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John Valentine Gray was a 10-year-old chimney sweep was from Alverstoke on the Isle Of Wight. He worked in Newport, the island's main town as a chimney sweep. He fell to his death through exhaustion and physical abuse in the first few days of 1822. His body, covered in bruises with a severe blow to the head, was found in an outhouse in Pyle Street where he slept and public indignation was one of the factors which led to the Climbing Boys Act (also known as the Childrens' Employment Act). His master, Benjamin Davies, was eventually convicted of his manslaughter. He and his wife were imprisoned. The passageway on the site where he died has now been renamed Gray's Walk. A plaque is attached to the alley wall and he has an obelisk memorial in Church Litton recreation ground, which was once the churchyard.
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