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The chimney sweep

terryb18

terryb18

Gone but not forgotten R.I.P.
When I was a nipper and the chimney sweep came, I used to sit and watch him cover the hearth with a cloth and then he would start pushing the brushes up the chimney, then he would say to me "go and see if you can see the brush sticking out the chimney" I would run outside and obviously the brush would be showing bobbing up and down, I would run back in and shout " I can see it" and he would say "good, I can start sweeping now". I was so proud because I thought I had done a most important job :).
Thinking back now, how often would you need a chimney sweep?

Terry
 
Terry,

You have just touched a corner of this old brain, and brought it back to life.

I too, would run outside to see if the brush had appeared out of the chimney. When I was very young, I vaguely remember my parents having the chimney swept just before Christmas. Father Christmas will not go down dirty chimneys, I was told. Of course, I believed it.

Eddie.
 
Our sweep could do a bit of ventriloquism and would throw his voice up the chimney, having us kids thinking we where talking to Father Christmas's helper talking orders for what we wanted.
 
Better than that, I can remember going into the back garden and watched as flames shot out of the top of the chimney when we had a chimney fire.
Luckily it was brought under control by Dad and older brothers so all was OK.
But, yes, I watched every time we had the flue swept.
 
My Dad was a chimney sweep and would need the sight of the brush out of the top as it indicated he had enough rods attached. As to how often coal fires meant chimneys need sweeping at least once a year. When wood was burned it could (or should) have been more often as they produced a tarry soot that was more liable to catch fire. I occasionally helped my Dad but cannot recall him ever sweeping the chimneys at home as he preferred to light a piece of paper and let the draught carry it up the chimney to set the soot on fire. He would always have a damp sack to stuff up the chimney to starve the fire of oxygen if it got too bad,
 
I remember draping old sheets on the furniture in case there was a fall of soot. A brick came loose one time.
When I married the second time, Mom rented a "sweepagram". He arrived at the Register Office on his bike with proper sweep-brushes, he wasn't as dirty as I remember though! I had to kiss him for luck!
rosie.
 
My dad always swept our chimney always on a Saturday morning. like so many others mom would cover the furniture to protect from any soot dust....then it was a good spring clean regardless what time of the year it was.....l was married Nov 3rd 1956 and l remember that morning l saw a chimney sweep and a black cat crossed my path so l started of with a lot of good luck and l guess these passed 58 years hav'nt been to bad.....Brenda
 
We had our chimney flue swept a couple of weeks ago, have it done every year. My friend has never had her chimney swept and she's lived in the house over thirty years. Our chimney caught fire in 1950s I remember the fire brigade had to come. I seem to remember you could be fined if you didn't have yours swept and I was reading recently that your house insurance could be void if you don't have it swept. Not so messy now though. Anne
 
Soot from our house chimneys was saved to line the spade hole made for planting potatoes. This acted as a deterrent to slug attack.
 
Thanks Alan, I will ask him next time. Asked my husband who is a keen gardener and he says he has heard soot is good for the garden, regards Anne
 
I could never work out whether the sweep sent me outside because he wanted to get rid of me or what. I was always asking questions, like "what ya doin", "whats that for", "whats this for"."why ya doin' that". Thinking about it, he wanted rid.
 
When you think about it, one coal fire to heat a three bedroom flat. Waking up to frost on the windows Brrrr. Fortunately, my bedroom was the other side of the wall where the fire was, I used to snuggle up to the warm wall. Nowadays people in this country think they are hard done by if they have no central heating but, hey, we survived and are probably stronger for it. Do you agree? x
 
Soot is excellent for the garden. Dad used to save it up until he had lorry load and a company in Evesham used to send a lorry for it. Be cautious though as fresh Soot will kill anything it touches it has to be kept awhile. Dad managed to turn our clay soil into a really good soil with Soot.

