Fred Dibnah Biography
English steeplejack and television personality Frederick Travis Dibnah, MBE (28 April 1938 – 6 November 2004) had a passion for mechanical engineering and referred to himself as a “backstreet mechanic.”
Britain’s industrial base was strongly dependent on coal when Dibnah was born. He was fascinated as a boy by the steam engines that ran Bolton’s numerous textile mills, but he paid close attention to chimneys and the people who maintained them. He started off as a joiner before switching to steeplejacking. He completed his National Service by serving two years in the British Army’s Army Catering Corps starting at age 22. He tried steeplejacking again after retiring but had little luck until he was requested to fix the parish church tower in Bolton. His business benefited from the publicity that followed, and he was essentially never unemployed.
While performing maintenance on Bolton Town Hall in 1978, Dibnah was being videotaped by a local BBC news team. Then, the BBC ordered a documentary that followed the rough-hewn steeplejack as he worked on chimneys, spoke with his family, and talked about his favorite pastime, steam. He appeared in several television programs because audiences liked his lanky demeanor and his kind, self-taught philosophical attitude.
As Britain’s manufacturing declined at the end of his life, so did his steeplejacking company, and Dibnah began to depend more and more on after-dinner speeches and public appearances for cash. After presenting a show on Britain’s industrial history in 1998, he went on to host a number of programs that mostly focused on the Industrial Revolution and its impact on architecture and machinery.
At age 66, he passed away from bladder cancer in November 2004.
Fred Dibnah Trivia
While Fred and Alison were married, Alison was the name of his beloved steam roller. However, he changed the name to Betsy, the name of his mother, following the divorce on the justification that “wives may change, but your mother remains your mother”! “Betsy” gave Fred one more favor by accompanying his casket to his funeral at Bolton Parish Church on November 16, 2004, as specified in his will.
Jane (born in 1968), Lorna, and Caroline (with Alison).
Jack (born in 1987) and Roger (born in 1991) are Sue’s children.
In the 2003 Queen’s New Year’s Eve Honours List, he received the M.B.E. (Member of the British Empire) for his contributions to heritage and broadcasting.
Two honorary doctorates were given to him: a Doctor of Technology from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in 2000 and a Doctor of the University from Birmingham University in 2004.
Fred Dibnah’s Nationality
Born in Bolton, England, Fred Dibnah was a citizen of the United Kingdom.
Fred Dibnah’s Net Worth
At the time of his passing, Fred Dibnah allegedly had a net worth of around £1 million.
Fred Dibnah’s Height & Weight
According to reports, Fred Dibnah is roughly 60 kg tall and 5.7 inches wide.
Fred Dibnah’s Career
Before becoming a steeple, he started out as a carpenter. He completed two years of national service in the British Army’s Army Service Corps beginning at the age of 22.
He attempted to rebuild the bell tower again after it had been decommissioned but had only sporadic success before being requested to do so for Bolton Parish Church. His business has grown as a result of making the results public, guaranteeing he will never be without a job.
Fred Dibnah was captured on camera by a BBC regional news crew in 1978 as he worked on restorations to the Bolton Town Hall. The BBC then produced a documentary in which they saw the gruff Steplejack working the chimney, interacting with his family, and discussing his preferred pasttime—saunas.
He appeared in various television shows because of his graceful, self-taught philosophical views, towering stature, and slim appearance. As he neared the end of his life, Fred Dibnah’s bell tower business suffered due to the loss of British industry, and he was forced to rely more and more on after-dinner talks and public appearances to support himself.
He first broadcast a program on British industrial history in 1998. Subsequently, he broadcast other series of programs, many of which focused on the Industrial Revolution and its legacy in engineering and architecture.
The scores of chimneys that can be seen around Burnden Park as well as the sights and noises of industry intrigued Fred Dibnah as a young child. He was particularly interested by the bell towers he passed on the way to school.
Playing among the numerous factories (industrial ponds) that originally littered the area is a well-liked pastime for local kids. A few pals and the inventive youngster Fred Dibnah constructed a homemade wetsuit from an old box, a car tube, and some hoses. They attempted to test it in one of the motels after being told to take it out of the neighborhood pools.
Fred Dibnah frequently visits the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal’s Bolton arm. Fred Dibnah occasionally dredged the canal with a clincher on a rope for what he dubbed “robbers” peel because it was mainly abandoned at the time (Bolton’s arm had been largely closed by 1924).
