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Chimney Sweeps

S

sylviasayers

master brummie
One of things we don't have today is the chimney sweep. We used to have Ronnie Gray's father, they lived in Barton Street, and because of my
mother's fear of fire, we used to have ours done about twice a year. What
a palaver - we had to cover everything up and Mr. Gray used to come early in the morning and connect his poles with a large brush on the end
and we would go outside and let him know when the brush had come through the top of the chimney. My dad used to put the soot on the garden I don't know whether it was supposed to be good for soil. In later
years came the vacuum sweep, but we always had the old fashioned way.
 
Seems like only yesterday that my mother was yelling her head off because a big lump of soot had come down the chimney and just covered the parlour....It is nice to remember the chimney sweeper and his funny brooms on his bike. Wonder how much it would cost to have your chimney swept nowadays? Does anyone know why if a bride saw a chimney sweep on the way to her wedding it was supposed to bring them luck?
 
Hello,
My husband Marc was born in Solihull in the 1960's, we no longer live in the birmingham area - but guess what we run a chimney sweeping business ! yes, you still have to go outside and look up at the chimney pot to see the brush.
Yes, it is good luck for a chimney sweep to attend weddings -we have a formal sweeps outfit in the wardrobe complete with old fashioned black top hat!
In answer to the question what do they charge these days -we charge £20 to £25 per chimney

"Good Luck to you all "

Best Wishes,
Margaret Sheridan

" Sheridan Sweeping Services" North Wales
 
Thanks for that Margaret. It would be great if you could take the chimney sweep outfit out of the wardrobe and get your old man to put it on and take a picture for us all and for posterity!!! :lol: Joy
 
Sylvia The Copesticks were a family of chimney sweeps.Samuel was the first one to sweep the chimney of the town hall/council house in Birmingham
 
I can honestly say that on our way to our wedding at the local church nearly 47 years ago we passed both a chimney sweep AND a black cat. That was in Berlin, where both partners went together to the church, which was rather nice really. It was as we passed the sweep I asked the driver to take us round the traffic island twice (we were a bit early, you see), and that's when we saw the black cat.
Incidentally, chimneys are built very differently there, and every roof has a catwalk up to the chimney, and your Sweep pushes downwards, and there is, or was, a kind of sump at the bottom which the soot and stuff fell into - it is his job to empty that afterwards. The main flue is quite big, and used to have a lot of branches from individual heating stoves in every room, which residents cleaned themselves, pushing the muck into the afore-mentioned sump.
Peter
 
My great grandfather was a chimney sweep, Samuel Fowler and his father before him, there was quite a few of the Fowler family who was sweeps, living around Tennant St, Cregoe Street & Essington Street. One of the sons of Samuel who was a chimney sweep like his dad actually used to turn up at weddings in his sweep clothes as it was good luck.
 
My chimney sweep lives in Torquay. We call him over to us a couple of times a year to do both chimneys. To save costs he usually fits us in when in our area. Even if we have not had many fires in one of our grates we still have it swept as gulls - and sometimes other large birds - tend to nest or drop things down the flues.
Safety first they say! ;)
 
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Angela H 1976 said:
My great grandfather was a chimney sweep, Samuel Fowler and his father before him, there was quite a few of the Fowler family who was sweeps, living around Tennant St, Cregoe Street & Essington Street. One of the sons of Samuel who was a chimney sweep like his dad actually used to turn up at weddings in his sweep clothes as it was good luck.
Click to expand...

our chimney sweep was mr beech who lived just up from us in villa st...

angela i think there is a thread for cregoe st with photos on...my gt grandparents lived there..

lyn
 
Our chimmney sweep was a mr Bonna Holland from 245 kingedwards road ladywood
He was our rignt next door Neibour we was 243 kingedwards Road our back gates
Was virualy together we had a entry there was only two of us together
And he used to do is rounds on a Butchers bike the one you had a Basket Holder
On the front but it was sacks He Carried with his Brushes and he was doing most of ladywood
And around the area he had tons of sacks stacked up at the top of the yard
He used to have a lorry to come and pick up these sacks as he sold the sutt to a company
But he used to bring alot to our old allotments and his own down on
Holford road perry barr which is still there today
As he worked shifts at great king street Lucas,s he had a accident there,that
Crippled him and wheel chair bound for life so he bought the pub for his daughter
Off watty Greens the cross Keys in stewards street as he was a good old customer
And a close friend to Watty and he drank alot in the Colledge Arms springhill
And he kept pigeons champion pigeons that won him hundreds of pounds
 
angela i have just looked and i cant see a thread for cregoe st...i am quite busy tomorrow all day so on the evening i will start a thread and post what photos i have...

lyn
 
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