C&M BICSc
A brief history of office cleaning I make no apology for this article
Open Parliament licence v3.0):
far as possible, the necessity for employing climbing boys,
being London centric because
1. ‘we should not train nurses to
was formed in 1803, investigation proving that not one-
Essex and the east end of London
perform skills and then employ
tenth of master-sweepers conformed to the rules of the
was where I started my cleaning
them as charladies’.
Act of 1788. The society offered rewards for the invention
2. ‘of course, there is also alternative
career. I am sure other major cities would have a similar story to tell. One of the earliest references to
of a cleaning contrivance - a course which seems to have
work for them, as lavatory
been the chief means of bringing about the final demise of
cleaners and charladies’.
the climbing boys [2].
3. ‘I say nothing in denigration of
office cleaning was in the form of
charladies’.
company is OCS, its story starting in 1900. Since then, it
My assumption was, before researching this piece,
has grown from one man with a ladder, bucket and a
charladies. This is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time
Probably the most famous DOC (daily office cleaning)
worker who comes into a house or other building to
that charladies carried out general office cleaning duties
pushcart to an international business. Frederick William
clean it for a few hours a day or week, as opposed to a
and were often depicted wearing an apron and a head
Goodliffe set up the New Century Window and General
maid, who usually lives as part of the household within
scarf and of a certain age. Furthermore, I believe they
Cleaning Company as a sole trader. In 1912, his eldest son,
the structure of domestic service. A charwoman usually
then, after finishing their cleaning duties in the morning,
Gilbert, joined the business as a junior clerk, aged 14. He
worked independently, often for cash in hand, or might
prepared the tea trolley and pushed it around the offices
was followed by his second son, Tom, in 1920 and his third
come through an employment agency.
at 10.00 hrs. This I now understand was a complete
son, George, in 1928. In the 1930s, Frederick’s sons were
Many charladies in London worked early mornings
misconception. This is illustrated very well by the 1963
pivotal in the formation of a new company - Office Cleaning
(0600 hrs-0800 hrs) to return home before their husband
film ‘Ladies Who Do’ starring, amongst others, Peggy
Services. At one time it was the major office cleaning
set off for work. I can remember in my primary years a
Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett.
company in London, and I can remember travelling on the
lot of our early morning cleaners came from the east
However, Initial Cleaning began as a tea delivery
end of London into the city to clean and referred to
service to offices before the founder, Mr. A. P. Bigelow,
their jobs as earning pin money (a complete misuse
introduced towel rental services to businesses in London.
of the term) and an indication of their self-perception.
Each towel was marked with the customer’s initial, which
company celebrates its 50th anniversary next year and
Many charladies had famous sons and daughters - for
ensured that customers only received their own towels,
holds royal warrants. Some people believe that DOC
example, Mrs. Micklewhite’s son Maurice became and
leading to the name Initial Towel Supply Company. Some
stands for daily office cleaning, but in fact it derives from
remains a famous movie star - Michael Caine (not a lot of
of you will remember that Initial Services then branched
one of the founding director’s names - Dave O’Connor.
people know that)!
into office cleaning and pest control.
their services on the posters next to the escalator. In later years, DOC cleaning was formed. This
There is much more to write on this subject, but as
Possibly the earliest recorded office cleaning company
The word ‘char’ in ‘charwoman’ comes from Middle
tube in the mid-1970s where OCS frequently advertised
I stated in the title to this piece, this is a brief history of
English and it means ‘chore’, so charwoman is literally
was The Ramoneur Company Limited, founded in 1848.
office cleaning!
a chore-woman. The tasks performed by a charwoman
As the name suggests, they were originally chimney
Denotes one of the earliest examples of:
varied depending on the agreement which she reaches
sweepers and carried out work on both domestic and
[1] is this an early example of the Gig economy.
with her employer [1].
commercial premises. Young boys were often employed
[2] HSWA (1974) is the hierarchy of controls - substitution. This is
Reference (example from the Hansard Archives. Contains Parliamentary information licenced under the
to climb the chimneys and sweep them. A society of
one of the earliest references I can find for substitution.
benevolent persons whose object was to supersede, as
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