What It Was Like to Be a Chimney Sweeper In the Victorian Era
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
- 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 - Розваги
I can’t even contemplate the mindset of the adults involved in treating children like this
if i’m not mistaken, during the victorian era adults believed that children were just tiny adults - so when industrialization took off, they justified putting children to work 😬 but i agree, it’s so insane to see people do this to kids :( it’s such a weird thought process and so horrible
God save the queeeeeen
Republican politicians would gladly allow this to happen if it they could get away with it
@@M123Xoxo for fucksake, can u people stop bringing politics into everything. jesus christ.
You can find people as vile easily today. Go anywhere in the third world and look carefully for a while and you'll find them anywhere capitalism proliferates
The fates of the child chimney serious is so horrifically sad. Poor babies.
"Poor babies." That seriously sounds sarcastically mocking.
@@ARedMotorcycle 4 years of age, yeah, I’d say they were babies. Calm yer ham son🙄
Darren Morton no, four is a toddler. Most were just work shy.
The benefit of toddlers is that you can pull them through narrower chimneys.
How many orphans from 3rd world countries have you adopted?
Makes me rethink that whole Chim-Chiminey bit from 'Mary Poppins.'
Me too!!
Omg sameee!
🎶 *Chim chim chimney chim chimney chim chim cher-ee a sweep is as lucky as lucky can be Chim chimney chim chim cher-oo good luck will rub off when I shakes hands with you* 🎶
Same
@@Angel_Of-Death Yeah, cancer will rub off when I shake hands with you! LOL
Classic re-writing history...
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.
sadly it does not matter in modern days given their skin color was not the one "opressed"
What about the children who are killed in the womb?
Do modern chimney sweeps have the same bad working conditions?
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
Boy, isn't that the truth..🤔.. Lottery of Birth.. It really is.. Ive been poor my whole life and have never had much.. Luck of the draw..😞..
@@baldguy3960 Well said
You hit the nail on the head!
People treat animals better than humans. Most likely since people get burned by other people there is constant distrust in other humans. So we gravitate towards animals since most domesticated animals will have loyalty. However, in the wild it’s kill or be killed. Double edge sword.
You’re so right! It’s unbelievable and it’s so sad. And the fact that this is still the best time to be alive in human history and we still have so much suffering in the world! You think about it for too long and it becomes so overwhelming and heartbreaking 😢💔
Couldn’t have said the truth any better
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....
Chim Chim Cheree. This is where the "romance" came from.
ua-cam.com/video/t-7uqRxkKg8/v-deo.html
@@Kdschaak No. You're quite wrong. Here's the link that actually explains it ua-cam.com/video/dQw4w9WgXcQ/v-deo.html
@@Kdschaak Maybe so, but as a six-year-old child I was appalled at the soot on the face and the idea of climbing into a chimney. Santa Claus taught me that parents sometimes lie, Mary Poppins taught me that films sometimes lie.
No we had no idea.... its not Victorian times they actually didn't know.
@@ScoobyShotU Anyone who has breathed soot knows it is a bad thing to do, and seeing what happens to someone who breathes it for years knows that they should not breath soot. They knew.
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
I was thinking we should find their graves and take care of them to make their death better than their life. It's very sad.
@@kristinamitchell716 These children didn't even get a grave, atleast not of stone.
The single thought of being in a freaking CHIMNEY gives me nothing short of nightmares. Poor, poor children 😞
"no kid would be forced into a chimney"
But factories had lots of jobs for kids.
Still do.
savage lol
Did they stick pins in their feet?
@MrLewizz nope. happens in many more countries
I call BS
But fires would be lit under their ass'
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.
Really how old are you lol
@@Nighterlev yeah exactly does not make sense unless he lives in a 3rd world country chimney sweeping died out long before he was born
@@Nighterlev lol just assumed that everyone had indoor heating if they owned a house only houses I've seen that had that were houses that were built a long time ago any modern house doesn't
@@Nighterlev yeah guess so never seen a modern house with a chimney where I live at least but guess they do still exist especially for houses that are in colder climates also what indoor heating do you use im talking about stuff like a ac or something that has a heating options those vents never get clean and it works fine
Yes a far cry indeed.....
