American Reacts to Fred Dibnah - British Steeplejack Takes Down a MASSIVE Chimney

In this video I react to Fred Dibnah for the first time. This was wild. Fred was a steeplejack from Lancashire, England and he climbed this massive chimney and literally demolished it brick by brick. I've never seen anything like this.
I'm seriously impressed by people with the nerves to be able to climb to heights like this. I'll definitely be checking out some other videos from Fred Dibnah.
Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this reaction please give this video a thumbs up, share your thoughts in the comments and click the subscribe button to follow my journey to learn about my British and Irish ancestry.
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👉 Original Video:
• 1979: Steeplejack FRED...
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[@maninthestreet01]

Fred Dibnah was (he died in 2004) an absolute legend. In addition to his job as steeplejack, he had an obssession with steam and mechanical engineering. He had a traction engine that he restored, and a steam-powered workshop in the back yard of his house where he lived in Bolton. This house was at the edge of a valley, overlooking a river below, and Fred wanted to build a working mine shaft from his back yard to the river below. He started construction, but was prevented completing it by the local council (municipality) who refused to grant the required permissions it needed before Fred sadly passed away. Check out his Wikipedia entry for a more complete biography of Fred's remarkable life.

[@mrkiplingreallywasanexceed8311]

A delightful summary of as you rightly said, a legend. People wonder what makes our small collection of islands special and Fred is part of the answer😌🥰

[@hamonryechinaski180]

The episode when Fred wanted a plumb line re mineshaft so came up with the wrrow idea was epic. He shot an arrow eventually but it was an iconic episode

[@borntoclimb7116]

Thats right

[@glenncol]

Thanks for the update, i was wondering about his while watching the video, he was one ballsy bloke

[@cheesetomato9140]

Did you know he tried building his own little colliery in his garden but Bolton Council had issues lol

[@MyGlens]

He usually felled the chimneys by toppling them but this chimney was too close to buildings to be able to use that method so he took it down a brick at a time. An amazing man.

[@douglasthomson1169]

His method was as entertaining as this video, indeed it was covered in one episode. He would remove bricks from a section at the base, shore that area up with wooden supports, and when enough had been removed, set fire to the supports which would in turn collapse the chimney.

[@dontworrybehappy3670]

Legend of a man Real character and clever man Watch more of his videos and what he’s achieved to really understand him R.I.P Fred Gone but never forgotten ❤❤

[@stevenmutumbu2860]

Going up is not a big deal ..coming down a whole diffrent thing.😂😂😂

[@christurner6430]

Even more impressive was him erecting his own ladders, one above the other having 'made' the attachments in the chimney brick's mortar. And often near the chimney top the ladders had to lean outwards!

[@GarethT902]

@Douglas Thomson remember Fred knocking down our local chimney. He said where it would land and was out by 2 inches !.

[@lee5111]

Our Fred was a legend. Great to see one of our American cousins finding out about him.

[@peterwainwright5994]

When he said a "friend sometimes shins up and we have a chat"?...so funny but unintentional! ...what a friend? ...he could count friends on one hand who's going to shin up there!

[@jannejoensuu896]

Wey aye man !

[@alangazeley5497]

"Dib-Naa" is the absolute correct pronunciation Steve ! Spot on buddy ! Fred was a UK legend ! ❤

[@chrisjones2224]

Yes he put the ladder up, he was an amazing guy, genuine, honest and incredibly happy working hard, and no desire to be anyone or anything else, no ego

[@tonynorman6642]

You described him perfectly

[@chrisjones2224]

@@tonynorman6642 I think it's a measure of the Man that people aren't only discovering him now, but will continue to do so, long into the future, and marvel at his character, enthusiasm for life, and his work, no one can fake being genuine.

[@tonynorman6642]

@@chrisjones2224 that's very true. I always felt he was a man born after his time. He would have been building those chimneys if he had been born during the industrial revolution

[@borntoclimb7116]

@@tonynorman6642 that would be great

[@ThomasPrior-wv6zn]

fred was fred

[@johnm8224]

This guy was a popular legend in the UK even within his own lifetime. Went on to a TV career as a "communicator" (to use a modern term) around all kinds of engineering subjects. Always informative, with a "no-nonsense", self-depricating sense of humour!

