Fred was from Bolton, Peter Kay’s hometown, I’ve met him many times as he was a drinking pal of my father. He also looked after the chimney where I worked. He was a real character and highly intelligent and a brilliant engineer. He built his own steam engine and had a steam powered workshop at his house. He went to art school and his engineering drawings were works of art in their own right. The reason for the chimneys was steam engines. Bolton was a cotton mill town, as was most of Lancashire, and the looms were powered by belts that had a steam engine driving them. He didn’t blow up chimneys he burnt them down. Look for those videos and the ones of him putting up the ladders and him scaffolding the top.

One of the things I like about this channel is that you're prepared to listen to people who don't often get heard in America. It's people like Fred who really represent the people of the UK, not the idiots in parliament or the celebrities on the red carpets. Many people in the UK will know someone like Fred - someone who's brave and determined but doesn't get the reward they really should. These people are the backbone of the UK's society but, sadly, they are all too often ignored.

This bloke is an absolute legend in British culture 💪🏼🇬🇧 proper man’s man, salt of the earth.

Watch Fred put the ladders up and the scaffolding now that is balls of titanium.

If you think it's scary watching him climb the ladder, watch the video of him installing the ladder lol. In England, this man was the single person responsible for me having an engineering career. When I was young, he fascinated by him. He made me so interested in all things engineering. RIP Fred.

Back in 1965 when I was a lad of 16 I had to climb up similar ladders in winter with ice and snow on the ladder rungs and the wind was howling sleet. What saved me was that I was terrified of heights therefore I gripped the rungs like grim death. When I got to the top the tradesman with me said Son you will enjoy the wonderful view and I could see for about 15 miles. Then the storm came in suddenly and the sleet blasted in and the wind howled and I could only see about five feet. The tradesman said that it was going to get much worse so we should get down and off he went and left me to follow him. As I wear glasses and am short sighted I took ten minutes to find the ladder then I found out just how hard it was to climb down as I could not see my feet to see where the next rung was and I had to carefully put my foof down. It took me two hours to get down and I was turning blue and had very little feeling in my hands and feet. Of course now I can boast about the GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN WE DID NOT WORRY ABOUT THINGS LIKE SAFETY GEAR BECAUSE WE WERE REAL MEN to the lads now. To be honest when I was back on the ground I was so happy to just survive and I felt that after that I was invincible and I could do anything but reality stepped in when I walked round the base of the chimney the blizzard hit me and I had a huge problem just finding the workshop. The steaming mug of tea heavily laced with whisky brought me back to life and in my memory I can still taste it. It has been a wonderful life .

Fred has been described as a renaissance man, he had an eye for architecture, engineering, he could draw and design, he even rebuilt an old steam traction engine. He truly was incredible, and I doubt we will see his like again.

Fred was an astonishingly intelligent and capable man. When you see him erecting the wooden platforms around a chimney 200feet up and listen to him commentating you realise that this is a unique man with incredible talent.

Fred was a legend - we Brits are a random bunch with who we take to our hearts. We all loved Fred

Loved watching Fred back in the day. He was one of the first real people on British television. He made no attempt to change how he presented himself. He was authentic, he was northern and he was honest. It was great to see a working class northerner on the television being entirely unapologetic. He wasn't just honest about himself, he was deeply knowledgeable about engineering and presented what would previously have been shown in a somewhat condescending manner as mundane, menial work with insight and intelligence. Weaving it into a tapestry which included historical and social context. It was as fascinating as it was heartstopping, to watch him clamber up and down these structures educating you about them, their importance, the industries that they serviced and the people that they affected as he figured out how to knock most of them down. This first documentary brought him national fame. That fame allowed him to live the rest of his life doing what he loved, being around steam engines, steam trains, victorian pump houses dungarees on and elbows deep in grease and gears. He lived his absolute best life and right up to till his sad passing, he did the north proud.

My great-grandfather was a steeplejack. He left his job during WWI to go and fight. He fought and survived the Battle of the Somme, only to come home a few weeks after to die from falling off his local church roof that he was renovating. Sadly, his luck ran out.

Fred passed away in 2004 unfortunately. He was a National treasure and a staple of British TV in my younger years in the 80s. He was a real old school steeple jack. You’ll find loads of videos of him around KZfaq either maintaining or felling old chimneys, but also talking about restoring steam/traction engines among other things.

