Steeplejack Fred Dibnah: Britain's Fearless Steeplejack
Steeplejack Fred Dibna once climbed a 330ft chimney without safety gear and demolished it brick by brick in the 1970's.
He was a called a working class hero, famously saying “I’ve never fallen off a chimney. You only fall off one of them once!”
Whether toppling giant chimneys or restoring vintage steam vehicles, he made himself legendary.
Frederick Travis Dibnah, born in 1938, was an English steeplejack and television personality, with a keen interest in mechanical engineering, who described himself as a "backstreet mechanic".
When Dibnah was born, Britain relied heavily upon coal to fuel its industry.
As a child, he was fascinated by the steam engines which powered the many textile mills in Bolton, but he paid particular attention to chimneys and the men who worked on them.
He began his working life as a joiner, before becoming a steeplejack.
From age 22, he served for two years in the Army Catering Corps of the British Army, undertaking his National Service.
Once demobilised, he returned to steeplejacking - In 1978, while making repairs to Bolton Town Hall, Dibnah was filmed by a regional BBC news crew.
The BBC then commissioned a documentary, which followed the rough-hewn steeplejack as he worked on chimneys, interacted with his family and talked about his favourite hobby steam.
Fred Dibnah's fame as a steeplejack grew rapidly.
His fearlessness, coupled with his innate understanding of complex machinery and structures, made him the go-to person for perilous chimney repair and maintenance.
He scaled towering chimneys, often without any safety equipment, a testament to his exceptional climbing skills.
One of his most famous projects was the demolition of the iconic chimney at Bolton's Wellington Mills.
He pitched the price high – £7,000 to take the whole lot down, 20,000 bricks a brick at a time.
He climbed to the summit of the chimney, without a safety rope, and it took him five months to complete.
The event attracted crowds from far and wide, with Fred's signature enthusiasm on full display.
Chimney felling
Having mastered his trade repairing chimneys, Dibnah became aware of the demand for a cost-effective method of demolishing them.
He offered to remove them without using explosives, by cutting an ingress at the base of the chimney, supporting the brickwork with wooden props and then burning away the props so that the chimney fell.
Although this was a tried and tested method, it was not without its opponents.
On one occasion he was contracted by the local council to fell two chimneys.
The contract obliged him to dismantle each by hand, but he decided to fell them by cutting away the base.
The first chimney collapsed as planned, but the council terminated his contract and refused to pay.
Dibnah contacted the borough engineer and offered to fell the second chimney for no charge, to prove the effectiveness of his technique.
He even offered to let the engineer light the fire, but the wind blew so hard that the chimney did not draw the flames and once the props had been burnt through, it remained standing.
Dibnah resorted to using a hydraulic jack to apply extra pressure to the intact side of the base and the chimney eventually fell.
He later told the engineer that "it was all about fine balancing and counteracting high wind forces.
During his illustrious career, he has, however, had some close shaves.
He almost lost his life in 1997, when a concrete chimney he had been asked to fell on Canvey Island began to collapse before the felling team had finished preparing the base.
As the team ran from the chimney, Dibnah tripped and fell and was greeted by the sight of 2,500 tonnes of concrete leaning toward him, but fortunately the chimney righted itself and then fell in the opposite direction.
The last chimney he felled, which was his 90th, was in Royton, in May 2004.
“I’ve never fallen off a chimney”, he casually remarks. “You only fall off one of them once!”
In 1978, Fred even hosted a BBC television series called "The Fred Dibnah Story," which showcased his adventures and passion for historical machinery.
The show was a resounding success and cemented his status as a national treasure.
Fred Dibnah passed away on November 6, 2004, but his legacy lives on. He demolished more than 100 chimneys in his lifetime.
His infectious enthusiasm, love for history, and fearless approach to his profession continue to inspire people across the UK and beyond.
Many documentaries, books, and tributes have been dedicated to his memory.
Today, in Bolton town centre stands a larger than life statue to the late, great steeplejack Fred Dibnah next to a Corliss Steam Engine.
Fred always said that he was a man born in the wrong time, that he should have lived in the Victorian age.
He was a tireless promoter of all things steam, and it is fitting that his statue has been placed next to this Bolton built steam engine.
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