I love how having been out of use for decades, for a final few minutes, and even as they tip, these chimneys WORKED as chimneys one last time

@AtheistOrphan

9 ай бұрын

Like some sort of industrial Viking funeral!

@duncanvincent6078

9 ай бұрын

I thought that too.

@user-yt3zn9sv5j

9 ай бұрын

Very true and very poignant . Not forgetting all those guys , probably on minimal wages , if there was such a thing at the time , responsible for building the things in the first place .

@borntoclimb7116

2 ай бұрын

@@user-yt3zn9sv5j all the deaths and accidents by the work too

@IanBailey-hd2um

Ай бұрын

Then the complaints come in about what was in the chimney and can it cause any harm.

It’s funny you can tell that Fred’s old school, even though he’s just an honest working man he doesn’t like talking to police, he just says the minimum smiles and nods 😂

So my Fred Dibnah marathon starts all over again lol

@oxyfee6486

3 ай бұрын

I start my journey about every six months.😂

@truecamvidea5881

3 ай бұрын

Is there any list in which order and what to watch?

He was so confident in his work that he left the compressor right to the side of the drop zone . Wish we still had the likes of Fred around … absolute legend 😊

@Vile_old_Bastard_3545

9 ай бұрын

We have better. Doctors and scientists coming over every day on boats.

@paramotorhead

9 ай бұрын

@@Vile_old_Bastard_3545They’re called ferries. You’re welcome.

@sicktanick2918

9 ай бұрын

​@@Vile_old_Bastard_3545muppet.

@Vile_old_Bastard_3545

9 ай бұрын

@@sicktanick2918 you’re hard

@unlokia

9 ай бұрын

Arguing on KZread comments 😂 - how original. Zip up and go away. Thanks so much. ❤

Brilliant! Used to always wonder, ‘How on earth could a steeplejack become a TV star?’ Watching this, I think, ‘How could he possibly not have become one?’

@sma1968

9 ай бұрын

You have made the absolute perfect comment about this guy.

@georgelow1745

9 ай бұрын

​@@sma1968to ,

@Leon-lt5gv

9 ай бұрын

Because of how much money he saved ' the yanks wanted the job buy using explosives ' problem expesive ' so good fred ' done it for a3rd of their price ' ie' alot less ' & in danger 😁💥

@sarahlaslett3279

8 ай бұрын

He proved to be a very intelligent man having his own series on a part of industrial history

@jme2261

6 ай бұрын

The amount of times he said 'you know' 😂😂😂

Fred's a national treasure for a certain generation, great to see him going viral of late, true legend

@Scotland2306

9 ай бұрын

He’s a legend to my generation too. Born in 90.

@JAKOB1977

9 ай бұрын

Swedish national treasure.

@Cyprus_Property

6 ай бұрын

We'll never see the like of Fred again.

@borntoclimb7116

22 күн бұрын

@@Cyprus_Property in india and another 3rd world countries this is normal

I met Fred in a pub in Bolton. He was a decent chap. I first met him when he dropped a chimney in my hometown as a kid. He remembered the chimney. He said he didnt remember me , just that all snotty nosed kids looked the same to him. A real man that was born after his time. He wanted to build these things , not destroy them.

Fred was a legend a true one of a kind.

@mr.invisible3123

10 ай бұрын

Very true one of his kind fearless with balls of steel

@lonesomeStu

10 ай бұрын

Great to see him in his pomp.

@prideofdurham4776

9 ай бұрын

Wooly jumper , flat cap and fag in his mouth.Fred would be a health and safety experts worst nightmare , I worked on the sites in the 1970s and that is what it was like , no hi-viz jackets and ear defenders back then.

@twitchygiraffe4636

9 ай бұрын

I was just amazed at how quick he got out of the way when it went down!! Nutter!!!!

@geemoney4678

9 ай бұрын

Ul Never see the likes off this guy again..

The scene at the beginning of Fred and his mate working in the snow could almost be from the Victorian era. These were real grafters.