Fred is an absolute legend here in England. A unique individual and someone that was very knowledgeable apart from being totally fearless. Sorely missed by the nation R.I.P. Fred

The cameraman was on a big crane with a cage and he also climbed up too. Fred is a legend and I've watched him on telly for 30 years

Fred is an absolute legend. He took is family on holiday down to Blackpool little did they know at the time he went down drop a chimney

Honorary mention also to John Noakes who was a humble children's TV presenter in the UK but climbed a ladder up Nelson's Column with no safety equipment and the ladder tipped back beyond vertical near the top. Also to the cameraman who went with him of course.

Fred was. One of a kind, not only a steeplejack but also an accomplished engineer. He always said he was born in the wrong era, at heart he was a Victorian - RIP

Fred was a national treasure. you would watch and listen to him on anything.

It's amazing how Fred got up those ladders while possessing a huge set of bollocks.

He died almost twenty years ago, of cancer. Never injured himself at work. Worth watching more of him.

I'm from Bolton the same place as this gent. We have a massive statue of him in our Town Centre. Also, when he sadly passed away, a local brewery asked if they could release a beer in his honour. His wife demanded a huge sum to let them. They released a beer call Gold Digger that definetley wasn't related, absolutley not 😂

Fred died in 2004 from stomach cancer. He was a national treasure and was honoured by the Queen. He did lots of heritage and industrial history programmes for the BBC in his latter years. One of my all time heroes and a highly intelligent man RIP legend. 👍

That time when Fred dug a fricking mine in his back garden! 😂

Fred was a legend. I remember watching him on TV, when I was a teenager, in 80s Ireland. The way he approached every project was brilliant. Men like him, and many of the old school I worked with in the UK are sadly gone. Tough times breed tough men i guess.

You need to watch the one where he is putting up that ladder, one ladder at a time. He has to bang holes in the brings, pull ladder up and then move up one and repeat

There are a couple of videos, same series, of him "laddering" the chimney and putting on the scaffolding collar round the top. You need to watch these. There are also vids of him with his steam engines. He was an honest English legend and for a couple of years one of the most famous people in Britain. As a side note they were built from the inside. A scaffold tower was constructed and built higher as the brick courses increased.

Fred was an absolute legend, everyone in the U.K. knows who he was, a highly intelligent man, an expert on industrial heritage & history, & he had nerves of steel! a much missed character.

Fred what a man, loved his programmes. Hard as nails with a gentle manner. What a character.

You SOOOO need to see him fixing those ladders. It's legendary. Fred's a legend. The North of England was the heart of the industrial revolution. All based on Coal/Steam driven mill equipment. The Northern skyline was chimneys as far as the eye could see. There was some status in chimneys. The taller the chimney the richer the owner. Building them was different. I think they stood on the inside of the chimney to build them. Probably a great contract to get as a bricklayer and I bet it took longer for Fred to take it down. He died of Bladder cancer some years back. You could say it was the Beer that got him. The chimneys never beat him though.

Fred Dibnah. Fearless steeplejack, engineer, talented TV presenter, popular after dinner speaker, steam enthusiast, beautifully accomplished draughtsman. Not to mention balls of steel. A real British character and much respected and missed by many. RIP Fred. Thanks for the entertainment and inspiration.

There's not many an American has set eyes upon the great Dibnah. I used to watch him as a kid. Really interesting watching the reaction of someone who's never even heard of him. He was a lovely bloke. Rest in peace, Fred.

I grew up in the town where this footage was shot (Shaw and Crompton, in the Borough of Oldham, just north of Manchester). I was born in 81, too late to see Fred's demolition of the chimney, but I did see the demolition of the surrounding Rutland mill in the late 80's. I went on to work in my teens in the surviving mills (Lilac, which you csn see in this footage, and Briar), then owned by Littlewoods as a warehousing centre, firstly as an order picker and then as a conveyor belt operative, until I moved on in my career. The mills are now finally scheduled to be fully demolished over the next year or so to make way for housing. Oldham was a skyline of chimney stacks when I was a young lad, I used to look out of my bedroom window and watch the sun set behind their towering, defunct silhouettes. A lament to an industrial age that has left the likes of Fred behind. You can still drink the bitter that he likely had on his lunch break though! We're alreet here 🍻

Fred was a national treasure. You have done it now. You will become addicted watching him. Plenty of videos of him working in many situations. RIP FRED.