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Hi Bernard
Yes you are quite correct in what you are saying because we lived next door to the local chimney sweep
Whom was the main man for sweeping the houses around our particular area in ladywood and he used to do the same
He would stock pile his soot accumulation by the sacks full and stock pile every two weeks they would pick up his sacks in a lorry
He was also the number one top flight pigeion flyer for the local and nationional
And along time friends with watty green
The chimney swep was called bonna. Lived in kingedwards road but between is rounds he worked for Lucas,a in grt. King. Street
Until on evening at work he fell from a ladder he got compo, for his accident but he became wheel chair bound
And as he was great friends with watty and his family and its is local just as much as the college arms spring hill
Where quite often you would see his butchers bike and rods for the chimneys parked out side the front doors
They was a well known family and very middle class people but not stuck up when my father died his wife helped my mother to get through his death
I was also friends with there sons from a very early aged Billy and Philip they had an older brother called Johnny Holland
Whom was a fanic fans of Mario lansor john could sing like him as well
But getting back on course he had the biggest allotment down holdford drive perry Barr he owne lost of the plotts
And he used the sutt there on his plants they grew giants and everybody wanted his soot so did we had a plot as well there
Old bona wattys long time friend bought the cross keys pub from watty with his money from the accident for his daughter and his son in law Ron
But after awhile they moved on for some reason or another
Kathy and Ron used to be care takers of flats down at Salford reservoir by Aston hall hall red before taking on the cross keys steward street Ladywood
Best wishes Alan,,,,,, Astonian,,,,,,,,
 
Hi terry
Well I think the real reason was not because you are asking questions but when we was in the slums of aston
After the war our old man of a chimney sweep whom was the local and not meaning my dad would sacked one of us my brothers or myself as kids
Stand outside and shout when we seen the brush pop out of the chimney then he would bring it back down with a ton of soot
With it and by golly it was a mess all over even thou he had a sack across the chimney breast ,
So you see I reckon thazts why he wanted you out of the way best wishes Astonian,,,,,,
 
My dad used to save some of the soot he had scrapped down the chimney for the garden and along with that and the droppings of the milk mans horse (co-op) we always had a good garden ..dad used to grow the best rhubarb along with tomatos he even would make compost of potato peelings and any other scraps.....waste not want not...brenda
 
I seem to remember trying to clean the chimney ourselves using something call the little imp, you lit it in the empty grate and put the blower up to block the opening, not sure how or if it worked though.
 
Many years ago, when folks had to make the best of what they had, the chimneys of old stone houses were swept using the 'fuzz brush'. This brush was, in fact, a large piece of gorse bush which was pulled up and down the flue. Ah! Those were the days.
 
I remember reading that at one time, to save the expense of a chimney sweep, people would drop a live hen down their chimney.
Cruel, by today's standards, I imagine but I bet it was effective !
 
I remember the "Chimney Sweep", being a fairly important chap when I was young, we would all help our dad clear the room moving everything from the mantle area, push all furniture to the back wall, and take up what bit of rugs we had, the sweep would cover the fireplace area in a grubby white sheet and using a wooden board with a hole in it, and when he arrived we kids would rush outside to see who spotted the brush emerging from the pot first. Mom would make a cup of tay, and dad would stand gossiping. We kids knew that winter was on the way, (and of course Christmas was that bit nearer) and though expensive for our family then, we had him come each year, and I never remember a chimney fire as a kid. There were many where I lived though.Paul
 
Dad used to have a tot of whisky with his tea and at this time of year he carried a small flask shaped bottle to slip the excess into. Didn't matter which spirit it still went in. Once close to Christmas I had collect him as he was to far gone to drive. We lived in Billesley and he was in Knowle

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maypolebaz said:
I remember reading that at one time, to save the expense of a chimney sweep, people would drop a live hen down their chimney.
Cruel, by today's standards, I imagine but I bet it was effective !
Click to expand...
I always have a bit of a chuckle when I read this post. Sounds like a cock and bull story to me. Was the hen told it was going to a hen party? It must have thought it was an eggscellent idea but it would have ruffled a few feathers if it arrived unexpected. Please cry foul if you find this unbearable. There are no yokes like the old yokes. Dave.
 
Oooh FarmerDave, what are you like? Might save myself £60 next year and put greedy Gertie down the chimney. She's the one who comes running when I go outside. So funny to see her running as fast as she can to get to the food first. Just gave them the leftover Sunday dinner What do you farm?
 
Not one I would have believed myself to be honest. I had heard of Furze being dragged down a chimney by a heavy weight to clean a chimney but feel a straight chimney only.

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