"It's goin'. It's goin'!" I could watch that moment again & again! Fred was a true working class hero.

@charlesincharge6512

8 ай бұрын

'TOOT TOOT!! TOOT TOOT!!!"

@alro2434

5 ай бұрын

At that last moment his confidence in where it was gonna fall didn't look to be 100%!

Back in about 1980 I sat and watched Fred doing his thing on an old stack in the blazing early summer heat. I was a laborer and amature football player, for two and a bit hours I watched Fred constantly swing a lump hammer stopping for maybe 30 seconds every 20 min or so, I can only guess to have a cigarette. I was pretty fit and strong at the time, but Fred's endurance really impressed. That's the closest I ever came to meeting the man. I regret not hanging around until he was finished for the day.

@SandrasSpicySpanishSalami

9 ай бұрын

@@dejuren1367 Dunno mate, some kind of leprechaun magic?

@KittyO7878

4 ай бұрын

​@@dejuren1367Probably because he was English and not Irish.

@manuelhung7571

6 күн бұрын

The Steam Fairs were always a good place to chat to Fred, especially if you bought him a Guinness. They don't make 'em like Fred anymore.

How times have changed.. in 2023 it would take 50 people, 1000 emails, 9 months and about 25 grand

@captainbluntwrap8387

8 ай бұрын

More like 200k

@Clovers_and_Tea

7 ай бұрын

@@captainbluntwrap8387 Nowadays? With all the experts and permits? Million $ project

@captainbluntwrap8387

7 ай бұрын

@@Clovers_and_Tea more then likely Yh bro

@synthmesc

7 ай бұрын

Few 100k just in consultancy fees, no fear

@martinnewton311

7 ай бұрын

Fred is only 41 here… He could pass as 58.

I don't think I've ever seen a more British image than that opening frame over the frozen insutrial landscape. It almost made me homesick.

@mikeyc2020

9 ай бұрын

Makes me nostalgic for an era I wasn’t even born in!

@artofsam

9 ай бұрын

Same, I live in the West Country now but growing up in Crewe and little time in Stoke I really miss the aesthetic of the architecture, something about the old brick that just makes me home sick.

@borntoclimb7116

4 ай бұрын

In Germany NRW we have a lot of Industrial too but the older citizen find it ugly

Absolute class. from the days when people with great skill were just allowed to get on with the job in hand.

@stolentardis2111

9 ай бұрын

Also in those days people worshipped Jimmy Saville or covered up his crimes, let childrens homes and churches get away with mass abuse, built schools and hospitals with Asbestos and corporal punishment for children was encouraged…

That was on Woodbine Street East in Rochdale, and I was one of the kids straining to see what was going on.

@neildelaney5199

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the information, I doubt it's the same these days?

@garrylawless3550

9 ай бұрын

@@neildelaney5199 down that end of the street the houses still remain, and another big mill, called Moss Mill (used to be John Brights &Bros.Ltd.) back when I was young, it was still a working mill too in the mid 70's. That mill is still there, however only a fraction is used by small businesses these days.

@gow03333

9 ай бұрын

I can remember those streets in Wales, 4 or 5 cars in a mile of road . No internet,1 TV . People worked and seemed to have time on their hands , unlike today . Would I return?not being a social media fan,possibly yes.

@stevefox7793

2 ай бұрын

now you know what was going on now you know

"Did ya like that?" Yes, Fred - we LOVED that (and you), Mate!

@jannejoensuu896

Ай бұрын

Wey aye man !

Look at his cheeky grin as he says did you like that 😂 he loved his job

The spirit of these families, reflected through Fred, was the reason that Britain held fast during the war. Salt of the earth.

@RaP22

3 ай бұрын

Well his wife ran off with a guy who worked in Isle of Man steam trains. His son worked on the steam trains and I think he still does.

Fred was the last of his profession not only a steeple jack but a great engineer rest ln peace Fred 😢

"When its creaking and groaning, just run out the road" 😂😂😂

9:30 the crowd cheeering gives me the chills. if only every blue collar worker could get that. He certainly earned it.