Everyone old and young loves fred . If you want to know what a proper old school British man was like then Fred is the perfect example

Thanks for this guys. Really enjoyed it. Fred Dibnah was a legend in the UK. He started off as the subject of a documentary series on the BBC but went on to have several of his own TV series. He built chimneys, demolished them, built steam engines, even dug a mine shaft in his garden. He was a proper character and sadly taken before his time. (Not by any accident I might add). I'll always remember one of his sayings; "One mistek up there and it's half a day owt wit undertaker. ". RIP Fred.

You have to understand 1960s England, every local mill had chimneys like this, having served my apprenticeship there I appreciate what Fred is doing.

Absolute legend is Fred.. No fear and seriously as brave as they come. There's a video of him constructing scaffold up at top of a tower with No safety ropes or harnesd. He was a one off. Also impressive is that he used a chisel without a hand guard on it, id of smashed my hands to bits without an hand guard.

British Steeple Jacks were a breed apart. I guess the American equivalent would have been the iron workers that built the skyscrapers in the US. Fred became famous after they filmed him knocking down some chimneys in the 1970s. He became a "national treasure" doing TV programs on steam engines and our Victorian industrial heritage. His funeral was massive in 2004. Look up the videos on KZfaq.

man this man has balls of steel.. huge respect of his work... great reaction video .. loved it

People loved fred dibnah here in Britain he was an amazingly clever and strong man. It was an awful shame when he died. Thank you for watching Fred he was a national treasure who died of cancer years after the stepplejacking he had his own TV shows that were brilliant.

I've met Fred. He was big on his steam fairs and I met him at one once. His wagon still does the shows. He is a legend! The guy got in trouble for digging a mine shaft in his back garden. A real real lad! We lost a little bit of England when we lost Fred.

Like the other comments say "laddering a chimney" is probably the best start to see how Fred does it

He was a living legend loved watching himself on TV and I'm going to show him to my kids. A real man who worked so hard all his life and appreciated craft and graft.

An unassuming hero in the UK. I watched the series with my parents when growing up and even then we were shocked at what he did, but things were like that back then. I'm sure you've seen the photograph of the guys working on the empire state building when it was constructed. They just wore normal shoes. Times change, we manage the risks better but accidents still happen. RIP Fred.

Fred was a treasure. There were whole series of him just doing what he loved and talking to the camera and it felt like he was talking straight at you. When he went it was like losing a favourite uncle

Hi guys. First of all my wife Alyson and I are in our early 70’s and we both love your videos. Alyson is from Bolton the town were Fred lived. Bolton is a town not too far from Manchester in the North West of England. When we were children the North West of England had lots of these factory chimneys in most of the towns. Fred was a true character, he became a T.V. star after appearing on a local news channel. Fred’s way of explaining things made him very popular and a must watch when ever he was on T.V. Fred often said that he should have been born in the Victorian times as he loved all the old engineering and did everything the old way. He made lots of programmes on his work bringing down old chimneys. Then as he got older, he turned to looking at a explaining about old stream engines. Fred sadly died on the 6 November 2004 at the age of 66 from bladder cancer. He had just started to film a new program in 2003, he managed to make the programs with the help of his son Jack who loved the same type of life as Fred his father. His funeral brought Bolton to a standstill. We hope this brief background on Fred is of interest and helpful to you two great young men. Allow us to say a big thankyou for giving us a great deal of pleasure with you videos. Stay safe. David and Alyson.

Fred Dibnah was and is a badass! Always loved watching him as a youngster with his steam tractors and chimney demolitions, stoked a fascination with steam engines in me. I'm glad he's still known and being seen for the first time by people, I think he'd love that!

The bottle it takes to do this is mind blowing. No harness. And as these guys say he had to get the ladders and the staging up is a feat in itself. RESPECT!!!

I think that the most amazing thing is that all steeplejacks worked like this once. Fred was the last of a dying breed and as you say it would never be allowed today.

Fred made several documentarys and the whole UK was facinated with him. He was a great steam engine lover and made several films about restoring old machines. Even if you had no interest in the machines yourself you got sucked in by his personality and enthusiasm.