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.
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!
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?
@@billbaggans1799 he definitely didn't think of putting a brain in your head
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They "deserved" it by being poor sadly.
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.
Child coal miners had it pretty bad as well. Labor laws at the time allowed children to be apprenticed or paid far less than adults hence greedy corporate overlords would hire children over adults wherever they could. Often parents stayed at home while sending the children to work.
Thank goodness there are still some innocent left in this world, if only this were the most horrifying thing I have ever heard, seen or dealt with, unfortunately most child labour in those days was horrifying, look up child labour in the cotton mills, child miners etc etc ect, or probably not
But there are children kidnapped, hooked onto drugs and trained to be soldiers today.
@@jayceewedmak9524 Drug addiction has plagued humanity since the creation of alcohol. There is just more to choose from now. Children being used as soldiers is not common on a global scale.
@@garretth8224 um, not sure of point you're trying to make, sorry. I was trying to point out that there are still horrific things happening today if what happened 100 years ago were worth feeling bad about. We could stop what's happening now if we feel bad enough. Take care 🙂
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
I paused the video to read your comment. It was very interesting. Thank you.
I want to pay my respects to your grandfather and your story. Sobering
The faces of these boys in the photos 😭. What a brutal and torturous life, It’s incomprehensible.
This was a cruel & unusual punishment just for being a kid.
It hurts just thinking of their horror. 😱
I know. I feel the same way
British kids where put through worse in work houses. Child deaths are through the roof.
to think that I used to complain to my parents for not getting me a computer in the 90s...
After hours of cleaning dirty chimneys, how did Bert & Co. even have the energy to sing and dance?
K E T A M I N E
Disney magic!
The show must go on!
@@DamonNomad82 Disney is the darkest company ever.
Watching this honestly made me feel so sick, dying in a hot, claustrophobic and literally toxic place is a nightmare
I have heard of chimney sweepers before, however the details of the work and how horrific and dangerous it was are shocking ..
I can’t be the only one who had several small panic attacks during this video.
Not...at..all...
No.. me too
Yes and every time I thought "wow, this can't possibly get any worse" uhh, yep, it did.
And some morron will say 2020 is the worst year ! Try to live back then and do this kind of job you stupid f*** !!
and that’s on claustrophobia 🥰
I was a chimney sweep for a few years. My husband and I worked together. It got me through college! But it was dirty work, & I often came to class with soot in my hair. It's a good skill to have, along with the others I've acquired thru life. But I am very very grateful for the invention of the Shop-Vac LOL!😂
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing Cathrine :)
You'd go to work Cathrine White and come home Catheine Black...
@@Demonmixer ahhaahaa I see what you did there!🤓😂
@@AdamMendoza007 you're welcome! It's not a common profession anymore, but wood stoves don't need electricity! It is definitely not a job for those with a fear of heights 😯
I always tell my World History students that history ought to teach us gratitude.
'The image of the Victorian child chimney sweep is indelibly romantic'.
Thought no one EVER!
I don't think romantic means what you think it means
Bro, this is literally too sad for me to even finish.
It was the music huh
I almost became sick while listening
Same
same :(
@@claysoggyfries that didn’t help, but it was more or less the fact that I have 3 children and I couldn’t help but imagine them crawling through ducts covered in soot that they couldn’t even see through, and inevitably dying.
‘Twas a little too harsh for me lol
This is heartbreaking. Those poor little boys 😢
Jesus!😳 I was not prepared for how horrific this video would be to watch. This is something I won’t forget the rest of my life. I feel profoundly disturbed, and I’ve seen plenty of shocking and gruesome videos but the cruelty and brutality of this is beyond the pale..
Wow. As a current chimney sweep, it's amazing what went on back then. We've come a long way as a profession.
And I believed Santa Claus can fit down our house's chimney
Our house doesn't even have a chimney
@@brianscalabrine2225 lmao same 😂😭
My parents told me santa could magically squeeze threw the keyhole because we didn't have a chimney... I believed it and never second guessed that comment.
@@brianscalabrine2225 Thank god for Electric heat lol
@@charlieirvin5423 that sent santa to bankruptcy XD
That feeling you get when you realize you are the dimmest child in your family and the chimney man come a knocking
It's unbelievable how children were treated.