@ChooseLife.YourLife

6 ай бұрын

Blue collar workers are no longer respected like back in those days

@samok.8861

5 ай бұрын

What were they shouting, actually?

@donmcatee45

2 ай бұрын

You know, during the pandemic, I had many people thanking me often for my work delivering gas. It was rather unusual but it lifted me up a bit and I will always cherish the experience.

Credit to the cameraman who also went up there to record him. Nobody mentioning the camera guys :(

@MASTERATCOD4

10 ай бұрын

Cameraman gets plenty of credit nowadays. He never went up anywhere in this episode it was all on Terra Firma.

@MichaelJ44

10 ай бұрын

@@MASTERATCOD41:45 i thought this shot was taken at the top first time watching

@MASTERATCOD4

10 ай бұрын

@@MichaelJ44 😎👍

@ukmud6218

9 ай бұрын

​@@MASTERATCOD4 the camera man climbed up the part demolished corner stair way, that's quite a thing these days

@MichaelJ44

9 ай бұрын

@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist9 amen brotha

To Fred and the great men who built GB.❤

What a legend Fred was and a great glimpse into history. I went to England in the mid 90's as a teenager and I think the 90's was the last decade it was really "Old England".

@wearetheremnants1615

9 ай бұрын

1997 was the true end of Britain .. as Tony B'liar' ended the death penalty for treason and for a good reason..

@Ceaseless_Watcher

9 ай бұрын

And the same was said about the 80s. And the 70s. And the 60s.... and the last of "Old England" was the industrial revolution. Or Chaucer. Or Harald Hardrada.... because change has never stopped and "Old England" is imaginary.

@wearetheremnants1615

9 ай бұрын

@@Ceaseless_Watcher it can be precisely dated to 1997. When England was 97% white native and ethnically homogeneous.. that's what makes a nation. The ethnos. Not some abstract thing like industrial revolutions or such.. England changed irrevocably in 1997

@TheTruthKiwi

9 ай бұрын

@@Ceaseless_Watcher Maybe but at least they were English. Now Britain seems to be overrun with immigrants

@briancohenthepfjmassive.4769

9 ай бұрын

That's brexit for you.

Fred. Never met him in person. But I wish I did. One afternoon in a pub. I'd be there all day listening to him talk , tell he's stories. Rest in peace Fred 🌹

@connor828

9 ай бұрын

*his stories

@stevyg4549

9 ай бұрын

@@connor828Behave ya sen 🔔 end

Freds knowledge about engineering was amazing. He was, to put it simply a legend.

@davehoward22

8 ай бұрын

Didnt do bad for himself,but would've made a fortune if he was born 150 years before.

Bloody hell, they dont make em like Fred anymore, what a man.

Everyone’s gangster until Fred Dibnah starts running 😂

Fred should have far far more recognition than he does... as we all say, he was a different breed and certainly one of a bloody kind!!!! RIP SIR

This is getting on for half a century ago, amazing to see it in such high quality, I felt like I was there

The very start of the video says it all about how times have changed. Freezing cold , snow, bare hands with hammer and chisel at the bottom of a big chimney. Amazing how things have changed. Love fred.

“Sledgehammer and a bit of lunacy”

I love how he is casually standing waiting having a smoke, then he starts standing near the side it is going to fall on and he runs!

The pride on his face at the end. That should be EVERYONE'S goal! If you never grin like that after days of toil... You are in the wrong job, so make sure this year you change that, because it will be too late when you are dead! Legend 🛠️🏆🛠️

Fred was the man who taught Santa how to properly climb a chimney

Great seeing old Fred again do his stuff, what a character, and not a high-viz or hard hat in sight!

Fred Dibnah carried the Olympic torch to the chimney demolition games and won all the gold medals.

@TSE_WOODY

9 ай бұрын

Took a couple with him on the way there

Simple pleasures of the crowd watching Fred at work.

I just loved his quotes. I could listen to them all day. 😂 I especially liked his one about the insurance people having their pinned-striped suits and all he has is a 2nd hand army LandRover.

