and the repercussions were dire for these small workers.

#ChimneySweep #VictorianEra #WeirdHistory

[benchippy]

I can’t even contemplate the mindset of the adults involved in treating children like this

[Fandangtastic]

The fates of the child chimney serious is so horrifically sad. Poor babies.

[PandoraKyss]

Makes me rethink that whole Chim-Chiminey bit from 'Mary Poppins.'

[kristinamitchell]

We should do something to honor these kids. Someone mentioned that Northern Italy has a yearly celebration honoring child sweeps. We should do that everywhere. They shouldn't be forgotten.

[Ilovevintage]

The part that made me the saddest was realizing the poor child was naked in the dark and could take a wrong turn and get stuck and go back down the wrong way. The world is so gross and unfair for souls who have no rights and never asked to be here. Life is truly a lot of fate luck & a lottery of birth. Ppl treat their pets much better. Yet the Victorians were so obsessed with etiquette and modesty they covered even the legs of furniture with cloth and chicken or turkey legs with paper, defiled ancient Egyptian mummies for parlor games fun and sold their kids !! So backwards

[qwertyuiopgarth]

I've never thought that being a chimney sweep was romantic, and that being a child chimney sweep was a life of horror. Breathing soot will kill you....

[simplesam]

This was the first Weird History that actually caused me to break down and sob
So many children lost in such horrific ways...
I feel physically sick

[TruthNeverFade]

The single thought of being in a freaking CHIMNEY gives me nothing short of nightmares. Poor, poor children 😞

[thejudgmentalcat]

"no kid would be forced into a chimney"
But factories had lots of jobs for kids.

[evanacey]

I worked as a chimney sweep (the company I worked for called us chimney “technicians”, as we also did some basic masonry work and offered various other services) from the time I graduated high school until I was 27. It paid well too for that point in time in my life (I’m now 31). DEFINITELY a far cry from the poor little lads this video is about.

[oppaloopa]

Can we hear it for Joseph Glass tho?
He could’ve made a fortune from his sweeper but refused to patent it. Anyone could make/sell it. His profit was slashed.
The man was so desperate to help these children when no one else would take direct action that he became both an inventor and champion of freedom of information.
It’s always great to hear of folks like him who didn’t just see others suffering and say “Oh what a shame but what am I supposed to do? It’s how things are.”
Cruelty and oppression are only the way things are when we allow it to be. With a little effort and looking past our own self interest, life can be completely fair.
We all need to try and be more like folks like Mr. Glass.

[joywebster]

Instead England became overwhelmed with young orphans at the end of the 1800s. Huge orphanages or children's homes set up by rich men took them in to feed and offer some schooling. The new industrialists didn't like the poor kids clogging the streets unless they were in labor. Soon there were too many...so every boat going to Australia carried young orphan girls in steerage where they were sold into families as indentured slaves until age 21. Some were adopted. Because Australia was a penal colony there was a shortage of women so this supply continued until the 1960s. Ships going to Canada had young boys in steerage age 10 on avg being indentured to farmers all across Canada to work farms. My grandfather was sent in 1910. Due to poor nutrition, overwork, he never grew past 4 ft 10in tall. But he had huge hands. Drs later said he'd have been quite strapping had he had nutrition. First farm he went to the farmer tied him as the plow animal to pull the old iron plow. He was beaten for not being able to move it. I'm glad the farmer returned him. Grandpa went through 3 more farms till he found one that kept him until his indenture ended at 21. Thousands of children were sent on these ships and are known as Home Children. I'm glad chimney sweeps were outlawed before 1900 when grandpa was born, his small size would have doomed him to that fate, thanks for the video

[dst]

This has to be one of the most horrifying things i have ever heard. There is a special place in hell for people who would do this to children. Hopefully, it's dark, cramped and exceptionally hot.

[pkingglazersout]

0:23, you can see the pain in his eyes, I can't even imagine the pain all these poor souls went through, what did they do to deserve that?

[adamnewton]

I find the Victorian era is generally one of the most popular eras of human history to visit and explore. A lot went on and so many bright minds invented things that are still used today.
Keep up the good work, Weird History!

[ambersgrace]

The faces of these boys in the photos 😭. What a brutal and torturous life, It’s incomprehensible.

[krokodyl]

This was a cruel & unusual punishment just for being a kid.
It hurts just thinking of their horror. 😱

[pamelamays]

After hours of cleaning dirty chimneys, how did Bert & Co. even have the energy to sing and dance?

[joyce]

Watching this honestly made me feel so sick, dying in a hot, claustrophobic and literally toxic place is a nightmare

[shirleymental]

'The image of the Victorian child chimney sweep is indelibly romantic'.
Thought no one EVER!