BIG NOPE!!! American Construction Worker Reacts "Steeplejack FRED DIBNAH takes down MASSIVE chimney" 

Fred was from Bolton, Peter Kay’s hometown, I’ve met him many times as he was a drinking pal of my father. He also looked after the chimney where I worked. He was a real character and highly intelligent and a brilliant engineer. He built his own steam engine and had a steam powered workshop at his house. He went to art school and his engineering drawings were works of art in their own right. The reason for the chimneys was steam engines. Bolton was a cotton mill town, as was most of Lancashire, and the looms were powered by belts that had a steam engine driving them. He didn’t blow up chimneys he burnt them down. Look for those videos and the ones of him putting up the ladders and him scaffolding the top.

One of the things I like about this channel is that you're prepared to listen to people who don't often get heard in America. It's people like Fred who really represent the people of the UK, not the idiots in parliament or the celebrities on the red carpets. Many people in the UK will know someone like Fred - someone who's brave and determined but doesn't get the reward they really should. These people are the backbone of the UK's society but, sadly, they are all too often ignored.

This bloke is an absolute legend in British culture 💪🏼🇬🇧 proper man’s man, salt of the earth.

Watch Fred put the ladders up and the scaffolding now that is balls of titanium.

If you think it's scary watching him climb the ladder, watch the video of him installing the ladder lol. In England, this man was the single person responsible for me having an engineering career. When I was young, he fascinated by him. He made me so interested in all things engineering. RIP Fred.

Fred has been described as a renaissance man, he had an eye for architecture, engineering, he could draw and design, he even rebuilt an old steam traction engine. He truly was incredible, and I doubt we will see his like again.

Fred was an astonishingly intelligent and capable man. When you see him erecting the wooden platforms around a chimney 200feet up and listen to him commentating you realise that this is a unique man with incredible talent.

Back in 1965 when I was a lad of 16 I had to climb up similar ladders in winter with ice and snow on the ladder rungs and the wind was howling sleet. What saved me was that I was terrified of heights therefore I gripped the rungs like grim death. When I got to the top the tradesman with me said Son you will enjoy the wonderful view and I could see for about 15 miles. Then the storm came in suddenly and the sleet blasted in and the wind howled and I could only see about five feet. The tradesman said that it was going to get much worse so we should get down and off he went and left me to follow him. As I wear glasses and am short sighted I took ten minutes to find the ladder then I found out just how hard it was to climb down as I could not see my feet to see where the next rung was and I had to carefully put my foof down. It took me two hours to get down and I was turning blue and had very little feeling in my hands and feet. Of course now I can boast about the GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN WE DID NOT WORRY ABOUT THINGS LIKE SAFETY GEAR BECAUSE WE WERE REAL MEN to the lads now. To be honest when I was back on the ground I was so happy to just survive and I felt that after that I was invincible and I could do anything but reality stepped in when I walked round the base of the chimney the blizzard hit me and I had a huge problem just finding the workshop. The steaming mug of tea heavily laced with whisky brought me back to life and in my memory I can still taste it. It has been a wonderful life .

Fred was a legend - we Brits are a random bunch with who we take to our hearts. We all loved Fred

Fred was a national treasure. you would watch and listen to him on anything.

Loved watching Fred back in the day. He was one of the first real people on British television. He made no attempt to change how he presented himself. He was authentic, he was northern and he was honest. It was great to see a working class northerner on the television being entirely unapologetic. He wasn't just honest about himself, he was deeply knowledgeable about engineering and presented what would previously have been shown in a somewhat condescending manner as mundane, menial work with insight and intelligence. Weaving it into a tapestry which included historical and social context. It was as fascinating as it was heartstopping, to watch him clamber up and down these structures educating you about them, their importance, the industries that they serviced and the people that they affected as he figured out how to knock most of them down. This first documentary brought him national fame. That fame allowed him to live the rest of his life doing what he loved, being around steam engines, steam trains, victorian pump houses dungarees on and elbows deep in grease and gears. He lived his absolute best life and right up to till his sad passing, he did the north proud.

Fred passed away in 2004 unfortunately. He was a National treasure and a staple of British TV in my younger years in the 80s. He was a real old school steeple jack. You’ll find loads of videos of him around RU-vid either maintaining or felling old chimneys, but also talking about restoring steam/traction engines among other things.