[@geekexmachina]

I loved his series on the heros of the industrial revolution

[@AutoAlligator]

He really was an incredible example of what can be done!

[@borntoclimb7116]

Yes, this was a nice show

[@angelaregan475]

My kids loved watching his programmes. Sadly I learned he was a wife beater.

[@grindelston5968]

Aye, the newer stuff was brilliant. Seeing his draughtmans skills was cool

[@silicononsapphire5102]

He's walking around on what builders or demolition men call scaffolding. RIP Fred. Born in the wrong century but still a British Legend.

[@albin2232]

There will never be another like him. A Grand Master of his trade.

[@CEP73]

The pure guts and patience Fred had was incredible. My dad made me watch Fred as a kid in the 70s. I was bored to tears. Now I'm nearly 50 can't get enough of re-watching Fred!! They certainly don't make 'em like they used to!!!

[@gutsblackswordsman3986]

We all tend to not appreciate this kind of thing when we are wee lads. The balls on this man could use them to knock down a building with ease legend

[@stevenmutumbu2860]

😂😂😂

[@darrelltregear756]

Same here .

[@borntoclimb7116]

In the western countries not but in the east, this dangerous work is nothing spechial

[@afterthemouse]

Fred! The man was an absolute legend. Anyone who puts in a hard working life, gets an award from the Queen and drives a steam engine 250 miles to the Palace to get his gong! The man was a star

[@timstevenson8915]

I have listened to Fred's biography sadly his traction engine was transported around the country for him it was then taken off the waggon and steamed up ready for filming.

[@afterthemouse]

@@timstevenson8915 no real supprise - at 5mph it would have taken weeks!

[@davidpearson243]

When the Queen gave him his honour she asked him if he was still climbing chimneys (so she must have watched the series)

[@pauldootson7889]

@@timstevenson8915 he drove it around quite a bit locally he used to go past the farm i worked on on winwick road taking it to warrington which is a fair trek at 5mph you could hear it coming from a mile off, he used to pull into our siding to let all the traffic past that had built up behind him, strange thing was no one complained they just all beeped and waved as they went past just huge respect for a local legend

[@timstevenson8915]

@Tim Jennings he still drove it round London though.I bet that was brilliant to see

[@jamesmaybrick2001]

Dont forget the unfortunate cameraman who had to drag up a massive 70's style camera. That guy was the unsung hero.

[@jackiea8394]

Fred’s programmes were incredibly popular when first produced and his knowledge of steam traction engines and all things vIctorian is legendary. Can you imagine how tough his hands were to demolish that chimney without wearing protective gloves?

[@reactingtomyroots]

I didn't even think about the fact he wasn't wearing gloves. Good point.

[@BuryBelle]

I am from Bolton in Lancashire, same as Fred. He was a legend in my town. You should watch one of his chimney drops where sets a fire underneath and the chimney falls with absolute precision. He also had steam locomotives that he took to fairs all over the country. Love that you are watching Fred xxx

[@BuryBelle]

Cheese butties = Cheese sandwiches 🥪 😋 👌

[@PaulHipToBeSquareAllen]

Bolton hasn’t been in Lancashire since 1974 🤣

[@elemar5]

Traction engines, not steam locomotives(trains).

[@markwolstenholme3354]

My home town also.

[@markwolstenholme3354]

@@PaulHipToBeSquareAllen Yes we know that, it's just habit. I don't think the postman would get lost. 😁

[@johnvissenga328]

Fred was special, proper special. If you start watching the videos of him on the history of engineering you will find it a rabbit hole that you will keep you busy for a long time ...... a real treasure R.I.P. Fred

[@blackbob3358]

Aye, where's all the characters now, 328 ?

[@1981MJD]

I know he never died from falling, and I've watched this many times before, but my hands still sweat like crazy every time I watch him climb those ladders... That's his balls you can hear knocking as he's climbing! 🙂

[@reactingtomyroots]

Haha, I thought that was probably the sound I was hearing. :)

[@imchrisme5514]

Too many buildings in the area too demolish, Fred was well known for having a pint or five at lunchtime before going back up to work. Absolute legend

[@The_Butler_Did_It]

Fred was a legend in the U.K. Some people thought he sounded dim because of his northern accent but was really very intelligent. He had studied at art college and was a superb draughtsman. In his later years, he presented TV programmes about architecture, engineering, and industrial heritage, was presented with an OBE by The Queen and was awarded a number of honorary doctorates.

