| Short Title: | Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to amend and extend the Act for the Regulation of Chimney Sweepers. |
| Year: | 1864 |
| Citation: | 27 & 28 Vict. c. 37 |
| Introduced Lords: | 8th Earl of Shaftesbury |
| Royal Assent: | 30 June 1864 |
| Commencement: | 1 November 1864 |
| Amends: | Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act 1840 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Chimney Sweepers Acts (Repeal) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | http://web.archive.org/web/20171203220856/http://www.educationengland.org.uk:80/documents/acts/1864-chimney-sweepers-act.html |
The Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act 1864[1] (27 & 28 Vict. c. 37) was a British Act of Parliament that amended the Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act 1840 passed to try to stop child labour. Commissioners appointed in 1862 reported that several thousand children aged between five and fourteen years, including many girls, were working for sweeps. The bill was proposed by Lord Shaftesbury.
The 1840 Act prohibited any person under the age of 21 being compelled or knowingly allowed to ascend or descend a chimney or flue for sweeping, cleaning, or coring.[2] This was widely ignored by the Master Sweeps and the homeowners. This Act proposed stiff fines and imprisonment for non-compliant master sweeps. It gave the police power to arrest sweeps thought to be breaking the law, and gave Board of Health inspectors the authority to examine new or remodelled chimneys.