A Step In Time Chimney Sweeps

  Chimneys are a staple of architecture and feel-good winter movies. But where did the structure come from and why was it invented? The Origins Of The Chimney The true origin of chimneys remains unclear to many historians, but it’s thought to be unlikely that chimneys were constructed in Europe before the twelfth century. Chimneys were widely used by the upper classes during Tudor England. Commoners who lacked the funds to construct chimneys would continue to burn fires on a clay or brick base in their homes or dwellings— plagued by intoxicating, smoke-filled rooms. Even when they became widely available, chimneys were still seen as inefficient and oftentimes dangerous. The early seventeenth century found English courts demanding that “dangerous” chimneys be reconstructed of brick and mortar, while requiring that chimney tops be at least four and a half feet above the roofs of houses. By 1719, England ordered that all clay-built chimneys be rebuilt with brick. Meanwhile, in America...