Could you imagine doing this day and age😢 A legend Fred was🎉

1979 was the year I left school. They were dark days back then by eck. Fred was a true Northern Ambassador and working class hero. Bless him...........

@BroadHobbyProjects

3 ай бұрын

​@@MarkHarrison733He was still British. There is a lot worse in this country than Thatcher these days. British politicians and their apparent parties have just been the collective government for decades. Sadly.

Proper grafter and a national treasure RIP Fred

People can say what they wish about Britain but its great men like Fred that built it & saved it.. Never will we see the like again. Love this film, I am North West born & bred, would not choose to live anywhere else. Thank you for posting.

Talk about people with bottle. Fred had it in spades and the skill to match it, legend.

@ThatCoalSoul

9 ай бұрын

Guinness bottles?!!!

All those gorgeous chimneys proper british brickwork I Would love to be alive back in the day building stuff like these chimneys RIP FRED

What a man , true legend, man of steel, national hero 👍

@SagaciousFrank

8 ай бұрын

Don't forget humble and unassuming.

What an incredible man Fred Dibnah was, oh how he is missed!

I love how Fred has a smoke while the chimney smokes for the last time then down she goes and its off to the Pub to celebrate.:)

"Do you like that?" Yes we did Fred! ❤👍

I could listen to Fred talk for hours on end, what a man he was.

It's such a shame that we can not celebrate a lot of these chimneys in our time. They could have been memorials for men like Mr Debnah. Preservation is important.

@HansKlopek

8 ай бұрын

Now THAT is a proper memorial idea. A beautiful chimney like the India mill has dedicated to steeple jacks.

I look at the somewhat bleak northern landscape as it was then, and I long to go back. It was sometimes grim, but the people made it special.

@johnmanchester3827

3 ай бұрын

Agree. They had work and they had big families, they were thriving and the streets were full of people and energy.

For anyone watching who lives in a warmer climate, would not believe how incredibly cold that first scene would be. Snow, with that wind and no gloves. It would have been well below zero c. There are a couple of hard workers.

@blakegoulds8313

2 күн бұрын

And to people who live where we have snow six months out of the year, 0c is nothing

Just one man with a load of common sense and knows his trade.

The good old days Fred smoking on tv burning old tires love it

You are missed. But you'll never be forgotten.

When I was a kid me and a mate of mine sat on a pile of bricks in rochdale watching this man doing this when it came time to lite the fire at the bace he came over to us and told us that it was time to bugger off so we were safe I'm proud to have met him

This reminds me of my childhood, I didn’t kno how lucky I was at the time. God bless Sir Fred Dibnah

One of my first jobs as a teen was in a factory, I was there for about 5 years and one day after a few years of working there someone asked me if i had ever seen the old bosses steam vehicle (the new boss allowed him to store it in a part of the factory and visit it from time to time as he was getting old). Made me laugh for how many years I had been there and never knew this thing was behind a door which I had never had a reason to go through, the thing was huge too, the wheels must have been about 15-20ft tall. Turns out the guy, Tom was his name, was friends with Fred and I think Fred had even helped him out with this vehicle too. Fred was a real UK legend of the working class and sadly his breed doesn't seem to exist anymore. I am glad we have these clips so that I can show my kids what real men looked like in my childhood.

Absoulute legend, the likes we'll never see again sadly!. Fred Dibner gone but never forgotten! Cheers Fred!. Nuff said!. 🙂

Used to see him drive his steam engine through bolton in the 90s, he was one of our own. They don't make them like him anymore.

This man is a national treasure , all respect and rest in paradise to Fred D

Fred was a fascinating guy .I could watch and listen to him for hrs ..and come away feeling enlightened ..him and jack hargreaves were made of the same good stuff ..proper educator's ..

Can watch & listen to Fred all day, legend of a man.

Binged watched the Complete Series the weekend..This guy was amazing & what a grafter he was.

