Steeplejack FRED DIBNAH Dismantles a MASSIVE Chimney by Hand! (1979 BBC Archive)
Added 2025-03-20 14:00:19 +0000 UTChttps://youtu.be/NKPApAsJbj4?si=lRpGHedBL4NTMwbf
Comments
Almost daily for decades, Fred would go to the pub at lunchtime. Sink a few pints of beer and climb back up those chimneys. Still never fell. He was something else.
Tass
2025-04-03 16:21:42 +0000 UTCPlease Please please watch more videos from Fred Dibnah,when he is f elling chimneys using the pit props method from the 1700s, when he shows how to put the wooden ladders up that he climbs on this video,when he restored a steam traction engine using old steam machinery in his back garden.
Jimmy
2025-03-29 03:36:18 +0000 UTC£7000 in 1979 is worth £45000 today.
Steve Small
2025-03-28 18:10:02 +0000 UTCThe ladders that he uses to climb up the chimney were also put up by Fred. You have to wat h him doing that. Amazing!
Paul Coplen
2025-03-22 01:51:06 +0000 UTCi got it work , out of nowhere it popped up after visiting the link with a vpn then switching it off 👍
TheHigh
2025-03-21 22:18:29 +0000 UTCThis is a return to hard times for the mill towns of Lancashire . Each chimney represent the closure of factories and with them communities , a whole social fabric gradually went as well , factories had their own sports teams and social clubs were a focal point . He talks about this in a later episode .
mark barratt
2025-03-21 16:03:04 +0000 UTCYou've started at the beginning and you can't not continue. Fred's is a helluva story - he ended up as a TV presenter with his own documentary series. But before then there are many more documentaries about him: felling chimneys, restoring his steam engines and being the ultimate badass. As others have suggested, watch him ladder a chimney and then at age 50 defy the laws of physics climbing a tower with massive overhangs. In watching all of those you have a Fred bingo card of sayings: "'alf a day out wi' undertaker" and "Did you like that?"
Nick Beer
2025-03-21 00:26:13 +0000 UTCFred was one of that breed of men who are fearless up high, check out some american photo's of men constructing skyscrapers where they sit at the end of a girder eating their food with nothing below them. They were also higher than Fred's chimneys.
Sibbo
2025-03-20 23:44:41 +0000 UTCAgreed. Guy Martin is basically Fred regenerated.
Dryfesands
2025-03-20 22:54:08 +0000 UTCFred is basically a legend. A man out of time. He should've been a 19th Century Expert Foreman building the empire on steam and coal. Happily for us he was around in the age of the TV Camera and turned out to be an absolutely natural broadcaster with tons of charm, and very warm and homely feel and, crucially, a real ability to explain complex engineering very very simply. An absolute star. All his videos are excellent.
Dryfesands
2025-03-20 22:53:51 +0000 UTCOne of the most evocative videos you’ll ever see.
Derek Fleming
2025-03-20 22:31:16 +0000 UTCGuy Martin is the modern day Fred Dibnah. Notable as a racer on the Isle of Man TT circuit originally, he’s done so many other things that involve vehicle mechanics & speed. He well worth reacting to & has that same laid back manner that Fred Dibnah has.
Frank Mac
2025-03-20 22:30:54 +0000 UTCDear Jess & Mike, Like many others here, can I recommend you watch his video ‘Laddering a Chimney’ which precludes this video. It comes in 2 parts I think but as Jess points out, he’s a real character & this is addictive watching. He’s such a wonderful character, so relatable & Jess is right in that they don’t make men like this anymore due to Health & Safety regulations & much newer technology. I hope you comment on other Fred Dibnah videos. They are well worth it if nothing other to see how things are so different these days. Best wishes
Frank Mac
2025-03-20 22:26:31 +0000 UTCThat was that old war generation, absolutely solid.. not many of them left now sadly. A slap from that old boy would've took the head off ye.
Paul
2025-03-20 22:19:01 +0000 UTCYes the 1 where he puts the ladders up from the bottom to the top with the help of just one other guy and the one where he takes the chimney down in 1 with fire, amazing stuff.