Thanks for reviewing our historic greats: so glad you liked them and shared your reaction :-)

Fred is an absolute legend I love watching his videos. Such a knowledgeable man and yet very humble. I would loved to have met him and buy him a pint but never got the chance. You must watch more of his videos he was such an interesting man and very much Ed loved here in the uk.

Even for those of us working in the UK construction industry around that time Fred was a legend. He was a relic from a different age. Like one of the steel guys who built the first skyscrapers. His quote for taking down that chimney was almost twice the average national wage at that time. It would have been 1/3rd the price of an average house or bought 14,000 pints of beer.

Fred spent most of his working life demolishing stuff but he was also a master craftsmen who could turn his hand to pretty much anything. He presented a TV series about famous British buildings such as St. Pauls cathedral. He'd make technical drawings of key points of the structures and those drawings were like works of art.

So glad to hear you guys wear safety gear. I'm in Australia and our workplace safety is through the roof these days but we used to do some dangerous stuff when I was a young carpenter.

This man was an inspiration to people like me, he was an amazing man and great engineer.

Fred Dibnah, what a legend. He was a unique figure, nationally known, on the TV a fair bit, attained celebrity status up and down the country, but remained, despite the fame, a practically minded man. He should be on a coin or a currency note, but being a man who worked for his money, its unlikely he'll ever get there. A humble titan, a colossus unaware of his own importance and prestige, the working mans working man. May he rest in peace, but never be forgot.

Hi guys. He's from Bolton, North West England, my home town. I actually knew him well. Great guy with nerves of steel. The North of England used to be the centre of the cotton and wool textile industry hence all the mills and chimneys most of which have gone now. Ironically he was destroying the very things he loved.

the video of him putting the ladders up is f'en crazy crazy...I paint at heights and this legend is nutz !!

Fred was a legend in Britain to people of a certain age . He was very skilled in many areas with his hands , great draftsman aswell . His drawings of architectural details are impressive.

Fred was quite a romantic character in the story of the Industrial Revolution (hear me out). He trained as a steeplejack, someone who builds chimneys, however by the time he hit middle age British industry was in decline and it was Fred who was responsible for the destruction of many of the Victorian era chimneys across the industrial north west of England, in and around Manchester. He had to destroy the things he loved, and with them the remnants of Britains industrial heritage. These chimneys were built during the Industrial Revolution, to release the smoke and other by products from local factories. Many factories would require generators or spinning machinery, so would therefore burn coal. If you look at old photos of towns such as Oldham and Bolton, the skylines were littered with these chimneys. Many of them are now gone, as they were unused and unsafe, some still remain. The North West of England is very proud of its industrial past, playing an integral part in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, helping the country become the super power it used to be. Fred Dibnah acted, for many, as a direct link back to this industrial past. He was a legend, and had bollocks the size of grapefruits.

The BBC struck gold when they discovered Fred Dibnah. From his steeplejack and demolition work, they moved on to document his passion for steam traction engines, and his life in general. When someone dies, and people say, 'we shall never see his like again', that was true of Fred. He represented a bygone era.

Fred died of cancer. Smoking got him. He was 66. They were boiler house chimneys. He was very clever and introduced history programs esp. On the romans in Britain in later life. He's also in the Guinness book of world records for the biggest balls of all time.

Fred was a British legend dudes. He knew a lot about a lot of things, particularly steam.

Fred was a Northern legend....totally without fear....literally...nothing fazed him...no challenge went unmet....no chimney was immune to his steeplejacking....incredible human being.....you know the old saying... Dare to go where angels fear to tread.....

The thing with Fred is that he loved old buildings. He brought down a lot of old chimneys and he never used explosives. It was either brick by brick like this or he open up a hole in the bottom, slowly filling it with wood as he goes, then set fire to it. Its an old fashioned method but let the chimney smoke one last time before it came down. He was not only good a demolition but restoration too. He had a traction engine, a road roller. He built a pit head in his garden and his workshop was steam powered. He was also an accomplished artist, his sketches of old machines and architecture were magnificent.

I've never seen your channel before, but I just found you because I love Fred Dibnah... SUBSCRIBED!