"Hey why don't we just make a brush with a really long handle?"
"Nah, just send a toddler up there, fuck it"
There's actually a parade to celebrate/member the child chimney sweepers at northern italy every year (not 2020 tho cause of covid)
Our work these days consist of fireplace and chimneys cleaning and checking that they are safe to use.
Usually chimney sweapers also clean central air systems (atleast here in Finland)
I used to be a chimney sweep. Thankfully with modern technology. It’s still a dirty job though. The people who would do this to a child will burn in hell.
The general consensus in the Victorian era was that children are essentially adults in a smaller package and therefore can be treated accordingly. Fortunately, those who subscribe to that belief are few and far between in the 21st Century.
It is fun, considering how religious they were.
"Taskmasters would buy kids from their families, and the young sweeps would often suffer stunted growth."
Maybe that was an inspiration for the characters of the Comprachicos featured in Victor Hugo's novel, "The Man Who Laughs". As their name suggests--"Comprachicos" means "Child buyers" in Spanish--they buy kids from orphanages and poor families. Then they disfigure the kids in various ways and sell them as pages and servants to the aristocracy. The book's main character, Gwynplaine, was a victim of the Comprachicos as a boy, his mouth sliced ear-to-ear into a Glasgow smile. And it's later revealed his mutilation was motivated by politics: Gwynplaine's father was a nobleman who spoke up for the people and, after he died in exile, the king ordered for young Gwynplaine to be sold to the Comprachicos and given the smile "to forever laugh at his foolish father".
Never cried on a video made by weird history.. untill this one. I usually watch these videos before sleeping but I don't think I'll be sleeping after this. So sick and heartbreaking.
There is a cute tradition in some counties where you see a Chimney sweep you offer them a drink then give a pull on one of their buttons for good luck..
Are you saying this still happens in other countries?
@@saviontv5416 he means in the UK since the country is divided up by counties much like the United States.
For all I know it does but that's not what he's referencing
"Chim Chiminey Chim Chiminey Chim Chim Cheree,
A Sweep is as lucky as lucky can be!"
Said no real chimney sweep ever!
*old chimney sweep.
modern chimney sweeps make good cash and its relatively safe
There was sarcasm in that song.
If you think this was bad, in Switzerland until the 1960s children were used by farmers as slave workers.... and they didn't have to pay for it like a slave, since the State offered them a monthly allowance to "take care of the children". Yeah, just google "Verdingkinder" if you want to know the details.
Kids were just an extra pair of hands that had no say.
Thank you for the reference. I will expand my knowledge on these matters.
That was horrific and heart-breaking. I had no idea it was that bad.
*pooping
Notification: what was it like being a chimney sweep during the Victorian age.
I think I will watch.
😆😆😆😆 I even got the little elevated foot rest in front my toilet. I need a bidet 😂😂
I'm sure you're a nice person... however, I'm not sure I want to hear about your thoughts and deeds whilst growing a tail.
@@geoffsecombe growing a tail made me both smirk and cringe at the same time lol
I couldn't imagine my son going thru this just knowing what they went they was scary and heartwrenching
I'll never let another person say "light a fire under him" ever again.
sounds like you got a fire lit under you.
Lighting a short fire can start an updraft which can continue to pull fresh air through the chimney and blow the soot upwards from where you are brushing....so it's not necessarily a malicious act.
@@enemysub9057 unless small fingers were too slip....
Early chimneys were so dangerous, they didn’t realize how combustible the soot was and caused a lot of deaths and damaged.
Another great video in the can! Thank you!
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Ok I have seen this channel for months and encountered all sorts of terrifying things but this has to top the list !!! Because when I think about Victorian London I just think about the rows of chimneys and now I know about this !
Can you do a video on what life was like as an ancient Japanese peasant? Thanks for the amazing content : )
I really like this guy's voice *LMFAO*
*SIMP*
@@mrtophat2543 bruh, simp is the most wrongly used Word ever
@@theycallmedonjuan5430 dude it just a joke
You must be referring to his accent 🤣
Me too! Looked all over the net who narates these videos
Wealthy employers who treat their workers like this make me lose faith in humanity.
