I saw this sad but rather interesting story on the Guild of Master Sweeps website this week and thought I would share it. On 11^th February 1875, George Brewster was forced by his master to climb and clean a chimney at what was then the County Pauper Lunatic Asylum in Fulbourn (3 miles from Cambridge city centre). 15 minutes after entering the chimney, George became stuck. In an attempt to rescue him, an entire wall was pulled down. He was eventually pulled from the chimney but died shortly after.

The use of ‘climbing boy’ chimney sweeps was not uncommon in Britain up to the Victorian age, and attempts had been made to outlaw the use of children to clean chimneys but the practice continued. The death of George Brewster in 1875 was extraordinary, changing Britain forever. George’s inquest was reported in the national press and when the 7^th Earl of Shaftesbury read about the boy’s tragic death, he vowed to make a change. George’s death was the catalyst enabling the Earl to get another Act passed by Parliament in September 1875 that succeeded in stopping children from being used as ‘climbing boys’ in England and ending a 35 year-long campaign led by the Earl.

George Brewster was the last ‘climbing boy’ to die in England, but his death was also part of a much greater transformation of British industrial society that saw the end of all child labour practices in other industries such as farming, mining and in factories. Just a year later, in 1876, it was recommended that education be made compulsory in the UK for all children. And then, in 1880, a further Education Act finally made school attendance compulsory.

In 2019, Joanna Hudson from Pampisford (Cambridgeshire) stumbled upon George Brewster’s little-known story and was inspired to launch a campaign to tell his remarkable story and to honour his legacy. Joanna conducted extensive research into George’s life and death to support her application to the Cambridge & District Blue Plaque Scheme and even discovered the location of George’s grave. Joanna Hudson said: “When you realise the momentous turning point George Brewster’s death brought to changing child labour laws in Britain, you realise how important his story is and how vital it is that we share it with everyone. Every child should know this boy’s name, as he represents the countless children who were victims of greed and cruelty in the Victorian era, exploited by those who valued profit over their welfare. “George Brewster deserves our recognition. I launched this campaign to remind people of the sacrifice and extreme working conditions Victorian children endured.  Today offers a powerful reminder of how far we have come since those dark days. We shouldn’t take our child labour rights for granted. It took the tragic death of one of our own Cambridgeshire children to change the law that all children now enjoy.”

Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury and direct descendant of the 7^th Earl who pushed through the law 150 years ago, said: “During his life, the 7th Earl campaigned tirelessly to help the downtrodden and neglected in society. Perhaps no other cause captured his attention more than the plight of the chimney sweeps’ boys. It was a cause that took him 35 years of campaigning to finally bring to an end. It is a tragedy that George and so many others were not saved by the change in the law, but this plaque will ensure he is never forgotten.”

Lawson Wight, Chairman of the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps said: “George’s story was not well known among today’s chimney sweeps – it will be now. This unique blue plaque will help raise awareness of a time of great change. It’s important to understand the history and how tireless political campaigning and a tragic event have changed all of our lives for the better. Every modern sweep will have found it a sobering thought that many of the chimneys they sweep were once worked by climbing boys’.

The Friends of Mill Road Cemetery (FOMRC) in Cambridge helped Joanna to find George’s final resting place. On a cold Monday in November 2019, they battled through a thicket of brambles, found his unmarked grave and laid some flowers. The award is the culmination of a six-year campaign led by mother-of-two and amateur local historian, Joanna Hudson, supported by Longfellow Real Estate Partners, the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps, Friends of Mill Road Cemetery, the Museum of Cambridge and the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury.

I recently saw this photograph taken in 1972 of a part demolished tenement block in Kelvinhaugh Street Glasgow. It is of interest because at a glance it shows how chimneys are constructed and how they remain separate, whilst feathering into a single chimney stack. It is a frequent misconception of customers that multiple fireplaces in a premises all join together to form one large chimney, that is where this photograph is useful in displacing that notion and informing them of what is actually going on in their house. It is also very instructive in showing how chimneys can have multiple turns in them, as many people think chimneys just run straight up and down. Looking at the lower chimneys in the Glasgow building, they have three turns in them. When manually sweeping the turns present the sweep with a challenge as the sweep has to constantly turn the brush to get it to go around the turn in the chimney. The sweep uses a technique to bend and turn the rod in a clockwise direction to get the brush to negotiate the turn. It is the torque in the rod that turns the brush and advances it up the chimney. It is this technique that also stops the brush undoing in the chimney.