Fred is an absolute legend here in England. A unique individual and someone that was very knowledgeable apart from being totally fearless. Sorely missed by the nation R.I.P. Fred

The cameraman was on a big crane with a cage and he also climbed up too. Fred is a legend and I've watched him on telly for 30 years

Fred died in 2004 from stomach cancer. He was a national treasure and was honoured by the Queen. He did lots of heritage and industrial history programmes for the BBC in his latter years. One of my all time heroes and a highly intelligent man RIP legend. 👍

My great-grandfather was a steeplejack. He left his job during WWI to go and fight. He fought and survived the Battle of the Somme, only to come home a few weeks after to die from falling off his local church roof that he was renovating. Sadly, his luck ran out.

Honorary mention also to John Noakes who was a humble children's TV presenter in the UK but climbed a ladder up Nelson's Column with no safety equipment and the ladder tipped back beyond vertical near the top. Also to the cameraman who went with him of course.

He died almost twenty years ago, of cancer. Never injured himself at work. Worth watching more of him.

It's amazing how Fred got up those ladders while possessing a huge set of bollocks.

Fred is an absolute legend. He took is family on holiday down to Blackpool little did they know at the time he went down drop a chimney

Fred was. One of a kind, not only a steeplejack but also an accomplished engineer. He always said he was born in the wrong era, at heart he was a Victorian - RIP

There are a couple of videos, same series, of him "laddering" the chimney and putting on the scaffolding collar round the top. You need to watch these. There are also vids of him with his steam engines. He was an honest English legend and for a couple of years one of the most famous people in Britain. As a side note they were built from the inside. A scaffold tower was constructed and built higher as the brick courses increased.

That time when Fred dug a fricking mine in his back garden! 😂

Fred was a legend. I remember watching him on TV, when I was a teenager, in 80s Ireland. The way he approached every project was brilliant. Men like him, and many of the old school I worked with in the UK are sadly gone. Tough times breed tough men i guess.

You SOOOO need to see him fixing those ladders. It's legendary. Fred's a legend. The North of England was the heart of the industrial revolution. All based on Coal/Steam driven mill equipment. The Northern skyline was chimneys as far as the eye could see. There was some status in chimneys. The taller the chimney the richer the owner. Building them was different. I think they stood on the inside of the chimney to build them. Probably a great contract to get as a bricklayer and I bet it took longer for Fred to take it down. He died of Bladder cancer some years back. You could say it was the Beer that got him. The chimneys never beat him though.

I'm from Bolton the same place as this gent. We have a massive statue of him in our Town Centre. Also, when he sadly passed away, a local brewery asked if they could release a beer in his honour. His wife demanded a huge sum to let them. They released a beer call Gold Digger that definetley wasn't related, absolutley not 😂

Fred what a man, loved his programmes. Hard as nails with a gentle manner. What a character.

Fred was an absolute legend, everyone in the U.K. knows who he was, a highly intelligent man, an expert on industrial heritage & history, & he had nerves of steel! a much missed character.

Fred was a national treasure. You have done it now. You will become addicted watching him. Plenty of videos of him working in many situations. RIP FRED.

You need to watch the one where he is putting up that ladder, one ladder at a time. He has to bang holes in the brings, pull ladder up and then move up one and repeat

Thanks for this guys. Really enjoyed it. Fred Dibnah was a legend in the UK. He started off as the subject of a documentary series on the BBC but went on to have several of his own TV series. He built chimneys, demolished them, built steam engines, even dug a mine shaft in his garden. He was a proper character and sadly taken before his time. (Not by any accident I might add). I'll always remember one of his sayings; "One mistek up there and it's half a day owt wit undertaker. ". RIP Fred.

There's not many an American has set eyes upon the great Dibnah. I used to watch him as a kid. Really interesting watching the reaction of someone who's never even heard of him. He was a lovely bloke. Rest in peace, Fred.

Fred Dibnah. Fearless steeplejack, engineer, talented TV presenter, popular after dinner speaker, steam enthusiast, beautifully accomplished draughtsman. Not to mention balls of steel. A real British character and much respected and missed by many. RIP Fred. Thanks for the entertainment and inspiration.