@@Dan-zt7uj Does it really bother you that much.
Why do you think their masters were wealthy? It is much easier to make a poor person to do horrible deeds to others, especially the deeds they got done to as well. I guess the wealthy ones were one or two hierarchical levels higher and the masters of the child sweepers probably were former sweepers as well.
Most masters were poor themselves. You think wealthy people would want to climb up and down homes getting sooty all day for little pay?
I love your content!! So glad I found this channel. Thank you!
I just love this channel. Very good content. And I've said it before. The narrator is gold. Thx guys!
I feel bad for these children
Oh this'll be damn interesting *edit* Completely forgot how horrifying this was
This was excruciatingly sad to watch. Imagine being one of those kids 🥺🥺🥺
Or knowing one of those poor babies.
They had machines that could clean chimneys for half a century before they outright banned the use of child labor to do so?!?
thanks for the awesome episode its so great
I have really young brothers and it’s so hard to watch this and imagine them having to do this. It’s like if I imagine it I can see it happening in real time. Their poor little souls, I hope there’s a special place after death for all the children that suffered in life. I’m not crying.
Great telling of the history of the profession. I'm a certified CSIA Chimney Sweep, and boy have things changed over the years.
Watching this makes me appreciate how easy I have had it growing up in the 20th and 21st centuries.
I don’t want to hear ANYONE complaining about their jobs after this.
Thanks for another great video, Weird History!
Maybe back then there were also past jobs that were awful and so they told these kids to not complain... I think it makes most sense to continue fighting for better working conditions
There was a novel "Die schwarzen Brüder (The Black Brothers)" that revolves around children chimney sweeps. Later on the book was adapted into an anime "Romeo's Blue Skies". This is where I first learned about child chimney sweeps. Children sold for force labors under cruel masters, with very terrible payment... how terrrible this era is for the young ones
wow this is the first time I've cried watching one of your episodes! so... thanks for that
Child labor is such a good topic, keep it up weird history
Oliver Twist is the story of a parish child sold as a chimney sweep
@Mango Roxx you are right 🤭
Eh? Oliver Twist was sold to an undertaker.
@@theradgegadgie6352 yeah...I know I mistyped 🤪😲😊😆
Oliver Twist was supposed to be sold as a chimney sweep. He begged the Board of the workhouse so desperately not to be subjected to that horror, that they relented and let him be apprenticed to the undertaker instead. Not that things were that great for Oliver there, either...
@@DamonNomad82 Yup...and I completely forgot that and convinced myself the story was centred around the chimney sweep....would have gotten marks off a lit exam for that!!!
Would like to see a link to weird history merch!
coming soon
Yeah this just made my day! Thanks!
Thank you, Doc Mitchell, for informing me about things I didn't know
This was a great idea. Weird history. I like it!
Oh to be a chimney sweeper in the victorian era
*such a lovely and excitingly creative time to be alive...nearly everything you came in contact with or consumed wanted to kill you...it was if they imported a tiny chunk of Australia from across the oceans and plopped it down right over where London once stood*
Seriously though... makes me sad I can’t
This is awful!!! I can’t believe how disgusting these people were- grown adults treating children as slaves!! Shame on them! Those poor little babies- God I feel so terrible for what those little angels went through 😢💔 How I wish there was a way they could’ve been rescued. This is so upsetting.
Love this channel
This is the best channel on UA-cam
I can barely watch this. My adrenaline is pumping so hard.
I can't imagine lighting a fire under the chimney so that kid can climp up faster.
Then watch something else.
It’s so disturbing 😞
Adrenaline like sudden superhuman strength? Just watch the vid while weightlifting, problem solved.
Settle down Karen, it was 150 years ago.
"They bought children from their parents. How horrible."
***Laughs in FoxConn***
This makes me think you have an article in mind about child labor in China. Care to share?
@@sierrasouthwell9237
www.extremetech.com/extreme/306909-report-china-sells-minorities-into-forced-labor-to-benefit-apple-foxconn-others
www.cbsnews.com/news/foxconn-faces-allegations-of-forced-student-labor/
And there are a lot of sick parents out there today forcing their children to make UA-cam videos to hopefully make the parents rich, and for their child to be the next big "influencer". We are as bad, if not worse, than the Victorians.