Fred belonged to the same cast of men that built those chimneys and factories so I am sure he felt some sadness at the jobs he had to do. No doubt he took bittersweet pleasure in seeing the stack smoking for one last time.....

@robhuanout5443

9 ай бұрын

Correct. I'm sure he did say that felling chimneys was his least favourite part of the job

Alison was a lovely lady, such a pity she and Fred couldn't work things out.

What a brilliant man, never ever will there be anyone like him again☘

Can't believe this guy! One of a kind.

Fred always brings a smile to my face. A total one off.

An absolute legend. R.I.P. Fred.

Superb time capsule for numerous reasons. Beautifully made and captures a Northern millscape that has mostly gone. Opening sequence to this film couldnt be more atmospheric.

What a legend! “Did yer like at”? 😊

@Treguard1987

10 ай бұрын

Yes we ALL did Fred! RIP

Fred so deserves his statue in Bolton.

Great and clever man never to be forgotten

This is the kind of man that should be on currency.

I'd much prefer to of lived back then instead of now . God bless Fred.

The whole Fred Dibnah series is so unbelievably good. I come back to them every few years just to listen to him talk.

Such a hardworking and loveable chap

The man was diamond 🔹 he respected the skill that bricklayers had plus the multitude of skills others had in victorian times plus the majority of highly skilled people were the poorest which was outrageous compared to today

Fred's life time achievements is amazing his passion for what he does is wonderful. When the landlord in the sky calls time on him there's a huge whole wear he was.

@RottenProfits

7 ай бұрын

He’s been dead ages

@christopherjones2884

7 ай бұрын

He's a legend.

Not a hard hat or high visibility jacket to be seen. Wonderful.

What a great guy Fred was ... they'll never be another Fred....rip...

Dirty, cold, polluted, exhausting... Back in the good old days! Edit: Forgot "dangerous" lmao, the guy ran for his life right while I was writing the comment lol

what a great man it will be 20 yrs next year him gone 😒absolute legend never gets old watching fred some nights while having a quiet whiskey just put fred on and you drift away in freds world.

Absolute legend of a man 🙏🏻

The job he did on the Dart tower was incredible.Same principle but with a central stair well aswell and it was square.Its on youtube.

He seemed like quite a modest man but it takes courage to do that and have that burden of responsibility on your shoulders.

My old man got me into watching Fred love the bloke since

Damn! What a MAN! Admired from Patagonia, Argentina!

I’ve worked in the gas industry since 1979 and people like Fred made up 90% of the workforce,grafters and characters that are now sadly long gone.however,all is not lost as I show my grandchildren stuff like this and they already wish to hark back to a more honest time.We WILL OVERCOME.

@brokenglasses121345

9 ай бұрын

That's why do many voted for Brexit, and look how that turned out. Boris J wanting to bring back mills, and imperial measurements and Sheffield cutlery? You can't live in the past, except maybe the grime and poverty part of it. The Tories will arrange that no problem.

Thank you very much for this upload they certainly dont make them like they used to.

I miss this absolute gentleman.

This was the most incredible series Fred what a guy #Tower ❤

@garryleeks4848

10 ай бұрын

Felt sorry for he’s wife though

@SharonMcwilliams78

9 ай бұрын

@@garryleeks4848 it was a different time line. Life wasn’t easy to make an honest living in the midst of the decommissioning of the staple of that era for work. Life in the 70s wasn’t easy for women it changed dramatically. Domestic violence became an accepted form of punishment and alcohol was socially acceptable for “ The working man “.

@garryleeks4848

9 ай бұрын

@@SharonMcwilliams78 very true

Best video on the internet.

Anyone seen the one where he begrudgingly takes the wife on the yearly holiday ,(about 10 miles down the road in Blackpool,) and still manages to squeeze some work in ( and gets the missus to hold the ladders😊)

Wish I was alive in those days, simple and good old graft.

Legends. Accomplishing so much with so little

This chimney was part of the Era Mill in Woodbine Street Rochdale.

What a lovely job. Just hammering down a complete chimney. No collegeaus. Just you and the elements