Fordy7169
2025-03-20 21:26:54 +0000 UTCSo happen you have reacted to Fred. One of the very Best
Aaron Page
2025-03-20 21:25:08 +0000 UTCgotcha , i will try this later , thanks for the info , il update this later if it works!
TheHigh
2025-03-20 21:15:43 +0000 UTCI can't get enough of Fred, but my god the camera men must be crazy! Cameras back then where massive.
Lawson Jones
2025-03-20 20:20:14 +0000 UTCWelcome to the Industrial North! Fred's a legend round these parts.
White Dwarf
2025-03-20 20:06:12 +0000 UTCHis documentaries are great too, and in the last 10-15 years we’ve had Guy Martin who was an Isle of Man TT racer, truck mechanic by trade and proper down to earth - he’s done lots of shows about industrial and military history (as well as speed records and travel shows) - the first of them is The Boat that Guy Built. They’re all on YouTube but as it’s a series I’m not sure that’s fair to put on the playlist
Kieran B
2025-03-20 19:35:17 +0000 UTCHaha I thought you might appreciate that one 😂
Kieran B
2025-03-20 19:28:40 +0000 UTCFred Dibnah is one of the many reasons why Northerners call us Southerners "soft".
Jay
2025-03-20 19:25:09 +0000 UTCYou definitely need to check out the videos if him laddering and staging the chimneys too - and demolishing one with the props and fire (that’s medieval siegecraft too)
Kieran B
2025-03-20 19:21:26 +0000 UTCThanks for the info and nice Game of Thrones reference😉
RegenerationNationTV
2025-03-20 19:20:41 +0000 UTCAnachronism means ‘out of time’ - so a Starbucks cup in a medieval setting would be anachronistic
Kieran B
2025-03-20 19:16:48 +0000 UTCI added a better version of the fire video to the playlist. The one by bbc doesn't include the build up explaining the job with prices aswell a chat with Fred about why he prefers his method
Danny
2025-03-20 19:12:47 +0000 UTCTry it again logging in on an incognito window and joining. I had to switch to "desktop view" in the browser to add stuff. Theres a little + logo you click to add stuff near the top. Just accept all the pop ups to about Google permissions. Then once selected you click at video at the bottom.
Danny
2025-03-20 19:09:13 +0000 UTCwould love to see more reaction to fred , i wish i could contribute to the education playlist but it is broken , around a month ago i clicked the link to the playlist in pateron and it brang me to the youtube playlist with a dialogue that pops us asking if i wanted to contribute , i didn't know what i was looking at at the time and clicked to the side thus closing said dialogue , from then on no matter what i do i cant bring that single pop up that asks if i want to contribute , so annoying , I've been looking for a fix for weeks after reading countless posts and forums no one has a answer. im just permanently locked out of all contributing playlists because of that single time i didn't accept as i didn't know what it was. can look at the playlist just fine there is just no option to join anywhere ....very frustrating , fantastic reaction anyways , hope yall have a great day/night 🕊️
TheHigh
2025-03-20 18:47:04 +0000 UTCCan never get enough Fred Dibnah. Such a humble man. There’s a few other videos of his that you need to check out, including him installing the ladders on a chimney like the ones he was climbing up!
James Hyde
2025-03-20 17:36:23 +0000 UTCThis was brilliant
Jamie
2025-03-20 16:43:53 +0000 UTCYou should definitely react to more Fred Dibnah, working class hero. "How to climb a chimney overhang," "How to erect a chimney scaffold" and "Demolishing a chimney with fire" would all make for great reactions. Thank you and God bless you and your family.