[@kaleeyed]

He doesn't sound dim Butler, we are just conditioned in this country to think regional accents sound unintelligent.

[@AlBarzUK]

@@kaleeyed he’s probably one of those saft southerners, Mel. 😅

[@rachelpenny5165]

He never sounded dim to me. But I grew up in Devon and everyone used to look down on the West country accent. I did like watching him on TV.

[@mikeycraig8970]

@@rachelpenny5165 Yeah I remember that feeling. I come from Surrey originally, when I was about 12 I went to live with my dad for a year in Somerset, didn't like it, moved back to Surrey but took the now acquired accent back with me. Oh did people back in Surrey laugh.

[@jhuc2869]

The vilification of the regional accents of the UK stems back to the Norman conquest of 1066 and our overlords desire to portray themselves as superior and therefore justified in their dominion over us. Particular spite reserved for the northerners and Scots, Welsh and Irish firstly due to the insurrection and subsequent harrying of the north and then ongoing resistance from the Scots, Welsh and Irish. The bigotry exists to this day as do the descendants of the invaders who are still in positions of privilege and power. Only constitutional reform with proportional representation will put right the wrongs that still divide this country.

[@timglennon6814]

Fred was an old school Steeplejack. The factory chimney he’s was knocking is in a small town near me. The factory building now is own by a catalogue clothing company. Fred did say in the video, that there was to many buildings around to blow the chimney up..

[@andrewtaylor4063]

Fred was a legend, I had the pleasure of meeting him once at a steam engine show, top man.. RIP Fred.

[@andysmith2417]

I was 19 in 1979 and working as a mech engineer, on about £5500 a year...so £7000 was a lot of money then....but I wouldnt have gone up that chimney for £700,000, I would definately have fallen off,before Id got even half way up...Fred was an absolute legend,he made many interesting progs on the history of Britain and they industrial revolution,he was a Great storyteller and knowledgible presenter..RIP FRED DIBNAH. Superman might have been "the man of steel"...but Fred was the man with " balls of steel " 👍👍

[@hiyadroogs]

You're the same age as me, Andy. I to used to watch Fred's steeplejack programs 44 years ago. Looking again at the complete absence of safety gear, he truly was a man amongst men. But men just like him down through the ages built the civilised world. We don't realise how pathetically soft we are these days compared to the men of old, & all they had to face & do without complaint. Never was the quotation better defined than in Fred's example: Hard times create hard men. Hard men create soft times. Soft times create soft men. Soft men create hard times. Thank you, Fred, & the generations of men before you, who bestowed on us today - soft times. RIP..

[@Gosportinfo]

I was also 19 but as a bottom grade Civil Servant at £ 2,350 after a 24% pay rise as public sector pay had been restricted to try and bring down inflation.

[@RockinRedRover]

crikey you were rich Andy, you must have been good - joking aside I started my engineering apprenticeship in '78, I recall my starting wage aged 16 was £27 a week, and that was one of the best apprentice wages in the UK. And like you NO amount of money would get me up there, not even when I was in my 20s and fit and doing "dangeroous" sports for fun, including ab-seiling etc. We wathed these programmes at the time, and have never got bored with the repeats, Fred was a great inspiration to all us "back street mechanics". RIP sir

[@richt71]

Fred was a legend. He explained engineering to kids as a presenter in later life.

[@northwestfamof4992]

My mum lives right near one of Fred’s chimneys in Barrow Bridge in Bolton. Proud Boltonian here! Fred is an utter legend. We pronounce his surname “Dibner”, without too much emphasis on the ‘naaahhhh’ 😂 it’s bizarre hearing my accent and knowing you’re struggling to decipher it haha! A butty is a sandwich 😊

[@martinbobfrank]

You have stumbled on gold here, as many American KZbinrs are now doing. Fred Dinah, and you said it right, is gold in the UK. The BBC a long time ago, filmed him doing one job. He has said in videos he was nervous, but suddenly the BBC was filming everything he did. He would have put all the scaffolding himself, as well as the ladders, and he has videos out there showing how it was done. You can see him in his garden fixing traction engines, his hobby, fixing his house and even building a mine shaft in his garden. Fred is the kind of person any Brit would follow into battle, and I suppose in his time more of us where like him. Welcome to the Fred Dibnah world, and what he has done in his life will astound you; it did me. He was a family man, not a brilliant partner/husband but what do I know. He was a legend, and he didn't die from falling off a chimney. Should see the chimney he built his mum when he was about sixteen. It would cost you a fortune nowadays!