Everyone old and young loves fred . If you want to know what a proper old school British man was like then Fred is the perfect example

I grew up in the town where this footage was shot (Shaw and Crompton, in the Borough of Oldham, just north of Manchester). I was born in 81, too late to see Fred's demolition of the chimney, but I did see the demolition of the surrounding Rutland mill in the late 80's. I went on to work in my teens in the surviving mills (Lilac, which you csn see in this footage, and Briar), then owned by Littlewoods as a warehousing centre, firstly as an order picker and then as a conveyor belt operative, until I moved on in my career. The mills are now finally scheduled to be fully demolished over the next year or so to make way for housing. Oldham was a skyline of chimney stacks when I was a young lad, I used to look out of my bedroom window and watch the sun set behind their towering, defunct silhouettes. A lament to an industrial age that has left the likes of Fred behind. You can still drink the bitter that he likely had on his lunch break though! We're alreet here 🍻

Fred Dibnah was and is a badass! Always loved watching him as a youngster with his steam tractors and chimney demolitions, stoked a fascination with steam engines in me. I'm glad he's still known and being seen for the first time by people, I think he'd love that!

Hi guys. First of all my wife Alyson and I are in our early 70’s and we both love your videos. Alyson is from Bolton the town were Fred lived. Bolton is a town not too far from Manchester in the North West of England. When we were children the North West of England had lots of these factory chimneys in most of the towns. Fred was a true character, he became a T.V. star after appearing on a local news channel. Fred’s way of explaining things made him very popular and a must watch when ever he was on T.V. Fred often said that he should have been born in the Victorian times as he loved all the old engineering and did everything the old way. He made lots of programmes on his work bringing down old chimneys. Then as he got older, he turned to looking at a explaining about old stream engines. Fred sadly died on the 6 November 2004 at the age of 66 from bladder cancer. He had just started to film a new program in 2003, he managed to make the programs with the help of his son Jack who loved the same type of life as Fred his father. His funeral brought Bolton to a standstill. We hope this brief background on Fred is of interest and helpful to you two great young men. Allow us to say a big thankyou for giving us a great deal of pleasure with you videos. Stay safe. David and Alyson.

Fred was a treasure. There were whole series of him just doing what he loved and talking to the camera and it felt like he was talking straight at you. When he went it was like losing a favourite uncle

You have to understand 1960s England, every local mill had chimneys like this, having served my apprenticeship there I appreciate what Fred is doing.

People loved fred dibnah here in Britain he was an amazingly clever and strong man. It was an awful shame when he died. Thank you for watching Fred he was a national treasure who died of cancer years after the stepplejacking he had his own TV shows that were brilliant.

Like the other comments say "laddering a chimney" is probably the best start to see how Fred does it

Absolute legend is Fred.. No fear and seriously as brave as they come. There's a video of him constructing scaffold up at top of a tower with No safety ropes or harnesd. He was a one off. Also impressive is that he used a chisel without a hand guard on it, id of smashed my hands to bits without an hand guard.

The bottle it takes to do this is mind blowing. No harness. And as these guys say he had to get the ladders and the staging up is a feat in itself. RESPECT!!!

This man was an inspiration to people like me, he was an amazing man and great engineer.

I've met Fred. He was big on his steam fairs and I met him at one once. His wagon still does the shows. He is a legend! The guy got in trouble for digging a mine shaft in his back garden. A real real lad! We lost a little bit of England when we lost Fred.

Fred was a Northern legend....totally without fear....literally...nothing fazed him...no challenge went unmet....no chimney was immune to his steeplejacking....incredible human being.....you know the old saying... Dare to go where angels fear to tread.....

Fred was a legend in Britain to people of a certain age . He was very skilled in many areas with his hands , great draftsman aswell . His drawings of architectural details are impressive.

Fred was a British legend dudes. He knew a lot about a lot of things, particularly steam.

The BBC struck gold when they discovered Fred Dibnah. From his steeplejack and demolition work, they moved on to document his passion for steam traction engines, and his life in general. When someone dies, and people say, 'we shall never see his like again', that was true of Fred. He represented a bygone era.

I think that the most amazing thing is that all steeplejacks worked like this once. Fred was the last of a dying breed and as you say it would never be allowed today.

So glad to hear you guys wear safety gear. I'm in Australia and our workplace safety is through the roof these days but we used to do some dangerous stuff when I was a young carpenter.