David Broome
2025-03-20 16:43:11 +0000 UTCThe saying Jess was think of was, "“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
David Broome
2025-03-20 16:38:02 +0000 UTCFred demolished a chimney in the town I grew up too, sadly no video of it only pictures. The laddering video was filmed just down the road from me though in a neighbouring town
Danny
2025-03-20 16:31:49 +0000 UTCThe laddering and scaffolding are separate videos. They have the scaffolding video but not the laddering video, as it wasn't made for the BBC. it makes sense to see the laddering video prior to the scaffolding one, so I just added the laddering video if they are picking videos randomly
Danny
2025-03-20 16:27:51 +0000 UTCIt became a reactors essential video to see during the pandemic. So a lot have seen it many times that's all. Not bothered me though, its seeing what others think of it
Danny
2025-03-20 16:20:56 +0000 UTCThe factory that the chimney is attached to was built in 1906, as a textile mill. The chimney had no use , so was taken down. The factory has been renovated and is used by a logistics company now. As for how long this job took, this was Briar Mill in Oldham, near Manchester, and it took him 5 months to take down
Danny
2025-03-20 15:56:42 +0000 UTCYou should definitely check out the videos of him erecting the ladders and the one on putting up the staging at the top
Neil Tristram
2025-03-20 15:34:33 +0000 UTCHe had to put the ladders and the rigging at the top up before he started knocking it down.
David Benge
2025-03-20 15:33:52 +0000 UTCKudos to the cameraman who also got up to the top lol madness, for other videos of 1970s health and safety madness in Britain - there's a TV presenter John Noakes from a children's show called Blue Peter, for the show he went through some adventures including climbing up Nelson's column
Jaxon's Jerseys
2025-03-20 15:29:04 +0000 UTCFred is a national treasure to us in the uk 🇬🇧 should definitely watch more from him
Dango247
2025-03-20 15:23:26 +0000 UTCFred puts those ladders up by hand himself. Theres a video of him putting them up. Traditionally, he would use fire to take down a chimney, but as explained, this one was in a position he couldn't. I added the full laddering video to the playlist aswell as his first televised demolition with fire. So can check those out at some point in future
Danny
2025-03-20 15:07:28 +0000 UTCFred is a national treasure, please react to more
John Davis
2025-03-20 15:06:52 +0000 UTCWorth bearing in mind the GBP used to be a lot stronger, in '79 it fluctuated but was over £2.30 to $1 USD. So about $15,000 in 1979, which in the US's inflation is about $67k today.
Andy
2025-03-20 15:03:55 +0000 UTCHe mentioned a Traction Engine there. In his later years (but all throughout his life really) he'd been restoring a Victoria steam engine. BBC did a documentary about it which is on Youtube you can watch if you want some more Dibnah
Mclaren Enjoyer
2025-03-20 14:58:42 +0000 UTCMike is a bad ass and you see him every day!
Terrahawk
2025-03-20 14:58:04 +0000 UTCI know some weren't too excited about this video. But I think it's a must to see some of Fred's work, especially the earlier TV stuff. Just a different world. He became very, very popular on UK TV, a lot on steam engines and the history of essentially the industrial revolution.
Andy
2025-03-20 14:55:23 +0000 UTCThere’s probably nobody left who could do Fred’s job…
Silk
2025-03-20 14:46:45 +0000 UTCThe only problem with seeing thjis video first is you would be forgiven for believing those ladder are permanenly attached to the chimney. When in reality Fred puts them up one by one by hammering and chiseling pegs (dogs?) into the bricks and attaching the ladders with rope. It's an eye opener if you've never see him putting up the ladders in the first place, then creating a platform at the top to walk around.
jumpjet
2025-03-20 14:34:21 +0000 UTCHealth and Safety in 1979 was having a ladder. A ladder? Bloody luxury!!!! In my day….
Thomas
2025-03-20 14:33:08 +0000 UTC£7,000 in 1979 would be about £34,000 today, so about $44,000. It apparently took him 5 months to do the job. I don't think it's a lot of money given the risk and that he's gotta pay at least one other person's wages out of that. You wouldn't get me climbing that ladder for 100 times that amount, lol. There's another video on the same channel that shows him putting up the ladders and scaffold/platforms, which is also terrifying given the lack of any real safety measures. He had balls of steel for sure.
Sigma
2025-03-20 14:28:31 +0000 UTCThat was filmed in my home town. All the chimneys and mills around them have all been knocked down now. It's all new housing developments. I was 2 years old when this was filmed.
Bowdon
2025-03-20 14:11:57 +0000 UTC