[@alanmon2690]

In case you're interested, his accent is that of Bolton which is in Lancashire, about 20 miles north of Manchester and he's one of my heroes - puts into context all the so-called sporting heroes..... That area was basically cotton mills which needed power to run the machinery. Almost all that part of Lancashire was involved in the cotton business. Much has been demolished (thank you Fred). There is still an old mill near Manchester Airport called Quarry Bank Mill.

[@PhilH919]

He can't collapse the chimney as it is surrounded by other buildings. He does take down chimneys using fire. That's yet another video. He is just an unbelievable man. Then there is his love of steam traction engines.

[@dragonmac1234]

He was a man with giant balls of steel. There are several ways to drop a structure, and Fred said in the video the boss of the company who owns it didn't want him to blow the chimney so he had to remove it brick by brick. RIP Mr Dibnah.

[@marinaknife4595]

Fred Dibnah was one incredible man - also very knowledgeable about England's industrial & social & political history. So modest & so very helpful, if you needed information on any matter industrial or mechanical subject of industrial history. He was a kind and a lovely man.

[@england6013]

Lovely lovely man. I once waited in line for him to sign his book and he took so much time over each one, the queue went round the block. He was also a very keen Steam enthusiast. You've inspired me to watch more of his videos. He was literally a living legend

[@wildwine6400]

For some more info , this was Briar Mill in Oldham, which is about 8 miles from Manchester, and it took 5 months to take down. The unused textile factory the chimney belongs to is now renovated as a distribution centre for a retail business, and Fred just took its chimney down as it was of no use now ofcourse

[@carltontweedle5724]

Fred was a legend, down to earth told it up front. You need to watch him ladder a chimney. It not the height that gets you is the sudden stop at the bottom. You should be afraid of the ground.

[@leepalliaser2900]

Hi Steve, I've been watching your videos for some time now,...really enjoy them. Fred was a national treasure. He used to put up all his own ladders and scaffold. You need to watch more of his videos that show him laddering chimneys. He was also a massive steam engine fanatic. He is sorely missed by thousands of fans over here. Anyway, do watch more of him and keep up the entertaining videos. Best wishes from the U.K.

[@steven54511]

Fred wasn't just a steeplejack, he was a true petrol head - he was especially into traction engines, which if you don't know are steam driver roller's with a huge front wheel, obviously for flattening ashphalt or concrete etc, a massive steam engine with a distinctive whistle and two rear wheels. Britian created some excellent examples or traction engines and people do go crazy for them at country fares or museum exhibitions.

[@serifini2469]

Not so much a petrol head as a steam punk :)

[@CasinoWoyale]

"he was a true petrol head - he was especially into traction engines, which if you don't know are steam..." So strange type of petrol head then.

[@gowdsake7103]

Petrol heads do not drive traction engines. He was an engineer and a craftsman

[@JJ-of1ir]

It upset Fred Dibnah to take down these chimneys. They were, he said, masterpieces built at the beginning of the industrial revolution, made to last by craftsmen. Feats of engineering in themselves. As you go on watching each programme he begins to drop snippets about 'the old days' and it becomes more and more fascinating, but ALWAYS scary!

[@joannetyndall3625]

Fred was a British legend xx

[@fossy4321]

Steeplejack - works on church steeples and and tall structures, also early steeplejacks were often ex sailors used to heights and rigging, so Jack as in "jolly jack tar". £7,000 in 1979 is worth £45,312. or $55,628 today.

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

This was before modern H&S legislation. No one would be allowed to work like this now. Fred was a national treasure. His skill, for the TV, was he was a natural presenter. He would knock up some of the most beautiful drawings to illustrate a point that would be on screen for seconds.

[@Andrea-mg9py]

Fred was a legend and came from quite near to my home town in Lancashire. He was a lovely bloke. Greatly admired and respected.

[@djsibbz]

He was an amazing fella and quite local to me. Used to drop them with fire when room allowed. Even dug a mine shaft in his back garden to show he could. Scaffold or scaffolding was the word avading you. Can definitely recommend you watch more about him.

