Joe was your chimney sweep Mr Albert Williams from the village of South Newington Anne Williams ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Connell" <jfc.public@virgin.net> To: <ENG-BANBURY-AREA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2005 3:21 PM Subject: [BAN] Re: Memories of the 40s > There is nothing quite so welcoming as an open > fire. Unfortunately this brought with it the > necessity of an annual visit by Mr Williams. > Burning coal (and anything else small enough to > fit into the hearth) gradually accumulated a layer > of soot in the chimney walls. Eventually this > could ignite, with regrettable consequences. At > worst, the Fire Brigade would arrive, insert their > hose into the chimney, turn on the water, and > extinguish both fire and all pride in home > furnishings. Then present a bill for services > rendered. > > The theory of sweeping a chimney was beautifully > simple. A circular stiff brush was pushed up the > chimney from the fireplace on an extending shaft > of bamboo poles, until it emerged from the chimney > pot. Then it was pulled back down again, removing > the bulk of the soot lining the chimney walls. > > There was a minor problem – that of controlling > the soot that gravity delivered back into the > fireplace. A skilled sweep left very little mess, > charged professional prices, and took the soot > away. Mr Williams, number 53, was an enthusiast > who owned his own brushes, and left the soot for > Granddad. > > The correct procedure was to insert the first > length of bamboo with the brush head into the > chimney, and then to seal the fireplace area with > a cloth and sticky tape. The cloth had a small > centre hole, through which each bamboo length > could be attached to its predecessor, until the > small but enthusiastic assistant <ahem> reported > from the street that the brush head was visible. > > Younger readers may care to consider at this point > that vacuum cleaners were unknown in our > neighbourhood. Subsequent cleanup operations > involved woodbines, tears, screams ('never again') > and copious supplies of hot water from the geyser. > Fortunately, fitted carpets were equally unknown > and linoleum was easily washed -- the walls > provided rather more of a problem. > > Ironically, genealogy has since shown that my male > Coates ancestors were all Master Sweeps; the > female members being umbrella makers. Now my > mother’s tears can be understood. > > > -- > Smokey > > Confirmed virus free by Norton 2005 before > transmission with Mozilla Thunderbird > > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx >