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Victorian ‘Elf and Safety’<br />
‘‘<br />
Religion<br />
does more<br />
harm than good”.<br />
“Christians are all<br />
hypocrites”. Listen<br />
to some infl uential<br />
modern writers and this seems<br />
to sum up their views on<br />
Christianity. Something else<br />
that is often mocked is ‘elf and<br />
safety’. But we sophisticated,<br />
modern folk of the 21st century<br />
owe a lot to both.<br />
I was born and grew up in<br />
Wigan, Lancashire, surrounded<br />
by coal mines and cotton mills.<br />
My intelligent grandmother left<br />
school at age 12 faced with a<br />
choice between the pit brow<br />
and the mill. Her quality of life,<br />
possibly even her very survival,<br />
owed a lot to certain infl uential<br />
Victorian Christians such as Lord<br />
Shaftesbury.<br />
Shaftesbury adopted the<br />
factory cause in 1832 with<br />
religious zeal. With other<br />
prominent Christians, such<br />
as Richard Oastler and John<br />
Fielden, he worked to limit the<br />
hours that women and children<br />
could work in desperately unsafe<br />
and unpleasant conditions.<br />
Shaftesbury clung to the factory<br />
movement as a crusade, saying,<br />
“to me it appeared an affair less<br />
of policy than of religion”.<br />
The Factory Act of 1833 meant<br />
that it became illegal for children<br />
under nine to work in textile<br />
factories, and children aged<br />
between nine and thirteen could<br />
not be employed for more than<br />
eight hours a day.<br />
As well as the fi rst Factory Act,<br />
Shaftesbury was infl uential in<br />
passing the 1842 Mines Act. This<br />
act meant that:<br />
• No female was to be employed<br />
underground<br />
• No boy under 10 years old was<br />
to be employed underground.<br />
• Parish apprentices between the<br />
ages of 10 and 18 could continue<br />
to work in the mines<br />
Shaftesbury also worked with<br />
Reverend Charles Kingsley<br />
(author of The Water Babies) to<br />
improve the lives of child chimney<br />
sweeps. Despite their undoubted<br />
faults, Shaftesbury and others,<br />
motivated by their Christian faith,<br />
were instrumental in procuring<br />
safer conditions in industry,<br />
and the need has not gone<br />
away today. In the 21st century<br />
Christian organisations like<br />
Christian Aid are infl uential and<br />
active in campaigning worldwide<br />
for safer working conditions for<br />
those who have no protection<br />
from dangerous exploitation.<br />
Shaftesbury told his friend<br />
Edwin Hodder: “My religious<br />
views are not very popular but<br />
they are the views that have<br />
sustained and comforted me all<br />
though my life. I think a man’s<br />
religion, if it is worth anything,<br />
should enter into every sphere of<br />
life, and rule<br />
his conduct<br />
in every<br />
relation.”<br />
(The Life<br />
and Work of<br />
the Seventh<br />
Earl of<br />
Shaftesbury,<br />
K.G. by<br />
Edwin<br />
Hodder)<br />
Alison<br />
Bell<br />
100K<br />
facebook.com/CAPuk<br />
Your home should be a<br />
place where you and<br />
your family feel safe.<br />
However, there are many<br />
potential hazards within<br />
your home.<br />
The best way to protect<br />
yourself and your family<br />
is to have working<br />
smoke alarms on<br />
every level of your<br />
home.<br />
To help you stay<br />
safe, follow these<br />
simple tips:<br />
• Test your smoke<br />
alarms regularly – and don’t<br />
take the batteries out<br />
• Don’t leave cooking unattended<br />
– and switch off cooking<br />
appliances after use<br />
• Have a night time routine –<br />
close all doors, switch off as many<br />
electrical appliances as possible,<br />
CALL FREE ON<br />
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@CAPuk<br />
make sure cigarettes and candles<br />
are safely out and keep your<br />
staircase tidy and clear<br />
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue<br />
offers free Home Safety Checks<br />
(HSC) including free smoke alarms<br />
if needed.<br />
During a visit firefighters<br />
or community safety staff<br />
will give advice on how<br />
to make the home safer,<br />
what to do in the event<br />
of a fire and what to do if<br />
you are trapped by a fire.<br />
They will also fit free<br />
smoke alarms if your home<br />
is without one and explain how<br />
to maintain them correctly.<br />
For further advice or to arrange a<br />
free Home Safety Check call 0114<br />
253 2314 or email cfsadmin@<br />
syfire.gov.uk<br />
Jayne Sanderson<br />
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue<br />
t: 01274 760720. e: info@capuk.org. Registered Office: Jubilee Mill, North Street, Bradford, BD1 4EW. Registered Charity No: 1097217.<br />
Charity registered in Scotland No: SC038776. Company Limited by Guarantee, Registered in England and Wales No: 4655175.<br />
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facebook.com/CAPuk<br />
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Fire Safety<br />
0800 328 0006<br />
@CAPuk<br />
debt help<br />
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats<br />
Church Offi ce: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffi eld S8 0GA<br />
Tel: (0114) 274 5086<br />
email: offi ce@stchads.org<br />
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats<br />
Page 14 website: www.stchads.org<br />
Church facebook.com/CAPuk<br />
Offi ce: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffi @CAPuk eld S8 0GA<br />
Page 15<br />
Tel: (0114) 274 5086<br />
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capuk.org<br />
facebook.com/CAPuk<br />
@CAPuk<br />
email: offi ce@stchads.org<br />
website: www.stchads.org
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