His mother’s backyard is where a lot of these things are kept. Using old bicycle wheels that had been split in half for ribs, slate, and canvas slats retrieved from a truck’s bed, Fred Dibnah and his friend Alan Heap constructed a canoe. Fred Dibnah rowed along the neighboring Croal River, much to his mother’s dismay. After the school key was stolen, he reportedly shocked his teachers by making fresh keys for each classroom door.
Fred Dibnah, who was 22 years old, was drafted into the army to complete his national duty and get a position in the kitchen. Before being transferred to Catterick to master the fundamentals of military cookery, he had six weeks of instruction at Aldershot. He was then transferred to West Germany with the 14/20th King’s Hussars unit. He eventually obtained a more permanent post as a builder and assistant after convincing his commanding officer to allow him to rebuild the house on the regiment’s farm (used as a stable for horses and dogs).
When Fred Dibnah completed his national service in 1962, he removed his tools from storage, spent 21 guineas on a 1927 AJS 350cc motorcycle, and started looking for new employment. Bolton, however, is currently experiencing a post-industrial crisis as a result of the closure of over 70 manufacturers between 1957 and 1965, leaving only 37 factories that are still operational and about 50 that are no longer in business.
After becoming skilled in chimney repair, Fred Dibnah realized the need for a practical way to eliminate them. He proposed removing them without the use of explosives by making a hole in the base of the chimney and using wooden pillars to hold the masonry. He then advised burning the supports in the hopes that the chimney would fall in the proper direction.
This approach is tried and true, but it has rivals as well. He once received a job from the neighborhood council to remove two chimneys. He had to manually deconstruct each one as per the contract, but he chose to take them down by cutting the base. Although it was anticipated that the first chimney would collapse, the city council ended the contract and refused to pay.
Fred Dibnah’s fascination in steam power began when he was a young child and saw steam locomotives operating on a nearby railroad. He also visited his father’s workplace, a bleaching facility in Bolton, where the steam engine that powered the line fascinated him.
Later, he developed a passion for steam and made friends with numerous engine drivers and firefighters who worked on the neighboring railroad. When he was a teenager, he met a furnace worker who urged him to keep burning fuel for the boiler and encouraged him to sit on the footrest of a locomotive. Steam engines captured Fred Dibnah’s attention to the point where he eventually purchased one.
Fred Dibnah was hired in 1978 to renovate Bolton City Hall. The clock tower had suffered significant damage from years of exposure to rain and soot, and Fred Dibnah informed the project manager of the 16 stone pillars’ state. He purchases fresh stone, constructs a lathe in his workshop, and crafts new pillars. He was given the responsibility of fixing the clock tower and gilding the building’s top-most golden orb.
Don Haworth, a producer, got in touch with him to discuss filming a feature film after learning about his pleasant and approachable demeanor, energy, and broad Lancashire accent. Filming started early one morning after multiple meetings that lasted for several weeks as Fred Dibnah scaled the 75-meter-high chimneys in Shaw and Crompton, an industrial town close to Oldham.
After Fred Dibnah, Steeplejack won the 1979 BAFTA Award for Best Documentary Feature, Haworth continued to act in numerous documentaries over time. His newfound fame, nevertheless, prevented him from doing his job. His landscaping attracts guests that stop by his home. He began receiving fan mail, and one of the letters offered to donate a steam engine that the writer no longer desired to Fred Dibnah.
He first met novelist David Hall in 1997. Hall grew up in Manchester’s Bradford neighborhood, and the two men shared memories of their youth in the latter half of the 20th century. Hall advised Fred Dibnah to think about becoming a TV presenter because he was unlikely to receive an offer for his next television job in his lifetime.
Fred Dibnah’s Marital Status
Sheila Grundy and Fred Dibnah were wed as of the time of his passing. Fred Dibnah had few employment and little money in 1997, so he lived alone. He did, however, run into old assistant magician Sheila Grundy. In 1998, she and her son moved in with Dibnah, and on September 26 of that same year, they were married.