 I sweep many, many of the old Parkray multi-fuel room heaters across the area, particularly in the old Braintree District council houses that I sweep for Eastlight Community Homes. We have been working our contract with Eastlight Community Homes for over 5 years now and it involves over 200 sweeps annually, many of which are Parkray Multi-Fuel Room Heaters. However, I have not come across one of these, a double-door Parkray. I therefore thought that as it was so unusual, it would make an interesting blog. The vast majority of the Parkrays I sweep have the classic single door look, although if you look back through my blogs, you will see a couple of examples of Bronze coloured Art Deco examples.

Parkray have been the leading name in solid fuel stoves for more than a century, producing heating components since 1850. Originally known as ‘Park Foundry’, the company quickly became the leading name in solid fuel appliances. Today, Parkray is based near Exeter in Devon. Parkray room heaters have been in existence for over 40 years, some of the older applainces (some 20, 30, 40 years old or in some cases even older) are still in existence and used daily by households all over the UK.  This is a testament to the build quality of some of these earlier Parkray models. As there are so many models and sizes of the Parkray, they can look very similar, however, the parts inside of them are different.  Some parts fit many appliances and others are more specific.

We wish all our customers and friends a Peaceful and Very Happy Christmas! And a Happy and prosperous New Year.

We hope you all have a great time over the Christmas period and get everything you desire from Santa! Also, it is time to make the most of your wood-burning stoves, open fires and inglenooks to create that real festive atmosphere.

I couldn’t resist posting this picture of a Christmas card we received from our lovely neighbour Wendy. I believe the joke is that it’s an artist’s impression of me and Claire out sweeping before we could afford a van!! It did make us laugh! There is even one of our dogs in the basket at the front.

Our last working day before Christmas is Monday 23^rd December – Claire and I will then be having a much-needed rest with the family. Goodbye to 6 and 7 days a week working for a few days!

We will next be working in the New Year; starting on Thursday 2^nd January and our lead time for appointments is the beginning of May 2025.

Happy Christmas to everyone from Paddy and Claire at Walden Sweeps and wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year!

 Here is a salutary tale from Thaxted this week about the need to have a chimney regularly swept – A barn conversion caught fire and lost most of its roof when soot deposits in the chimney caught fire and spread to the loft space. The soot had apparently collected in the top part of the chimney as the chimney had not been swept for some time. People don’t realise that if a chimney catches fire and the have not had it swept annually by a reputable trades person and they therefore have not been issued with an annual Safety Certificate, then the insurance company is unlikely to pay out for any damage caused.

Essex Fire Brigade report:

Firefighters are reminding residents to check and clean their chimneys regularly after a fire caused significant damage to a timber-framed home in Thaxted this evening (Wednesday 11 December).

Crews from Thaxted, Saffron Walden, Newport and Braintree, along with an Aerial Ladder Platform from Chelmsford, were called to the property at 5:20pm after the homeowners noticed part of the interior wall had collapsed, revealing a fire inside the chimney.

The fire, which was caused by a build up of soot and debris in the chimney, quickly spread through the loft space and roof due to the timber-framed structure of the house.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus worked to tackle the fire from inside the home, while crews on the Aerial Ladder Platform extinguished the flames from above. Thanks to their efforts, they successfully contained the fire and prevented further spread.

Station Manager Kev Jenner said:
“Our crews worked incredibly hard in challenging conditions to stop the fire from spreading further through the property. Thankfully, the family escaped without injury, but the roof has been significantly damaged, and there is smoke and water damage throughout the home.

“This incident highlights the importance of regularly maintaining and cleaning your chimney, especially in older, timber-framed properties, where fire can spread rapidly.”

