Penny Dreadful: The Chimney Boy
The Great Fire of London and Chimney Boys
After the Great Fire of London in 1666, when building regulations were put in place and the design of chimneys was altered. The new chimneys were often angular and narrow, and the usual dimension of the flue in domestic properties was 9 inches by 14 inches.
The master sweep was unable to climb into such small spaces himself and employed climbing boys to go up the chimneys to dislodge the soot.
THE MASTER SWEEPS
In Great Britain, the master sweeps took apprentices, typically workhouse or orphan boys, and trained them to climb chimneys. The boys got no wages but lived with the master who fed them. They slept together on the floor or in the cellar,
When they first started, chimney boys scraped their knees and elbows, so the master sweeps would harden their skin by standing them close to a hot fire and rubbing in strong brine using a brush. This was done each evening until the skin hardened. The young climbing boys were pushed into those tiny spaces and picked with pins or scorched with fire that made them climb.
Climbing Chimneys
The chimneys of London houses were narrow and twisted. Boys as young as four climbed hot flues that could be narrow as 9 inches square. Some died of suffocation. Many suffered cancer. Others grew deformed.
Parade at the Bartholomew Fair
On the Bartholomew Fair, they were painted with milk and hair-powder to look lily-white and paraded through the city.
