One of the King’s rewards was to invite the chimney sweep to his daughter’s wedding. The legend is also told that in about 1066 King William of Britain was rescued from sure death by a chimney sweep that pushed him out of the way of an oncoming horse and carriage. Chimney sweeps have been a symbol of good luck for centuries and one reason was because coal used to be burned instead of firewood, the need for cleaner air became critical, and chimney sweeps met that need. A young woman who had promised to wed another man pulled the chimney sweep to safety, and they fell in love and eventually got married.
A chimney sweep tumbled off a roof, but rather than falling to the ground, he hung upside down because his foot got caught on the gutter. One legend says that this superstition got its start because of a love story. But here we look at the top five bits of chimney trivia on the bright side.ĭid you know that in parts of the world it has long been considered good luck to see a chimney sweep on your wedding day? It’s even more fortunate to shake the hand of a chimney sweep or for the bride to be kissed by a sweep on the wedding day. Chimney sweeps have been symbols of good luck for centuries, but why? And what does that have to do with pigs? What invention replaced the use of climbing boys to clean chimneys? The history of chimney sweeps is varied and, unfortunately, there are skeletons in the closet. Today, sweeps are as hardworking as ever-and needed just as urgently! Remember to get your yearly chimney inspection with the help of Brick + Ember Outfitters in Nashville. What we do know is that the hats were not only practical, helping brush soot off the walls of the chimneys, but they were also a source of pride and respect for the hard-working sweeps. Maybe one or both of these legends are true, maybe not. Thankful for the help, the King claimed that sweeps would be considered lucky from then on, granting him the special privilege of wearing the symbol of the gentry: a top hat. The horse was startled and would have kicked about dangerously if it wasn’t for a chimney sweep who grabbed the reins. A gift from royaltyĭuring the 1700s, King George was riding along on his horse when he came upon a barking dog. To help raise both their status and their morale, they gave them the extra top hats that would have otherwise been disposed of. This story says that beginning in the 17th century, funeral directors would take pity on these poor children being forced to crawl up chimneys. People made chimneys smaller, and the noble sweep helped maintain these chimneys.īut how were they to fit up these tight spaces in order to clear out the soot? Soon the practice of using children for the job was commonplace. The Great Fire of London in 1666 spurred some changes to chimney construction and keep-up. People soon realized that the build-up of soot and creosote was causing dangerous chimney fires. However, smoke turned out to be just one of a few concerns. Specifically, the chimney was invented so that people could enjoy warm fires with inhaling all that smoke the smoke to escape from the top of the building. History of the chimneyīack when cities started modernizing and urbanization was an ever-crawling phenomenon, the development of two-story homes changed the way we stayed warm forever. Although not as common anymore, the image persists. Why dress up to clean up? There are many legends behind the reason chimney sweeps wear top hats. But before Bert and his well known cap, the chimney sweeps wore traditional black, a classic top hat, and maybe even tails. When thinking of a chimney sweep, we instantly picture Mary Poppins’ right hand man, Bert.
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