[@hamonryechinaski180]

He puts the ladders up, it's hair raising. He had someone to tie stuff on but Fred did it solo. What a legend. He had yo do it manually because it was surrounded by buildings and the owner, who name was emblazoned on it wanted it done right.

[@rikmoran3963]

You can find other Fred Dibnah videos where he puts up the ladder and the staging at the top of a chimney. Quite an impressive feat in itself. I'm always impressed by his strength and fitness. Knocking down a chimney by hand has to be exhausting and then at the end of the day you still have to climb all the way down the ladder! I think if I could climb to the top and then back down again I'd need a day in bed just to recover! 😂

[@geekexmachina]

Thankyou for looking into Fred. he was quite a hero. So you may have missed it but Fred said that for this chimney they were not allowed to blow it up because it was so big and in a built up area, it would be very difficult to fell safely. The labourer also helps clear the bricks at the bottom but is also there incase things go wrong. The scaffold/ Staging platform at the top he put on and it would have been moved down by hand somewhere around the end of the video here. the ladders for public safety are removed after each job (maintenance) then put up each time a new job is commisioned, in the laddering videos he is laddering a chimney he previously had worked on, there is a video of him erecting a scaffold. He also mentioned his hobby which was steam and traction engine building. there are videos of this too. so you will have noticed he has a northern accent. Some of the camera work is done on cranes and the voice over it post filming (you can hear the wind in the background so would be difficult live). Of course this used to be a common profession with everything build in the industrial revolution, and prior to that churches and cathedrals.

[@carolmillins9199]

This is a great rabbit hole to go down. The man was an absolute genius!

[@chrisellam9196]

Hopefully, he is resting in peace. Total legend! Apparently, my Grandfather used to work with him on making tractors so I've been told.

[@Cameron655]

I haven't even watched the video yet, but if you've found Fred Dibnah, you're in for a treat (unless you have vertigo). He did do demolitions by knocking out sections of the base, propping them up with timber, and then setting fire to them until the whole thing fell down, then he retired into a more sedentary lifestyle of steam engines and stuff. The guy was an absolute legend.

[@HighHoeKermit]

Yes, Fred (Dibner he pronounces it) put the ladders and "staging" up himself. He was only 40 years old here, they were just older back then. I lived a few streets away from him back in 2000, both of our houses backing on to the cemetery he was buried in a few years later. His funeral was quite the spectacle, led by steam traction engines from all over the country. He was quite the local celebrity. He did take structures down using the old fire technique too, rather like felling a tree, but the surrounding buildings in this case were too close for such an operation.

[@williamatkinson7495]

The most amazing guy I ever met so talented you need to see as many videos about him as you can RIP fred

[@almor2445]

I love Fred. The moment I heard his voice, I knew he'd be from Burnley. They have an accent that is unique. It's got the almost hard "r" sound common in the West Country and Cornwall but combined with the Lancashire Northern accent. It's pretty difficult to follow at times.

[@markmarsh27]

You HAVE TO SEE Fred installing the ladders -- that's the most INSANE part of it! Fred Dibnah was easily the bravest man who ever lived. ... must've been difficult to climb with his gigantic titanium balls!

[@allyup3404]

Yeah definitely watch him put the ladders up and the scaffold. Brilliant videos.

[@MrPaulMorris]

11:07 "Don't they just blow them up with dynamite..." Fred did mention a little earlier in the video that the chimney couldn't be taken down by the normal methods because the surrounding buildings, just yards away on every side, are still in use. Fred does also fell chimneys--there is another video on KZbin showing one such demolition--although he doesn't use explosive to do so.

[@stevebagnall1553]

The best example of a steeplejack are the men who built the Empire State Building in New York. Plenty of film and pictures on KZbin. Fred's accent is typical for Central Lancashire in England. As usual, high standard of presentation, keep them coming.

[@stephenhickman304]

It’s literally terrifying to watch - the man was indeed a legend and absolutely fearless

[@johnpowell5433]

I'm privileged to have shaken his hand. A man you could literally look up to.