An unassuming hero in the UK. I watched the series with my parents when growing up and even then we were shocked at what he did, but things were like that back then. I'm sure you've seen the photograph of the guys working on the empire state building when it was constructed. They just wore normal shoes. Times change, we manage the risks better but accidents still happen. RIP Fred.

British Steeple Jacks were a breed apart. I guess the American equivalent would have been the iron workers that built the skyscrapers in the US. Fred became famous after they filmed him knocking down some chimneys in the 1970s. He became a "national treasure" doing TV programs on steam engines and our Victorian industrial heritage. His funeral was massive in 2004. Look up the videos on RU-vid.

Even for those of us working in the UK construction industry around that time Fred was a legend. He was a relic from a different age. Like one of the steel guys who built the first skyscrapers. His quote for taking down that chimney was almost twice the average national wage at that time. It would have been 1/3rd the price of an average house or bought 14,000 pints of beer.

the video of him putting the ladders up is f'en crazy crazy...I paint at heights and this legend is nutz !!

Fred was like a National Treasure in Britain. He even had a fully working coal mine in his back garden! Absolute Legend! 👍 Most of the chimneys he demolished were ones from the old factories that closed. RIP

Fred was an incredibly skilled, intelligent Engineer... Way beyond simply demolishing chimneys... His understanding of steam engines is legendary.

Fred the legend , engineer , steeplejack and all round good bloke . The North of England had hundreds of chimneys stemming from the industrial revolution and the many Mills that supported the cotton industry amongst others . They do not make them like Fred anymore . He was a victorian gentleman living in the 20th century . Cancer took him in the end . RIP Fred . You should definitely go down the Fred Dibnah rabbit hole . So many videos and even his funeral is on RU-vid , that's how much esteem he was held by the British public.

man this man has balls of steel.. huge respect of his work... great reaction video .. loved it

He was a living legend loved watching himself on TV and I'm going to show him to my kids. A real man who worked so hard all his life and appreciated craft and graft.

Fred made several documentarys and the whole UK was facinated with him. He was a great steam engine lover and made several films about restoring old machines. Even if you had no interest in the machines yourself you got sucked in by his personality and enthusiasm.

Fred Dibnah, what a legend. He was a unique figure, nationally known, on the TV a fair bit, attained celebrity status up and down the country, but remained, despite the fame, a practically minded man. He should be on a coin or a currency note, but being a man who worked for his money, its unlikely he'll ever get there. A humble titan, a colossus unaware of his own importance and prestige, the working mans working man. May he rest in peace, but never be forgot.

Just come off doing some repairs on my kitchen extension roof and I was crapping myself with every breath of breeze.People like Fred were,certainly,a different breed. One thing is true,though,it helps to have another person around,even if they’re just watching.

Thanks for reviewing our historic greats: so glad you liked them and shared your reaction :-)

The thing with Fred is that he loved old buildings. He brought down a lot of old chimneys and he never used explosives. It was either brick by brick like this or he open up a hole in the bottom, slowly filling it with wood as he goes, then set fire to it. Its an old fashioned method but let the chimney smoke one last time before it came down. He was not only good a demolition but restoration too. He had a traction engine, a road roller. He built a pit head in his garden and his workshop was steam powered. He was also an accomplished artist, his sketches of old machines and architecture were magnificent.

Fred spent most of his working life demolishing stuff but he was also a master craftsmen who could turn his hand to pretty much anything. He presented a TV series about famous British buildings such as St. Pauls cathedral. He'd make technical drawings of key points of the structures and those drawings were like works of art.

Fred is an absolute legend I love watching his videos. Such a knowledgeable man and yet very humble. I would loved to have met him and buy him a pint but never got the chance. You must watch more of his videos he was such an interesting man and very much Ed loved here in the uk.

Fred demolished a huge chimney where I live and we used to just go around and watch him. As someone who's terrified of heights I used to get the chills standing on the ground and looking up. A real local character who lived and long and rewarding life, he spent many years on TV educating people on the Bolton accent. I used to work on the building sites in the mid 1970's and health and safety was making sure you didn't fall over after 5 pints in the pub every lunchtime.