Fred Dibnah’s Family & Siblings
Frank and Betsy Dibnah, who both had worked at a bleaching factory, are the parents of Fred Dibnah. Later, his mother took a job cleaning a gas plant. He was born on April 28, 1938, and was given the name Frederick after his uncle. He was raised in the historic town of Bolton, Lancashire, which at the time was mostly an industrial area with a long history of cotton spinning and weaving.
Fred Dibnah’s Children
Jack Dibnah, Roger Dibnah, Lorna Dibnah, Jayne Dibnah, and Caroline Dibnah are the names of Fred Dibnah’s five children.
Fred Dibnah’s Social Media
Since social media wasn’t well-known while Fred Dibnah was alive, it appears that he has no handles on any of them.
Who Is Fred Dibnah?
An English steeplejack and television personality named Frederick Travis Dibnah, MBE, who identified as a “backstreet mechanic” and had a passion for mechanical engineering, once said that he was a “backstreet mechanic.”
Britain’s industrial base was substantially reliant on coal when Fred Dibnah was born. While many of the textile mills in Bolton were powered by steam engines when he was a kid, he was more intrigued by the chimneys and the people who worked in them.
Prior to becoming a pastor, he worked as a carpenter in the beginning. He completed two years of national service in the British Army’s Army Service Corps beginning at the age of 22.
He attempted to rebuild the bell tower again after it had been decommissioned but had only sporadic success before being requested to do so for Bolton Parish Church. His firm has grown as a result of making the results public, guaranteeing his continued employment.
Fred Dibnah was captured on camera by a BBC regional news crew in 1978 as he worked on restorations to the Bolton Town Hall. The BBC then produced a documentary in which they saw the gruff Steplejack working the chimney, interacting with his family, and discussing his preferred pasttime—saunas.
He appeared in various television shows because of his graceful, self-taught philosophical views, towering stature, and slim appearance. As he neared the end of his life, Fred Dibnah’s bell tower business suffered due to the loss of British industry, and he was forced to rely more and more on public appearances and after-dinner speeches to support himself.
He first broadcast a program on British industrial history in 1998. Subsequently, he broadcast other series of programs, many of which focused on the Industrial Revolution and its legacy in engineering and architecture.
Frank and Betsy Dibnah, who both had worked at a bleaching factory, are the parents of Fred Dibnah. Later, his mother took a job cleaning a gas plant. He was born on April 28, 1938, and was given the name Frederick after his uncle. He was raised in the historic town of Bolton, Lancashire, which at the time was mostly an industrial area with a long history of cotton spinning and weaving.
The scores of chimneys that can be seen around Burnden Park as well as the sights and noises of industry intrigued Fred Dibnah as a young child. He was particularly interested by the bell towers he passed on the way to school.
Playing among the numerous factories (industrial ponds) that originally littered the area is a well-liked pastime for local kids. A few pals and the inventive youngster Fred Dibnah constructed a homemade wetsuit from an old box, a car tube, and some hoses. They attempted to test it in one of the motels after being told to take it out of the neighborhood pools.
Fred Dibnah frequently visits the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal’s Bolton arm. Fred Dibnah occasionally dredged the canal with a clincher on a rope for what he dubbed “robbers” peel because it was mainly abandoned at the time (Bolton’s arm had been largely closed by 1924).
His mother’s backyard is where a lot of these things are kept. Using old bicycle wheels that had been split in half for ribs, slate, and canvas slats retrieved from a truck’s bed, Fred Dibnah and his friend Alan Heap constructed a canoe. Fred Dibnah rowed along the neighboring Croal River, much to his mother’s dismay. After the school key was stolen, he reportedly shocked his teachers by making fresh keys for each classroom door.
Fred Dibnah, who was 22 years old, was drafted into the army to complete his national duty and get a position in the kitchen. Before being transferred to Catterick to master the fundamentals of military cookery, he had six weeks of instruction at Aldershot. He was then transferred to West Germany with the 14/20th King’s Hussars unit. He eventually obtained a more permanent post as a builder and assistant after convincing his commanding officer to allow him to rebuild the house on the regiment’s farm (used as a stable for horses and dogs).
When Fred Dibnah completed his national service in 1962, he removed his tools from storage, spent 21 guineas on a 1927 AJS 350cc motorcycle, and started looking for new employment. Bolton, however, is currently experiencing a post-industrial crisis as a result of the closure of over 70 manufacturers between 1957 and 1965, leaving only 37 factories that are still operational and about 50 that are no longer in business.