Got paid the equivalent of 50000 dollars, whatever it looks like Fred was an absolute legend and very good at his job. His knowledge was immense and I would have trusted his ladders with no question. Please watch how he set up his ladders, well worth the watch

Fred was an incredibly skilled, intelligent Engineer... Way beyond simply demolishing chimneys... His understanding of steam engines is legendary.

My dad and dear departed grandfather repointed the brickwork on one of these in my hometown. Neither of them were steeplejacks. My granddad were a retired miner and my dad was self taught everything. He started on building sites back in the early 70s at age 13. Different men for different times.

Fred was like a National Treasure in Britain. He even had a fully working coal mine in his back garden! Absolute Legend! 👍 Most of the chimneys he demolished were ones from the old factories that closed. RIP

“That’s not stable at all” Anyone else watching who’s already aware of Fred knows fine well its more stable than our life goals😂😂

Fred the legend , engineer , steeplejack and all round good bloke . The North of England had hundreds of chimneys stemming from the industrial revolution and the many Mills that supported the cotton industry amongst others . They do not make them like Fred anymore . He was a victorian gentleman living in the 20th century . Cancer took him in the end . RIP Fred . You should definitely go down the Fred Dibnah rabbit hole . So many videos and even his funeral is on KZfaq , that's how much esteem he was held by the British public.

Fred Dibnah is and was a total legend. He knew exactly what he was doing. Sadly Fred is no longer with us,cancer took him.

Lovely to see you fellas appreciate the legend that is Fred Dibnah

Just come off doing some repairs on my kitchen extension roof and I was crapping myself with every breath of breeze.People like Fred were,certainly,a different breed. One thing is true,though,it helps to have another person around,even if they’re just watching.

Fred was a good mate of my late father through their shared love and ownership of Steam Engines (ignore the H...Dibna). He was a great fella and went on to present some great shows about the Industrial Revolution (which began where we live) for the BBC. He became a National Treasure. I'll try and dig some photos out of him and my Dad when I get chance. One of his sons now lives on the IOM

he is passed RIP fred , had the pleasure to meet him when i was a child he is a uk legend

Cheese butty was part of a staple diet during 70's in UK, along with jam sandwiches, meat was a treat. Compared to then, we are still well fed.

Subbed! This was a great video and big respect to Fred, I was too young to appreciate him when he was on TV but I'm rediscovering him now I'm in my 30s. I'm terrified of heights though...

Just look at the turn out for his funeral to see what a national treasure Fred was,sadly missed.

"You'll only fall off a chimney once." There's a whole series of Fred Dibnah on YT, even one on how he puts the ladders up and the scaffolding at the top of that very chimney. Taking them down, he knocks a hole out of one side at the bottom, then props it up with pit props - stuffs the base cavity with pallets, tyres etc. and puts a match to it all....the chimney has one last burn before the props burn through and it falls....he'd typically stand 6 foot away, staring into the flames....with a old style car horn on a bit of string round his neck....and when the chimney was starting to fall, he'd honk the horn as a warning whilst moving away.....there is a video of him having to leg it from the base of one chimney, as it went faster than he was expecting....after the dust settled and the stack had fallen....Fred appears with a big grin and says ..."did ya like that."

When Fred was born, the nurse looked between his legs, turned to his mother and said congratulations, it’s a man…..

Loving the channel. Fred Dibnah a legend in the UK. He built a steam engine in his yard for heavy engineering and fabrication. Amazing guy with genius level talent and skills.

You should also watch him dropping a chimney using the old methods rather than explosives. He couldn't drop the one in the video because of the surroundings so he had to take it down by hand. I've watched Fred take several chimneys down when I was a kid, and a huge cooling tower in the next town, which was one of his last

I knew Fred very very well I'm a blacksmith I dod work for him on his traction engine right up untill his death... fred was a national treasure he was a wonderful guy but he's exactly what we are round her.

Great vid especially seeing Daniel so animated about his area of expertise ❤

I lived round the corner from Fred he had a lovley moat bridge house he kept his steam engine and carriage every nut and bolt made from ground up cast himself he was a very hard man that's why we won the war ❤

This program made Fred a star in the UK he had a few series of his own shows after this up until he died in 2004, he also restored vintage steam engines and steam trains, their was one show when he was on holiday/vacation with his family and he went missing, his wife went looking for him and found him at the top of a large chimney, he noticed someone working up there and just went up to have a chat with him, but ended up helping him out, for no pay whilst on his holiday, a crazy man that we in tbe UK took to our hearts.