The fire was fully extinguished by 8:15pm, but crews will remain at the scene into the night to monitor for hotspots and make sure the area is safe.

Chimney Safety Advice

To reduce the risk of chimney fires, follow these tips:

• Have your chimney swept at least once a year, or more frequently if you burn wood.
• Avoid burning resinous woods; use only suitable seasoned timber in solid fuel stoves.
• Do not stack fires too high and allow them to burn down well before you go to bed.
• Use a fire or spark guard to prevent embers from escaping.
• Inspect your chimney regularly—particularly in the roof space—to check for cracks or broken bricks.

For more safety tips, visit essex-fire.gov.uk/chimney.

This week we were again sweeping for the Bishop of Chelmsford and we were quite some way from home, sweeping the Vicarage at Elm Road Leytonstone and All Saints Rectory at Purleigh near Maldon. All Saints Church at Purleigh is a beautiful medieval church with striking decorative napped flint work in its imposing tower. The tower is made more imposing for the fact that it and the small village sit on top of what is a tall hill for Essex!

The church was built in the 14th century from ragstone, septaria, rubble, flint and brick. Although there was a major restoration in 1892 the chancel remains 14th century as does the stained glass in the heads of the chancel. The incumbents of Purleigh Church go back as far as 1220 when William De London was Rector. The main fabric of the church was thoroughly restored in 1892, and the tower more recently (In 1914 with American money), in the latter work being in memory of Lawrence Washington, once Rector of this parish (1633 -43) and an ancestor of the famous General George Washington.

In the churchyard there is a memorial to murdered policeman Sergeant Eves – Acting Sergeant 63 Adam Eves was posted to Purleigh in January 1891 where he lived in a cottage with his wife Elizabeth. He was popular with his residents although of course he made a number of enemies amongst the criminal classes and had been threatened with violence often in the course of his duties. Sergeant Eves was on night patrol on Saturday 15 April 1893 after which he failed to return home. During the afternoon of the following day his body was discovered in a ditch at nearby Hazeleigh Hall Farm. His body was badly mutilated, and his throat had been slashed. While Detectives investigated the murder of Sergeant Eves other Officers were investigating the theft of 13 bushels of corn from a nearby barn. Enquiries took police to the home of a local petty criminals, Richard and John Davis. There they found a handcart which contained traces of blood and corn. Three further sacks of corn were found in their garden. Charles Sales and John Batemen who were friends of the Davis brothers were also arrested. Clothes from Sales, Batemen and Richard Davis were all found to be stained with blood. Further arrests of James Ramsey and his son John were made shortly afterwards.

John and Richard Davis, Charles Sales and James Ramsey stood trial at the Assize Court at Chelmsford on 3 August 1893. James Ramsey was acquitted but John and Richard Davis were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Judge. The death sentence for Richard Davis was commuted to life imprisonment but his brother was hanged. Before his death John Davis confessed to the murder saying that Richard Davis, James Ramsey and himself were stealing the corn when surprised by Sergeant Eves. Ramsey knocked Sergeant Eves to the ground and cut his throat with a knife. Using this evidence Ramsey was arrested for theft of the corn and convicted. During the trial he implicated himself in the murder. The jury found him guilty without leaving the jury box and the Judge gave Ramsey 14 years penal servitude. The widow of Sergeant Eves received £15 per year pension which was the highest pension possible.

I had to include this stove in my weekly blog, not because it is anything unusual to look at, but because I had not come across one of these before. This is despite seeping many, many Charnwood Stoves. This is the Charnwood Cranmore 3 Wood-Burning Stove. I think Charnwood must be one of the most popular brands of stoves in the country. After doing a quick bit of research on the web I discovered the reason that I had not seen this Charnwood model before, it is because it is a brand-new stove model.

Charnwood’s website tells us that: Charnwood is delighted to announce the release of two fantastic new stoves, The Cranmore 3 & The C-Five Duo. They add to our existing range of exceptional British-made wood & multi-fuel stoves that caters to all living environments from tiny homes to country residences, townhouses and more. Charnwood is delighted to announce the release of two fantastic new stoves, The Cranmore 3 & The C-Five Duo. They add to our existing range of exceptional British-made wood & multi-fuel stoves that caters to all living environments from tiny homes to country residences, townhouses and more.