[@martinpotter9132]

He put his own ladders up with the help from his buddy down below and then he built the the "scaffolding" at the top, he was a legend . Some of the chimneys he demolished were taken down with fire and it was great to watch him make the holes in the bottom of the chimney then fill it with wood and the car tyres , he would answer questions if he wasn't to busy, like how do you know you have taken enough bricks out, and he would tell us kids that the chimney would talk to him lol, didn't know what he meant at first , but he told me on the next chimney, he said you can hear the chimney creaking and groaning . I think I was ten years old the last time I watched take a chimney down like that. But I did see him at local steam fairs now and again and on the odd occasion on the road hold up traffic with his steam engine. It wasn't long after making these films that there were less jobs for him as I think health and safety were kicking in more as insurances were increasing in price, and more chimney were being demolished with explosives .

[@wildwine6400]

This was Freds first ever TV appearance to, so works as a good introduction to him

[@honymonster30]

Fred Dibnah was a legend there should be another video that shows him putting the ladder up the side of the chimney and erecting the platform around the top. I loved watching the programs Fred made from taking down chimneys to taking about traction engines.

[@davidmay8775]

Agree with Vic C. You should watch the video where he drops a chimney without the use of dynamite. Pure brilliance! Another character worth looking at was "Blaster Bates". He was a demolition expert. Some of his videos are priceless.

[@tanyaabram8336]

Love that you enjoyed this as much as you did, I think you will really enjoy watching more of his stuff. Fred was a lovely man and was as genuine in person as he was on TV, he was beloved by many in the UK

[@biggelmo]

Thanks for the video, Fred Dibnah first appeared on British TV in the late 1970's with these amazing TV programs covering his work around the industrial North West of England. Check out the other videos of him demolishing chimneys by other methods. The North West of England was the industrial powerhouse of the country from Victorian times until the 1960's, the big chimneys were attached to huge steam boilers that and steam engines that were used to power " Line Shafts " which ran through the Cotton Mills to power the weaving looms that made cotton material. You need to look at Victorian Industrial Britain videos to see what I mean or even look for the Fred Dibnah Industrial history of Britain TV series programs the were broadcast.

[@mart971]

Fred is a true down to earth legend. His former house is now a museum. If you ever get over to the UK its a must to visit.

[@Ayns.L14A]

the laddering video covers how he sets up the ladder for this job. He's standing on the "SCAFFOLDING" PLANKS and on the chimney itself. There are a few videos out there also covering how he used to demolish a chimney with fire rather than explosives....well worth checking out.

[@PhilH919]

You should see the one with him putting up the ladders and the platform. Rely scary.

[@georgebarnes8163]

Working class Hero and a National Treasure

[@soniatucker6929]

Loved your posting and comments, I'm a massive Fred Dibnah fan .... from the UK.

[@mousecara5555]

I’m from Bolton and got to watch him bring down a chimney when I was a kid, he was a legend.

[@shaun-hoppy]

He shows you how he builds the scaffold at the top and how he ladders the chimneys too, you should see how he sits on a Bosons chair (like a child's swing) and moves across the chimney stack putting the scaffold together with no harness, makes you wonder how he could climb the ladder with balls that big

[@footplate0]

RIP Fred. A man who was born out of his time, he should have been born 100 to 150 years sooner. Yes he use to do 90% of everything by himself single handed. You could not blow this chiminey up due to the buildings around it. The boards are called staging. By comparison in 1978 I bought a 3 bedroom house for £8,750, so Freds fee was worth a house

[@philjones6054]

In 1979 my weekly wage, as an office junior, was £27.oo

[@johnburton4577]

Nice reaction. There's some videos of him laddering the chimney (I think he put ladders up opposite sides of the chimney), and another of him putting up the scaffolding, and some videos of him felling/toppling them more traditionally.

[@dps8435]

Fred always put his own ladders up,he was a legend,almost died when his cap landed in a puddle with pigeon poo on it ,wiped it down put on head and got seriously ill from faeces.The guy was fearless,notice no gloves or hard hat.

[@AdmiralDonkey]

Thanks for taking the time to check out Fred & pleased that you found him interesting! As others have said, he had a labourer to help move the bricks from the bottom and pass equipment up to Fred but everything else was just him. He put the ladders up himself, built the scaffolding in situ, the lot. And of course as he was demolishing this chimney he would've needed to resituate the scaffold dozens of times as he progressed down. Many more incredible videos of his work but a good next point would be to watch the videos on how he ladders a chimney. It's in 2 parts on YT. Amazing man. I have nothing but admiration and a sense of awe for people with the mental (and physical) fortitude to tackle something like this.

