Hi, my name's Fred and I like steam engines, chimneys and a nice cup of tea. I realise that steam engines aren't everyone's cup of tea. But they're what made England great.
I was born the son of Frank and Betsy Dibnah (née Travis). I first became famous as a result of my profession as a steeplejack; although being a traditional repairer of tall buildings I also earned a reputation for chimney felling - mainly through a TV documentary where I was nearly crushed by a falling mill chimney. Bolton has become famous for the soot and grime produced by the town's multitude of mill chimneys, but the decline of the cotton industry meant that many of the obsolete landmarks had to be demolished as the cost of maintaining them became prohibitive.
Having mastered my trade repairing chimneys, I became aware of the demand for a cost-effective demolition method and offered to remove them without the need for explosives. My technique was to cut an ingress at the bottom of the chimney, support the brickwork with wooden props and then burn the props so that the chimney fell, hopefully in the intended direction. Alongside my demolition work I also continued to work as a steeplejack.
At the age of 40 I came into the public eye when the BBC broadcast a short news item about my work on Bolton Town Hall. My warm, earthy manner combined with my endless enthusiasm and broad Bolton accent endeared viewers, and the BBC made a one hour documentary, Fred Dibnah—Steeplejack, the following year. This featured me at work, both repairing and demolishing chimneys.