If you ever watch a famous TT racer called Guy Martin, you'll notice he seems have the same mindset as Fred does, no fear, a very laid-back attitude and a love for tinkering on the engineering side things, they have away of holding your interest in anything they talk about, I wonder if it's the consequences of living dangerously it gives you a passionate about what grounds you more than other people because you might not be around the next job you do

Fred died of cancer, so he was right, he died in his bed with his boots on! I had the pleasure of meeting Fred one sunday afternoon when we noticed a traction engine parked in our local pub car park. Sure enough, he'd stopped off for a break on a long journey from a rally, so we plucked up courage to go talk to him. I don't even remember what was said, I was just a bit star-struck by meeting one of my heroes (being a Northern lass meself, tha knows!). He sadly passed away not long after that, so I was always glad we got to meet him. His favourite method of demolishing chimneys, if there was space to drop it, he hacked out a ton of bricks at the bottom then set a bloody great big fire in it until it collapsed! You should watch some of the stories he tells of THOSE mishaps! :D

Fred demolished a huge chimney where I live and we used to just go around and watch him. As someone who's terrified of heights I used to get the chills standing on the ground and looking up. A real local character who lived and long and rewarding life, he spent many years on TV educating people on the Bolton accent. I used to work on the building sites in the mid 1970's and health and safety was making sure you didn't fall over after 5 pints in the pub every lunchtime.

As others have said, check out him putting up the scaffold. The way he holds the planks by the ends, while he lifts them into place, shows incredible strength. In his own vernacular, I wouldn't wanna gerra clout off him!

Check out Fred's videos where he's putting up those ladders, he explains in one of those how he hauls materiels up there when repairing them. Those chimneys BTW were from industries long gone, he mention Courtaulds, they were a massive textile making company here, those chimneys would be for the boilers that ran the looms etc Fred was from the great generation, a generation aptly named.

"pull out a coffee and a sandwich" I think Fred's more of a pint of mild and some Old Holborn ❤️ I grew up watching Fred on the TV with my old man; gave me passion for engineering. I still struggle to watch the video where he actually ladders up the chimney himself. The chimneys were part of the factories built during the industrial revolution. They had to have huge coal furnaces to power the steam engines which ran all the machines. By this point in time (1970's) those furnaces had been replaced with compact gas boilers to run the same machines. No need for a huge chimney anymore. I'm guessing even the machines have been replaced with more modern equipment now. Such is life. I'm just glad we have these films to watch to experience what life was like fifty years ago 😊✌️

When asked about drinking before climbing chimneys he replied with something like "you'd have to be mad to do it sober!" Legend.

It’s great to see your reaction. The city scapes of northern England have completely changed and there are very few chimneys like that around today. There must have been thousands of them back in the 19th century and I guess Fred must have taken down a great number of them. I believe that he was a trained draughtsman but he was a talented engineer who had a great understanding of all things mechanical. This series in ‘79 introduced him to the British public and there was more to follow, pretty much all of which can thankfully be found in the BBC archive or on KZfaq. Fred was a much loved character who featured regularly on TV until the end of his life. We are lucky to be able to find out more about him from almost 30 years of programs and you should be able to find these quite easily, all of which are still great to watch today.

Fred was not only brilliant as a demolition man, but he was a gifted artist, engineer and historian. Try watching some of his programmes about the building of cathedrals and castles.

Few points: the first shot you ask about was shot from the ground and edited in; £7,000 in 1979 would be about £84,000 plus these days (2022), demolition with explosives in urban areas is tightly regulated so hence the method of demolition; if you look at Fred's physique when he is eating his 'butty' he is built like a tank, his strength and endurance must have been athlete level - think about his going up and down after knocking bricks out with a hammer all day; his traction (steam) engine was his love - hence him taking these jobs; alas he died 20 odd years ago but he is a legend and so thank you for passing that legend on.

There was an Ex WW2 RAF engineer and pilot, that used to demolish chimneys with explosives!!! He was called David 'Blaster' Bates!!! He was another chimney specialist, like Fred, but would drill out sections and 'Blast' them down. He was remarkably accurate with dropping them neatly into tight spaces!! 60 years ago, there were a few of this type of mad englishman!!!