[@BunnyKins1970]

Yeah, you need to watch him felling a chimney. None of the wimpy explosives or wrecking balls - he was a craftsman. 💚🐇🐴💚

[@paultrussy4243]

Steve - love your respect for this English legend. Fred was part of a generation that is sorely missed. A real hero.

[@Youssii]

I just can’t believe he went down that ladder and then all the way back up it for lunch.

[@marisaJ1]

You should have a look at The Worst Jobs in History with Tony Robinson. It gives you some insight into the jobs that existed in the UK, sometimes hundreds of years ago. Some pretty disgusting jobs that don't exist. It's really interesting.

[@brianmountain3358]

Jack Hargreaves ( a frmr Tv presenter on 'How') has x no.of You Tube clips himself Enjoy

[@judithhope8970]

I'm with you on the heights thing. That scaffolding didn't look very solid and it was so windy!!! My stomach is turning over every few minutes! He did mention that it was too near to other buildings to blow it up and it does look quite near other buildings. A butty is a word for sandwich. They had cheese in theirs.

[@Tass...]

When he was younger he was well known for having 4 or 5 pints of beer at lunchtime before climbing back up these. How he didn't ever fall is staggering.

[@pauljames77777]

Fred was a legend no other word and there will never be another one like him

[@chassetterfield9559]

For reference, in 1979, £7400 was significantly more than I earned as an analyst at a major pharmaceutical company [ 1.5-2x ] per year. Filming of the climb was made from a large cherry picker, which was clearly tall enough to reach. However, we have to assume that the cost to hire the machine for the period while the chimney was dismantled would be far higher than the £7400 Fred charged. Presumably, the sound was added in post production, along with the 'commentary'. As he says, there are just too many buildings around, which are going to remain, for them to 'drop' the chimney in the conventional sense, either by dynamite, or his 'sticks & fire' method. There are other videos showing how he gets the ladders up, and also erecting the staging at the top.

[@handyman4192]

He was legend of the North. Here in the UK. A true gentleman, true brit and a fantastic engineer.

[@alexhawkes5098]

This guy was the bomb. British legend. RIP Fred

[@rogerdavis5914]

Oh Mark one of if not ghd best reaction I gave seen, made me laugh not only that I'm talking to the tablet answering your questions, the wife thinks I'm losing my marbles 😂😂😂😂 thanks

[@Steelninja77]

He was a special type of personality. you hit the nail on the head.

[@adrianmichell2751]

Imagine climbing 200ft up a vertical ladder to hammer away with your arms for 4 to 5 hours to climb 200 ft vertical ladder down . Incredible !

[@coot1925]

If you listened, he explained that there wasn't enough room to drop the thing, which is why he has to take it down a brick at a time. The word you're looking for is scaffolding or platform.

[@lindadoswell9396]

Its called scaffolding!! He was a legend! Watch him demolish a chimney the old way by fire!!

[@davidstevenson6817]

Scaffolding board? The labourer would be passing up the scaffold boards and probably loading bricks into a truck for disposal. Fred had a half hour show back in (I think) the 70’s - he just got on with his really unusual job … he was one of a dying breed and very fondly remembered, a really humble happy guy. I think most of us were a little jealous - he was just happy in himself, one of the good guys.

[@crocodilesmile7510]

He had to do it brick by brick because of there was were building all around so a demolition was not an option. I used to live in Bolton and his house has a famous “Blue Plaque” on it and he has a wonderful statue and in the town along with his steam engine in glass. Phenomenal man!

[@jamesneilsongrahamloveinth1301]

Heart-warming to hear about the statue and the blue plaque . . .

[@user-rz5nu7rs8p]

Incredible man and very powerful to do what he did. I'm interested to know how long it took him to demolish the chimney?. A very interesting video that you picked to show your audience, well done.

[@johnburton4577]

That John Noakes on Nelson's Column is also worth watching.

[@silkuk8417]

'Legend' is oft overused these days. Not in the case of Our Fred Dibnah; truly a LEGEND. Utterly remarkable, totally unique man of the like never to be seen again.

[@howardsternisbatman]

As a kid I was captivated by Fred. As an adult, nothing has changed.