@@chrysiarose apple and oranges.
@@chrysiarose you have got to be kidding in comparing those things.
Great choice with the Night on Bald Mountain intro. Still my faveourite piece I've played
Love your work and videos 💕! Can you (please) do "Weird Facts about Peter the Great" someday? Thanks! ✨
I had nightmares when I read about this as a child. Just heartbreaking
I'd like to know about what terrible secrets are behind the infamous lawn gnome.
I bet you it is a dark, nefarious, Occultist, Illuminati, New World Order history behind those things! Maybe... *looking over shoulder* *eyes wide* EVEN "Alien..."
My sweet nephew is four. I want to cry just thinking of boys like him going through such a horrible thing.
Ah, the good old days. Times of innocence. The value of hard work. These days kids are just glued to their phones.
I love these videos
Can u make a video on Prostitution throughout history (pay, job description, evolution of the job, pros and cons, what they did with their children etc.) This is a really fascinating topic, slightly taboo but i think it will be well enjoyed by subs :) Thanks love ur channel !!
Yes, subs typically enjoy prostitution.
@@RockandrollNegro hahahahaha Hahahah 😂 I love this channel haha
As a modern day chimney sweep - it's honest work and it pays. It's hard work. I learned a lot as a chimney sweep. However, diagnosed with cancer at 22 I am more than a little over it.
I hope you are now healed and recovered.
love this could u please do the life of lady jane grey !!
I'm a trained registered chimney sweep and whilst in my early training days we were told of a story where a young boy got stuck and the master lit a fire to kill him quick. His screams could be heard for up to 2 miles away 😢 There was an old Victorian boy discovered in an estate house chimney, he was completely intact 'basically mummified with soot/tar and still with his brush at his knees. By appointment to the owner he now has a headstone on the chimney.
Wtf😵
For those not in the know, Oliver Twist was nearly sold to a Chimney Sweeper by the Workhouse Committee & the book The Water Babies features a boy Chimney Sweep named Tom (no known surname).
Joseph Glass not even considering a patent for the tool that prevented many children from losing their lives shows that even in the age of industrialization… people could still be kind and moral. I’ll have a toast to you Mr Glass.
Interesting story! My boyfriend is a chimney sweeper and I am glad, that safety is the most important thing in his work nowadays.
Could you please make a video about my personal hero, Ludwig Albert Schweitzer? Thank you!!
You should make a video about tge 1755 Lisbon Earthquake
My god. This is so disturbing and heartbreaking.
I am a chimney sweep! Well we own a full service chimney restoration company (everythingchimney.com) but it’s really cool to see this on UA-cam! Good job man
Not relevant to Victorian era children but I would like to see videos about US natural disaster (like hurricane Katrina) or other natural disasters and how they changed history. I love your channel keep up the great work!
I was a child chimney sweep back in my youth, thruppence a day pay, and all the freshly squeezed milk we could drink. I used ride the trolley all the way down from St Swivens to hazelbrook farm and I’d collect the curd and carry it all back on a wheelbarrow with a square wheel. No fancy round wheels in them days like they have today.
Wow where’s a coal mine where is safe 😜
Oliver Twist Chimney Sweep Vampire Hunter. Fanfic writers get on that ASAP.
Very good idea..
*chimneys being the portal/gateway into a blood thirsty zombie realm and the overseers sacrificing these sweepers to obtain immortality*
Those 3 things are my most favourite things in the entire world 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 oh my gosh YESSSSS
@@scottmantooth8785 thats what i am thinking right now.. It would be great to be Fanfic story
We used to live in an old farmhouse in rural Oxfordshire. There was a massive inglenook fireplace in the kitchen, you could stand in the fireplace and if you looked up, you could see all the footholds up the chimney for a boy to climb up.
My knowledge is that it was rather enjoyable as they like to break out into Flash Dance mobs or back then, they were called Musicals.
Please do the iriquois conference
Oh my god this is extremly sad 😱😭🤯
My friend and I are actual chimney sweeps xD Haha so we know what its like. This was a very interesting video and thank you for doing this topic.
"Coal" hearted. I love your videos.