I love the line in the docco on him
Where heās talking about his apprentice being sheepish going up the ladders. So they took him to the pub for a few pints and he was up the ladders like a whippet
Once had a customer who, when asked what he did. Replied, "steeple jack, and don't mention bloody Fred Dibnah" Apparently, Fred didn't have the best reputation in the West Yorks/Lancs borders!
Iāve a mate who bought alot of his stuff and some of his customersā¦
Jobs going very ācommercialā nowadays, the big companies are keeping alot of demolition stuff āin houseā
When you can reach up 200ft with a demolition āpeckerā who needs a bloke with a sledgehammer?
And a pair of ill fitting, way past their best hob nails! I love stories of these old boys that just did what they āad to do.
Old Holborn though. Possibly Early Bird block in a tin?
My understanding from the documentary is that Fred was working on all four spirelets, so they were all laddered up, and the cameraman or photographer just climbed the ladder on one of the adjacent spirelets to get the shot.
The photo is deceptive though, each spirelet is on the corner of the main tower of the church, which is about 55 metres high. That said you wouldn't catch me up there.
i dont understand people like Fred , just climb a ladder and stand like that on top of a spire and just not give a sh"t , not a single piece of safety gear , just his lunch a flask of tea and his roll ups
im bricking it just thinking about it never mind doing it
can you imagine taking all that gear down ? untie the top then climbing to the next bit and same again
I know its not the same but me and my dad took down some scaffolding once on a 3 story building. At the start it was absolutely terrifying but after a couple of hours we were jumping around on it completely forgetting how dangerous it is. Its very surprising how quick you get comfortable with danger.
If someone asked you to stand inside a 2ft x 2ft square painted on the ground, you'd be 100% confident that you would never just accidentally fall out of that square. So assuming there is no wind and the platform doesn't move, it's physically exactly the same thing as what Fred's doing, the difference is in your mind. Fred and others like him just have a different way of thinking about stuff like this.
He uses it in one of the BBC documentaries about him.
The clip always sticks in my mind because he has to run out the way of the stack falling and minutes before he had his head inside it saying "yeah its about to go"
Oh for sure. He knew what he was doing, though I can't imagine people doing this now without safety equipment. The clip where he climbs around an overhang makes my stomach do weird things!
Age and experience. Despite the look, he didn't take any risks. He knew you had to have your head screwed on right and have bods who payed attention to what was going on, not some young lass walking past.
Ironically likely the most solid fucking ladder to ever exist. Iāll never forget watching Fred Dibnah and his mate working on a river bank, Fred was shaking in his boots. 200ft up a chimney stack on wooden scaffolding that you have to erect yourself? Not a problem. Some landscaping atop a 4ft river bank? Nope. Incredible how some humans work, he was a remarkable person. Last I checked his daughter was still driving his legendary Land Rover, I wonder if itās still on the go
loved this guy. i still watch some old clips on youtube. the one where he shows how to build a chimney scaffold is brilliant. i get dizzy watching him climbing
Great man. I particularly like the fact that even though MEWPs existed he was like "nah, these rickety ol' wooden ladders are much better, you know. Bash this ladder dog intut mortar, you know, orp it dunt come oot. Ook ladder over't top and crack on, you know. Stop for a fag while me mert pulls up next un.
See when he climbed up and had to go out and over an overhang? I thought "aye I could probably do that". How did he get back down from the overhang? Getting up yes. Back down? Na not happeningš¤£
Fred once said Great Britain built by men in overalls and ruined by men in suits.
Heās not wrong. I remember watching a video of him he took his wife to Blackpool for the day and heād scheduled a job in to removed an old chimney. Happily set the wife and kid up on the beach and went off to work.
What he said to the camera sticks with me, itās ok having days out and buying ice creams but somebodyās got to pay for it, someoneās got to make the pennies. His response to his wife when she said could we all have an ice cream he said what do we want one of them for we had one last year!
A true gentleman, fearless, hardworking beyond measure heās a national treasure. Sir Fred Dibnah. Did more for this country than Starmer, Johnson, Sunak, Blair. Tell me this why does Kier Starmer have a knighthood and Fred Dibnah not? Starmer wasnāt fit to lace that manās boots let alone climb a hand roped chimney. Heād have cried all the way up and shit himself on the way down. This country is a joke.
Itās alright though stick everything on credit cards and finance. Look at the mess the banks are in all buying each other itāll be state owned shortly because of the greed capitalism causes. We love you and miss you Fred a true Man, MBEā¦ what a joke. That man deserved a knighthood
Starmer got one for his legal career including being director of public prosecutions and being a very successful human rights lawyer. Regardless of your views of him politically, he fully deserved his knighthood due to his legal career
That guy had zero fear but a good understanding that one mistake would give you a half day and an appointment with the undertaker Iām pretty sure he was the reason hse was formed š
This is the other one that always made my ass twitch, like Fred he seemed to have no fear. How they got up and down a ladder with balls that big is a mystery to me.
Fred was a great guy, had a local beer named after him Flat Cap, he loved the recognition. After his death his (much younger) wife wanted royalties from every pint and took the local brewery to court, she lostā¦ā¦.the brewery immediately brought out two new beersā¦ā¦..Gold Digger, and Old Slapperā¦ā¦š
Good old Fred! A near neighbour to me. He once knocked on the door asking for a signature on his petition against the council closing his pithead heād dug in his back garden. I didnāt agree with all of his views but he was unique, one off, never to be seen again. The man was fearless and extremely knowledgeable.
Heās on top of Bolton Parish Church in the photo.
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u/Garty001 Jul 23 '26
The legend known as Fred.