[@alankenney]

An absolute legend! RIP Fred.

[@harpingon]

Yep. He puts up the ladders, and staging [ scaffolding ]. There are videos for him laddering a chimney, and erecting the scaffold. Also one of him scaling a mighty chimney with a big overhang. A sadly missed British legend was Fred.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Scaffolding, that's the word I couldn't quite find for some reason. I can see why he's looked at as a legend.

[@gailcrook2687]

What I don't understand is what happens to the staging that's fixed to the bricks that he's removing, it must be continually lowered ?

[@harpingon]

@@gailcrook2687 Yep. At least the ladders are there for the long haul and he can just remove them going down, but the staging does indeed have to be dismantled and rebuilt on the way down.

[@schrodingerscat1863]

This guy is an absolute legend here in the UK, he had a great no nonsense personality and ended up with a successful TV career after doing these few documentary shows back in the 70s following him around knocking down old chimneys.

[@victormuckleston]

his method for dropping chimneys without explosives was amazing.

[@ianseville]

fred king of the steeples ..what a guy you need to watch all his videos he was an amazing man

[@59withqsb12]

You should see how he attaches the ladders, then single-handedly builds the scaffolding around the top. And of course then as he takes a layer down, he has to reconstruct the scaffolding a bit further down before he can go on... Amazing.

[@newton859able]

A true legend. An amazing character.

[@davidstevensasidewayslook8831]

Health & Safety didnt exist in Fred's day. He stood on loose scaffold boards and wandered about at the top as though he was in his back garden! The whole scenario makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up! I remember this series when it first appeared on TV in the 70's. It made him an instant household name. One of the programs showed him demolishing another huge industrial chimney, this one he actually knocked down by FIRE, he gradually removed ALL of the bricks at the bottom 3/4 the way round and replaced with huge wooden pillar beams, once he'd worked all the way round he piled up dozens of old pallets round the bottom, set fire to the lot and once all the wood burnt thru the whole structure fell down. A legend….

[@ragupasta]

Fred was an absolute legend. The world misses more honest people like this man. Steeple Jacking is a time old tradition and takes a certain mindset to actually do it - I could not, as I also fear heights. Later in his life he stopped Steeplejacking, repaired Traction Engines and did a lot of TV shows around Engineering. Modern day you have controlled charges and software to predict where the stack may fall - not the case in 1979, so chiselling out brick by brick would have been the safer option. He also dropped stacks by burning the bottoms to drop them. Very talented man. The world could do with more like him.

[@kaleeyed]

I think with the sound of the footsteps, they've recorded the sound of him walking up the bit near the bottom of the chimney, and made it look like he's much higher up than he is, then cut it next to footage of him up at the top, and it just seems to go together. Good editing.

[@kaleeyed]

Or else it's foley, they added a lot of foley to documentaries back then.

[@ChrisShute62]

This was shot on film, with sound (usually) being recorded separately on quarter-inch magnetic tape. Typically, a TV film Sound Recordist would get plenty of "wildtrack" recordings of ambience, footsteps, traffic, etc to offer to the Dubbing Mixer, who would blend together several tracks of speech, ambience, music, narration, over the final cut of the edited film. Film stock was always expensive, but tape was cheap. It was more common then to record great characters like Fred as a sound-only recording. It was costly to let interviewees ramble away for hours on film. (Even though Fred was superbly articulate). Editing of the sound tape was done using a razor blade, with great precision. As a (radio) BBC sound man at that time, I was sometimes expected to correct people stuttering on tape. For this programme, Fred was probably 'interviewed', then his answers were strung together, with pauses and gaps added where needed, without us hearing any of the prompting questions thrown at him. When synchronised sound was required for film footage, a clapper board was used at the start, or end of, each sequence, giving an audible/visible label. Note that few sequences here contain synchronized sound. This may well have been a production decision. Fred had plenty to do on his chimney, without having to talk to us at the same time. In any case, radio mics were less reliable then, and a boom-wielding sound man on a small windy platform was not a good idea. This programme format was a product of the technology and ecconomics of the time. When synchronised video footage became dirt cheap, producers could afford to let multiple cameras run for hours, until something interesting happened. Welcome to reality TV! Fred's chimney-top wooden staging was indeed a work of art, done simply using what was to hand, and so too was the crafting of this piece of television history.