Appreciation post: a 1902 report said London had about 1,000 sweeps left, down from way more

Terry Kelly · 2026-11-01T09:05:05.224403+00:00

I was poking around an old trade history site and found a line from a 1902 London health report saying the city was down to around 1,000 working sweeps. Blew me away, since a century before that it was a whole army of climbing boys. My granddad learned this trade from a guy who still kept a hand brush in his van just in case, and hearing how fast the job shrank makes me wonder what our count looks like now. Any of you old timers know what the sweep numbers were like in your area back in the 70s?

🎙️Chatter Central

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Appreciation post: a 1902 report said London had about 1,000 sweeps left, down from way more | Chimney Sweeps - Chatter Central