Fred Dibnah - British Steeplejack

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
2,800
Location
Somewhere in time
So I ran across a fascinating series on YouTube titled simply 'Fred'.

It's a 7 episode series about Fred Dibnah, a salt of the earth British steeplejack that was filmed in the early 1980s.

Here's a man that lives by his wits and the skills of a tradesman.
 
Fred was a legend, one of the last of the old school tradesmen, but probably a man out of time even in 1980.

The video on how he ladders a building or chimney I found most interesting.

I have been kind of absent from bitog, have the rules on linking to videos changed? I once got a reprimand and imposed vacation for linking an innocent video because someone used foul language in the videos comments. Kind of lost interest in bitog after that.
 
Last edited:
I stumbled upon Mr. Dibnah a few months ago when seeking out Youtube videos on brick chimney repair. Talk about a lost craft. The video of Fred positioning ladder on top of ladder on top of ladder, etc. to repair an old industrial smokestack was most interesting. There's another video of him reattaching a weather vane atop a church steeple in England. Fred never used safety harnesses.
 
The appeal of this series is that here's a guy that knows what his passion is and he just does what he needs to do in order to pursue it.

Even if it means dropping a smokestack with a fire and a ball horn tied around his neck.
 
This is a great documentary. I love when he drives that old steamer to the show, takes like 2 or 3 days to go 20 miles, stealing water out of the fire hydrants along the way. Guy was a total B.A.
 
I too found Fred while going down the rabbit hole that is YouTube. I ended up watching what I believe are all the episodes up until the time of his cancer and death. He was an original and one of a kind. Kind of reminds me of my dear ol' dad, a man who could do most anything with his hands and mind. He achieved great fame and was awarded an MBE by the Queen before his death for his contributions to the preservation of Victorian crafts and history.

When I first found him on YouTube I mentioned it to a friend in England and he was very familiar with Fred Dibnah. He gained fame after he was featured in a BBC segment where he felled an old chimney. He eventually earned his own series on the BBC about the machinery, architecture, and factories of the Victorian industrial age in Great Britain. Well worth watching.
 
Originally Posted by jhs914
.When I first found him on YouTube I mentioned it to a friend in England and he was very familiar with Fred Dibnah. He gained fame after he was featured in a BBC segment where he felled an old chimney. He eventually earned his own series on the BBC about the machinery, architecture, and factories of the Victorian industrial age in Great Britain. Well worth watching.

Thanks, I'll be sure to go find that series also.
 
Fred lived in Bolton, Lancashire which is about 10 miles from where I grew up. I think the phrase mention above that he was a man out of time even in 1980.is a fair description. A real Lancashire character whose self reliance and versatility would be so much restricted today by the growth of Health and safety regulations that it's not possible we could see his like again.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top