MY JOB
What is your job? I describe it as chimney services because I do more than sweep chimneys. The days of brush up, brush down and back on your bike are gone. I offer a clean and efficient service making sure everything is tidy before I go, as well as installing fire places, log burners, new pots and cowls, and reflaunching fires. It’s a pretty comprehensive service. Cleaning chimneys is all about feeling and listening. You have to be slow and steady. I prefer smaller brushes – they’re stiffer. Big brushes are too floppy.
How long have you been doing this? I started six years ago. I took over from Tom Boyd, who was a well known chimney sweep in Dartmouth. At the time I was working in Dartmouth doing general building and maintenance with a great chap called Dave Walker. Sadly Tom had a heart attack, and he asked Dave and I if we would take over the chimneys. We worked together on them for several years, and when Dave retired I decided to build up the chimneys into a full time business. I did some courses to expand my skills and cover the more technical aspects, and I’ve never looked back.
Have you worked anywhere else? I went to school in Dartmouth (I remember the bicentennial celebrations at the school in Newcomen Road and I was at the secondary school when it moved from Victoria Road to Milton Lane) and when I left I worked at the Castle Bakery. I’m a fully qualified baker and pastry chef. I worked at Britannia Royal Naval College in the West End Galley until I was made redundant under the changes in the 1980s. I had a great summer enjoying myself in Dartmouth, but then my Dad applied for a job for me – I must have been getting under his feet! He spotted an advert in the Daily Telegraph which said that Sainsbury’s needed managers and sent off my details. I worked for them for many years at various stores before going to work for Southern Electric in Cheltenham. By this time my Mum was Dad’s carer and I was spending most of my spare time with them. I moved back permanently seven years ago.
What is a typical day’s work for you? I can be as far away as Exeter or Plymouth, or here in Dartmouth. I never know what to expect. I’ve seen all sorts and found lots of unusual things – but I’ve never found gold! I went to one house in Salcombe where I had three chimneys to clean, and I kept finding little silver pixies tucked on ledges up inside. I wondered what on earth they were. I put them all back and it’s just as well, because my Mum
Job
Charles “Charlie” Glassbrook, Chimney Sweep
explained that they were charms, put there to ward off evil spirits. They’d probably been there years.
At another house I was asked to look at problems with a log burner. The householder had put it straight onto his plastic laminate floor. Of course the hot log burner had melted the floor and sunk into it. He’d also banged a hole in his plasterboard wall for the flue and the wall had turned yellow with heat damage. It was highly dangerous and I advised him to have the whole lot professionally removed. It is so important to seek proper advice when you are dealing with fire, or the consequences could be disastrous, even fatal. If there are safety issues, I will refuse to sweep chimneys. Not everywhere is suitable for a fire or wood burner and I have condemned quite a few! The regulations concerning fires and chimneys change all the time and I make sure I keep up to date.
What is it like working in and around Dartmouth? It is very nice to meet such nice people and see all sorts of houses. Most people are friendly and courteous but you do get a few odd ones who make the days rather interesting.
Can you tell us about your family? I consider myself an Old Dartmouthian (even though I was actually born in Cornwall) because I came here when I was a small boy and grew up here. My father was John Glassbrook and he ran the Porthleven Fish Factory in Cornwall before coming here and running a fish shop in Foss Street. I have three sisters and one brother, and my younger sister and I grew up in Dartmouth. I live in Victoria Road with my Mum, Mary, who is great and helps me with the business. She answers the phone, keeps an eye on the books and records all sorts of information – all the technical things that I would be too lazy to do. I have a lovely girlfriend, Val Radymska, who also lives in Dartmouth.
What do you like to do when you are not at work? Most people who know me would say I’m a workaholic. When I’m not doing chimneys I work at the recycling centre in Totnes – just because I enjoy it. I am passionate about recycling and think people throw away far too much. Friends are constantly asking me to look out for things and I pick up some amazing items to reuse – good beds, furniture, antiques, lots of fireplaces and grates. I don’t like much modern stuff to be honest and I fitted out the entire kitchen of my girlfriend’s house using reclaimed materials – including a 150-year-old parquet floor and Victorian kitchen cupboards..
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126