Charnwood Stoves

Bishops Way,

NewportIsle of Wight

PO30 5WS

T: 01983 537777

Technical : 01983 537799

https://www.charnwood.com/

I thought for this week’s blog I would write another one about us working. On this occasion I have chosen one of our regular biannual jobs at a thatched cottage in Radwinter. Here we are sweeping a Stovax Stockton boiler stove. By their very nature and construction, boiler stoves have a tendency to tick-over and therefore create a large quantity of crusty tar in the chimney – A job for rotary power sweeping. Rotary power sweeping being the most effective sweeping method for removing resistant tar from the chimney.

Power or rotary sweeping relies on the use of a drill to turn rod that click or button lock together and which turn very quickly – A variety of different sweeping heads can be used with power rods, including various nylon stranded heads, various metal cable/strands, brushes or even chains for cleaning tarry terracotta liners. Power sweeping is very effective for cleaning stubborn tar deposits, chimneys with tight turns, or stripping out bird’s nests. However, it should not be used on chimneys made of old soft red brick, old clay pargeted chimneys or brick chimneys that are in a poor state of repair, as it is far too vigorous a method of sweeping and would cause damage to the chimney. This said many sweeps that are out there in your area are only equipped and trained to use the power sweeping technique. Clearly, by definition such sweeps are not the real deal and are not equipped or trained to deal properly with everything that is out there – In my view all sweeps should be properly accredited and there should be a requirement for them have passed the NVQ and be on a list of nationally accredited sweeps.

I just had to include this job in my weekly blog after sweeping this Aga Little Wenlock multi-fuel stove at an address in Nosterfield End recently. This is actually an address that I have been sweeping annually for a number of years now and usually I don’t see anything like the quantity of combustion deposits coming out of the chimney as I did on this occasion. As you can see from the photograph the material swept out of the chimney nearly filled the firebox. These combustion deposits were as you can see largely comprised of crunchy, smelly tar/creosote. I questioned the customer about his current burning practices, and it transpired that he had switched from burning smokeless fuel to exclusively just burning wood. I suspect that some of this wood was probably not completely seasoned, and the stove has been burnt with not enough oxygen going into it. It just shows how such changes can radically alter what builds up in the chimney. In this instance these deposits would have presented a real risk of a chimney fire if they had not been swept out of the chimney. The customer is now going to start burning some smokeless fuel again, and switch to biannual sweeping – A very sensible move I think.

Here we are again sweeping for the Bishop of Chelmsford and we are quite some way from home, sweeping the Rectory at Rawreth. The rectory itself is a modern 1960’s house with a lined chimney. It was nice and easy to sweep with brush and rods, and not particularly dirty, so it allowed us a little time to look at the church which was just over the road.

This is an interesting church, because it was substantially rebuilt and refurnished in the early 1880s to the designs of Father Ernest Geldart who we have met before at a number of Essex churches, but most notably at the one where he was rector for many years, Little Braxted. The tower was retained along with the arcades. All the furnishings were designed by Geldart, and even the stained glass and mosaics, which were made for him as usual by the firm of Cox, Sons & Buckley.

Geldart is interesting because he used medieval forms more commonly found in non-ecclesiastical buildings to create worship spaces for extremely high Anglo-Catholic liturgy. That tradition has gone here now, but the fixtures and fittings survive – just. A few years after Geldart’s restoration the earthquake caused considerable damage, and then there was blast damage in WWII. There was a massive restoration 1986-90 which cost £75,000, but already the south chancel wall is collapsing, and the floor of the sanctuary breaking up, all the tiles coming loose. It is hard to see how they will rescue it. There are murmurings of redundancy, but I suspect that it simply isn’t a significant enough church for the CCT to take it on. Thoughts provoked, we left the narrow band of countryside and, re-entering urban sprawl, came to Wickford.