Hi guys. He's from Bolton, North West England, my home town. I actually knew him well. Great guy with nerves of steel. The North of England used to be the centre of the cotton and wool textile industry hence all the mills and chimneys most of which have gone now. Ironically he was destroying the very things he loved.

As a construction guy you will certainly appreciate the effort , skill , patience , courage , accuracy , confidence and knowledge that went into old school building work. Fred Dibnah is the perfect example of the mentality involved and there are numerous videos on RU-vid demonstrating various activities from demolition to repair , inspection , scaffolding , laddering etc. Fascinating stuff and extremely informative. DO NOT STOP watching after this one video...

Cheese butty was part of a staple diet during 70's in UK, along with jam sandwiches, meat was a treat. Compared to then, we are still well fed.

My dad and dear departed grandfather repointed the brickwork on one of these in my hometown. Neither of them were steeplejacks. My granddad were a retired miner and my dad was self taught everything. He started on building sites back in the early 70s at age 13. Different men for different times.

It’s great to see your reaction. The city scapes of northern England have completely changed and there are very few chimneys like that around today. There must have been thousands of them back in the 19th century and I guess Fred must have taken down a great number of them. I believe that he was a trained draughtsman but he was a talented engineer who had a great understanding of all things mechanical. This series in ‘79 introduced him to the British public and there was more to follow, pretty much all of which can thankfully be found in the BBC archive or on RU-vid. Fred was a much loved character who featured regularly on TV until the end of his life. We are lucky to be able to find out more about him from almost 30 years of programs and you should be able to find these quite easily, all of which are still great to watch today.

There was an Ex WW2 RAF engineer and pilot, that used to demolish chimneys with explosives!!! He was called David 'Blaster' Bates!!! He was another chimney specialist, like Fred, but would drill out sections and 'Blast' them down. He was remarkably accurate with dropping them neatly into tight spaces!! 60 years ago, there were a few of this type of mad englishman!!!

You need to see him set it all up. He’s a legend in the U.K.

he is passed RIP fred , had the pleasure to meet him when i was a child he is a uk legend

This program made Fred a star in the UK he had a few series of his own shows after this up until he died in 2004, he also restored vintage steam engines and steam trains, their was one show when he was on holiday/vacation with his family and he went missing, his wife went looking for him and found him at the top of a large chimney, he noticed someone working up there and just went up to have a chat with him, but ended up helping him out, for no pay whilst on his holiday, a crazy man that we in tbe UK took to our hearts.

"pull out a coffee and a sandwich" I think Fred's more of a pint of mild and some Old Holborn ❤️ I grew up watching Fred on the TV with my old man; gave me passion for engineering. I still struggle to watch the video where he actually ladders up the chimney himself. The chimneys were part of the factories built during the industrial revolution. They had to have huge coal furnaces to power the steam engines which ran all the machines. By this point in time (1970's) those furnaces had been replaced with compact gas boilers to run the same machines. No need for a huge chimney anymore. I'm guessing even the machines have been replaced with more modern equipment now. Such is life. I'm just glad we have these films to watch to experience what life was like fifty years ago 😊✌️

Few points: the first shot you ask about was shot from the ground and edited in; £7,000 in 1979 would be about £84,000 plus these days (2022), demolition with explosives in urban areas is tightly regulated so hence the method of demolition; if you look at Fred's physique when he is eating his 'butty' he is built like a tank, his strength and endurance must have been athlete level - think about his going up and down after knocking bricks out with a hammer all day; his traction (steam) engine was his love - hence him taking these jobs; alas he died 20 odd years ago but he is a legend and so thank you for passing that legend on.

Just look at the turn out for his funeral to see what a national treasure Fred was,sadly missed.

Great reaction guys✌️Fred is an absolute legend in the UK, sadly no longer with us , down to earth bloke with no f*s given, he used to have a TV series about his life and work when I was a kid and at school we honestly thought he was the real spiderman 😂😂balls of diamonds 👍

This man was a legend ! RIP Fred.

I've never seen your channel before, but I just found you because I love Fred Dibnah... SUBSCRIBED!

Fred Dibnah is and was a total legend. He knew exactly what he was doing. Sadly Fred is no longer with us,cancer took him.

As others have said, check out him putting up the scaffold. The way he holds the planks by the ends, while he lifts them into place, shows incredible strength. In his own vernacular, I wouldn't wanna gerra clout off him!