After becoming skilled in chimney repair, Fred Dibnah realized the need for a practical way to eliminate them. He proposed removing them without the use of explosives by making a hole in the base of the chimney and using wooden pillars to hold the masonry. He then advised burning the supports in the hopes that the chimney would fall in the proper direction.
This approach is tried and true, but it has rivals as well. He once received a job from the neighborhood council to remove two chimneys. He had to manually deconstruct each one as per the contract, but he chose to take them down by cutting the base. Although it was anticipated that the first chimney would collapse, the city council ended the contract and refused to pay.
Fred Dibnah’s fascination in steam power began when he was a young child and saw steam locomotives operating on a nearby railroad. He also visited his father’s workplace, a bleaching facility in Bolton, where the steam engine that powered the line fascinated him.
Later, he developed a passion for steam and made friends with numerous engine drivers and firefighters who worked on the neighboring railroad. When he was a teenager, he met a furnace worker who urged him to keep burning fuel for the boiler and encouraged him to sit on the footrest of a locomotive. Steam engines captured Fred Dibnah’s attention to the point where he eventually purchased one.
Fred Dibnah was hired in 1978 to renovate Bolton City Hall. The clock tower had suffered significant damage from years of exposure to rain and soot, and Fred Dibnah informed the project manager of the 16 stone pillars’ state. He purchases fresh stone, constructs a lathe in his workshop, and crafts new pillars. He was given the responsibility of fixing the clock tower and gilding the building’s top-most golden orb.
Don Haworth, a producer, got in touch with him to discuss filming a feature film after learning about his pleasant and approachable demeanor, energy, and broad Lancashire accent. Filming started early one morning after multiple meetings that lasted for several weeks as Fred Dibnah scaled the 75-meter-high chimneys in Shaw and Crompton, an industrial town close to Oldham.
After Fred Dibnah, Steeplejack won the 1979 BAFTA Award for Best Documentary Feature, Haworth continued to act in numerous documentaries over time. His newfound fame, nevertheless, prevented him from doing his job. His landscaping attracts guests that stop by his home. He began receiving fan mail, and one of the letters offered to donate a steam engine that the writer no longer desired to Fred Dibnah.
He first met novelist David Hall in 1997. Hall grew up in Manchester’s Bradford neighborhood, and the two men shared memories of their youth in the latter half of the 20th century. Hall advised Fred Dibnah to think about becoming a TV presenter because he was unlikely to receive an offer for his next television job in his lifetime.
When Fred Dibnah and Alison Mary Foster, a 19-year-old hairstylist, couldn’t agree on who would attend their wedding, they decided to elope to Gretna Green. They exchanged vows at Gretna Green Church on May 19, after which they moved back in with Dibnah’s mother. After that, they relocated to a Victorian gated cottage on the Earl of Bradford’s property, which is located close to Bolton. Their first child was a daughter they called Jayne.
At a steam rally in Cheshire, Fred Dibnah met Susan Lorenz, a social worker who was 28 years old. The two got married on February 27, 1987, and she then moved into Dibnah’s house in Bolton. She urged him to give up smoking and grow a mustache. In 1987, they welcomed their first child, a boy they called Jack after his father’s line of work. To create a wind vane, Fred Dibnah offered to have his son’s baptism take place there in exchange for the work. In 1991, Roger, his second son, was born.
Fred Dibnah had few employment and little money in 1997, so he lived alone. He did, however, run into old assistant magician Sheila Grundy. In 1998, she and her son moved in with Dibnah, and on September 26 of that same year, they were married. Fred Dibnah was shocked and in tears when his youngest daughter Caroline came to visit him at their wedding reception in Bolton. Since his divorce from Alison, Dibnah has had limited interaction with his daughters.
At the age of 66, Dibnah passed away on November 6, 2004, three years after being diagnosed with cancer.
Why is Fred Dibnah famous?
Famous English steeplejack and television personality Fred Dibnah formerly referred to himself as a “backstreet mechanic” and had a strong interest in mechanical engineering.
Where is Fred Dibnah from?
Bolton, an English town in Greater Manchester, is where Fred Dibnah is from. Bolton is situated between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, and Salford at the base of the West Pennine Moors.
How old is Fred Dibnah?
Age 66 was the death age for Fred Dibnah.
