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Chimney Sweep services in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire

At Ansell Chimneys, we know how important it is for you to keep your chimney in tip top working order. It's not just a case of good housekeeping, it could save lives! So don't risk letting your chimney get clogged up and dangerous, call the professionals in today!

All installations carried out by
Qualified HETAS Registered Fitters.

Why not call Ansell Chimneys now for a free quote

If you would like to know more or are interested in a quote we would be happy to help. Phone us on 01923 661 614, email us at info@ansellchimneys.co.uk or fill in our enquiry form and we will be in touch as soon as possible.

Ansell Chimneys for service you can trust

The Tudors in England had established the risk of chimneys and an ordinance was created in 1582 controlling materials of brick and stone rather than plastered timber, and requiring chimneys to be swept four times per year to prevent the build-up of soot, which is highly flammable. Any person in charge of a property that experienced a chimney fire could be fined 3 shillings and 4 pence.

With the increased urban population that came with the age of industrialisation, the number of houses with chimneys grew apace and the services of the chimney sweep became much sought-after.

Buildings were higher than before and the new chimneys' tops were grouped together. The routes of flues from individual grates could involve two or more right angles and horizontal angled and vertical sections. The flues were made narrow to create a better draught, 14in by 9in being a common standard. Buckingham Palace had one flue with fifteen angles, with the flue narrowing to 9in by 9in. Chimney sweeping was one of the more difficult, hazardous, and low-paying occupations of the era, and consequently has been derided in verse, ballad, and pantomime.

The first mechanical sweeper was invented by George Smart in 1803 but was resisted in the United Kingdom and the United States. Joseph Glass marketed an improved sweeping machine in 1828; he is credited with being the inventor of the modern chimney sweeps brush. In the northern United States, whites gave up the trade and employed black sweep-boys from the South. After regulation finally took hold in 1875 in the United Kingdom and the turn of the century in the United States, the occupation became romanticised in popular culture with the films such as Mary Poppins, whose male friend was a magical chimney sweep.

History of Chorleywood

Settlement at Chorleywood dates to the Palaeolithic era when the plentiful flint supply led to swift development of tools by man. The Romans built a village on the ancient site complete with a mill and brewery.

Though variants have been proposed, the name has been derived from the Anglo-Saxon leah, meaning a clearing or a wood, of the ceorla or peasants. A line runs through Chorleywood that once divided the Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and now divides the counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Edward the Confessor gave Chorleywood to the Monastery of St Albans.

By 1278, it was known, perhaps duplicating the 'woodland' element, as 'Bosco de Cherle' or 'Churl's Wood', Norman for 'Peasant's Wood'. Upon the Tudor ordered Dissolution of the Monasteries, it passed to the Bishopric of London, being renamed 'Charleywoode'. It became Crown property during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Turnpike Act of 1663 gave Chorleywood a chance to exploit its strategic position, allowing locals the opportunity to charge civilians to use the road from Hatfield to Reading.

The Quaker movement in Chorleywood

Chorleywood is most famous for its Quakers. Non-conformists flocked to Chorleywood, promised sanctuary by the locals. William Penn founded the Pennsylvania Colony with settlers from Chorleywood, Rickmansworth and nearby towns in southern Buckinghamshire, having lived and married in Chorleywood.

Chorleywood House, a Regency mansion, was built in 1822 by John Barnes, replacing an earlier house. John Saunders Gilliat, the Governor of the Bank of England in 1883-1885, lived in it. In 1892, the house was bought by Lady Ela Sackville Russell, eldest daughter of the 9th Duke of Bedford. She modified and enlarged the house turning the grounds into a model estate with market gardens.

Bread production is refined in Chorleywood

In the early 1960s, researchers at the British Baking Industries Research Association in Chorleywood improved upon an earlier American bread-making process. This resulted in the Chorleywood bread process which is now used in over 80% of commercial bread production throughout the UK.

Television and film in Chorleywood

Chorleywood has frequently been used as a filming location. The Royal Masonic School is featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, while the Black Horse pub is featured in Peep Show. Midsomer Murders, Lewis and Jonathan Creek have also been filmed in Chorleywood.

Chorleywood Common

Chorleywood Common is two hundred acres of wooded common land. The Common is a County Heritage Site, a Conservation Area and a Local Nature Reserve with significant biodiversity and rich in fauna and flora, fungi, birds and wildlife. Since cattle grazing ended soon after the First World War, the land has been used for recreational purposes. Chorleywood Golf Club maintains a nine-hole golf course on the Common; the golf club was founded in 1890 and is the oldest in Hertfordshire.

'Christchurch, the parish church and a local landmark, stands facing the Chorleywood Common on the A404. The original church was built in 1845. When this building became dilapidated it was demolished, with the exception of the tower and was rebuilt and consecrated in 1870. It has a cedar wood tower of unusual design on the flint built west tower."

So, of you live in the Chorleywood area of Hertfordshire, and require a chimney sweep, why not drop us a line? We can set up a regular appointment so that you never forget to keep your chimney clean and safe.

Why not call Ansell Chimneys now for a free quote

If you would like to know more or are interested in a quote we would be happy to help. Phone us on 01923 661 614, email us at info@ansellchimneys.co.uk or fill in our enquiry form and we will be in touch as soon as possible.