Chimney Sweeps – Victorian Child Labor. Sometimes their cold-hearted masters would light fires to spur the sweeps on to climb more quickly. A man called Lord Shaftesbury was obviously touched by the story and the spattering of public outcry that followed. A Victorian girl’s diary E x t r a c t f r o m M y S t o r y: W o r k h o us e b y P a m e l a O l d fi e l d (Sc h o l a s t i c, £ 5. ItDue to a lack of proper ventilation, coal dust was very thick in the air. You can view them yourself by Here is a list of laws and safety measures made in the 1800’s. The Durham Mining Museum website has several lists of mine disasters with names and ages of the casualties. Diary Of A Child Convict - John Hudson Kate Williams, Grade 3, Shalvey Public School Short Story 2015 13 May 1788 Dear Diary My name is John Hudson, when I was four, I was forced to work as a chimney sweep. At the factories children had no rights. There were little or no safety measures put in place in Victorian times so the occurrence of an injury and even death was not uncommon. The children often became stunted in their growth and disfigured because of the unnatural position they were frequently in before their bones had fully developed. Considering that Victorian Children would work from 12 to 18 hours a day it is easy to see how respiratory problems could arise. This set the ball rolling and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (SPCC) was created in 1891.A comprehensive Victorian Children history guide with facts and information on how the Victorian times impacted children in work, play, education and home life. 9 9 P B) This diary extract is taken from My Story: Workhouse by Pamela Old field. Victorian child labor consisted of very long working hours. Home / A Victorian Child’s Diary ‹ Return to Previous Page. And the boys were mercilessly made to work from pre-dawn hours until late at night, reportedly having only one day off per year. It was a brutal, dreary existence for Victorian child chimney sweeps. More importantly, Brewster’s death became part of an aggressive campaign. The life of a chimney sweep in Victorian times was nothing like what you see in Mary Poppins.
In Summer, I have to steal for a living. However, we will look into some of the more prevalent jobs that children did in Victorian times.The thought of using children for working the coal mines was very attractive to mining companies. The children received no wages.The health effects of doing this work were devastating. Falling wasIn 1788 a law against the use of young children under the age of eight as chimney sweeps was enacted. The child would shimmy up the flue using his back, elbows, and knees. Young boys worked as chimney sweeps in harsh conditions with no pay under their master sweep.Did you know that there’s a terrible chapter in the history of chimney sweeps? The boys would often develop Chimney Sweep Cancer, which was cancer of the scrotum which usually struck the boys in their adolescence. He proposed a new Act that would superseded the Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act of 1840.The Chimney Sweepers Act 1875 made sure that all chimney sweeps had to be registered with the police.
Their holiday was Mayday, the first day of May, or “International Labour Day.” The children celebrated by parading through streets, dancing.Gradually steps were taken to put an end to the shamelessly cruel treatment of chimney sweeps. A bill was pushed through Parliament in September 1875 which put an end to the practice of using children as human chimney sweeps in England. The medieval City of London was gutted in the fire; and afterwards, new building regulations designed to keep the city safer were put in place.
An entire wall was pulled down in an attempt to rescue the boy, but he died shortly after the rescue. Only young children could fit through the narrow spaces on the inside of the chimneys. Children who worked as sweeps rarely lived past middle age.Only young children could fit through the narrow spaces on the inside of the chimneys.The ideal age for a chimney sweep to begin working was said to be 6 years old, but sometimes they were used beginning at age 4.