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Life And Tedious Work Of The Chimney Sweepers Of Jane Austen 's England

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After reading the article by Roy Adkins on “13 Reasons Why You Wouldn’t Want to Live in Jane Austen’s England”, I have an altered idea on what life was like for people living in that time. From dodgy dentistry to spotty surgeries, times in Jane Austen’s life were much more difficult than they are today. Nonetheless, I became interested in the life and tedious work of the chimney sweepers. With how chimney sweepers of Jane Austen’s time had to sweep soot caught in the chimneys as well as battling injuries and death along the way, this is their story. All year long, coal was used to heat up water and cooking varieties of food. A build-up of soot in chimneys became apparent. This became a problem because soon the soot inside the chimneys would catch fire and the house would be engulfed in flames. Since there was no indoor plumbing and the closest water source would be a well in the garden, pump in the street, or a nearby stream, by the time you grabbed your bucket got your waterand ran to your house, there was a good chance it was gone. This is where the chimney sweepers came into effect. Small girls and boys climbed to the tops of the chimneys and cleaned with hand brushes and scrubbers until their heads popped out the top, signifying that they were done. On average it took forty-five minutes to an hour to fully clean ones chimney. Masters were in charge of the young chimney sweeper’s food and housing. Sounding easier than it really is, the chimney sweepers had bigger

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