Fred Dibnah is a legend. Don't think there's many like him today.

I lived round the corner from Fred he had a lovley moat bridge house he kept his steam engine and carriage every nut and bolt made from ground up cast himself he was a very hard man that's why we won the war ❤

Fred was quite a romantic character in the story of the Industrial Revolution (hear me out). He trained as a steeplejack, someone who builds chimneys, however by the time he hit middle age British industry was in decline and it was Fred who was responsible for the destruction of many of the Victorian era chimneys across the industrial north west of England, in and around Manchester. He had to destroy the things he loved, and with them the remnants of Britains industrial heritage. These chimneys were built during the Industrial Revolution, to release the smoke and other by products from local factories. Many factories would require generators or spinning machinery, so would therefore burn coal. If you look at old photos of towns such as Oldham and Bolton, the skylines were littered with these chimneys. Many of them are now gone, as they were unused and unsafe, some still remain. The North West of England is very proud of its industrial past, playing an integral part in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, helping the country become the super power it used to be. Fred Dibnah acted, for many, as a direct link back to this industrial past. He was a legend, and had bollocks the size of grapefruits.

Fred was not only brilliant as a demolition man, but he was a gifted artist, engineer and historian. Try watching some of his programmes about the building of cathedrals and castles.

Fred died of cancer. Smoking got him. He was 66. They were boiler house chimneys. He was very clever and introduced history programs esp. On the romans in Britain in later life. He's also in the Guinness book of world records for the biggest balls of all time.

Lovely to see you fellas appreciate the legend that is Fred Dibnah

its also worth looking at 1 of his videos when he knocks down a chimney, he takes bricks out at the bottom, replacing the bricks with wooden props, once he has done this about half way around, he sets a fire at bottom that will burn through all the wooden supports until eventually the chimney comes tumbling down. Fred is a bit of a British icon, he even had his own tv show for a while in the 80s

That ladder is more stable than any machined ladder today! The man is a legend and his legacy lives on forever in Bolton

The BBC did a number of docuseries on Fred and his life. He was an amazing character living in the 60s/70s/80s and working on projects right up to his death. No internet, limited TV, safety protocols or many of the things people take for granted today. He made me interested in engineering and I loved his programmes. An amazing man, with a wrath of knowledge and ideas, and his programs were always laced with humour. During the Industrial Revolution in the UK, textile factories and many industries relied on coal fired steam automation, so bigger factories required their own boilers and chimneys. A few years ago I was working as a consultant in a textile factory in Oldham, Manchester and they had weaving and coating machines that used to be steam driven. Drive belts ran the height of the building operating multiple Machines on their travels. They had all been converted and were now driven by electrical pulleys and machinists now, but the original systems still drove all of the weaving and coating machines. It was fantastic to watch them running when the factory was at full tilt

Fred died of cancer, so he was right, he died in his bed with his boots on! I had the pleasure of meeting Fred one sunday afternoon when we noticed a traction engine parked in our local pub car park. Sure enough, he'd stopped off for a break on a long journey from a rally, so we plucked up courage to go talk to him. I don't even remember what was said, I was just a bit star-struck by meeting one of my heroes (being a Northern lass meself, tha knows!). He sadly passed away not long after that, so I was always glad we got to meet him. His favourite method of demolishing chimneys, if there was space to drop it, he hacked out a ton of bricks at the bottom then set a bloody great big fire in it until it collapsed! You should watch some of the stories he tells of THOSE mishaps! :D

I knew Fred very very well I'm a blacksmith I dod work for him on his traction engine right up untill his death... fred was a national treasure he was a wonderful guy but he's exactly what we are round her.

You should also watch him dropping a chimney using the old methods rather than explosives. He couldn't drop the one in the video because of the surroundings so he had to take it down by hand. I've watched Fred take several chimneys down when I was a kid, and a huge cooling tower in the next town, which was one of his last

Fred had balls of steel. ..greatly missed in the UK

Fred was an amazing character. His TV career started when the BBC made these documentaries about his life as a steeplejack but because of his passion for engineering and the love the public had for him he went on to be become a somewhat unlikely TV presenter presenting his own TV documentary shows on the history of steam and engineering.

fred dibnah is a british folk hero..god bless him