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Boot Straps of Sisyphus.
Fred Dibnah MBE- Stepplejack.
"Dibnah comes across as a joyful 20th-century Sisyphus, laughing through the work even as it's demanding, repetitive and dangerous. With the camerawork capturing the extraordinary size disparity between the man and the task at hand,"
Mr. Dibhah with chiesel and fire topples tower in this excellent extended 49 minute film. (Slyt)
Here's someone's chance to live inside a Victorian chimney
posted by clavdivs on Jan 24, 2026 at 3:32 PM
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Mr. Dibhah to Dibnah please, then topple it.
posted by clavdivs at 3:35 PM
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I've watched some of the films recently on YouTube. There was a particularly ... enervating sequence where he demonstrated how you get to the top of a 200ft chimney with a couple of 10ft ladders and some string.
Found it. You're welcome.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 4:03 PM
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Always great to introduce more people to Fred Dibnah. There have been some related previouslies on the Blue too.
With respect to the chimney felling, the rickety ladder, lack of safety gear, and terrible scaffolding at the top, make my hairs stand-on end just looking at it, let alone someone working on it (when he makes it to the top and leans-out to foist himself over the planks rather than under them is terrifying).
posted by phigmov at 4:10 PM
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Kids these days are soft. This guy would just knock a smokestack down with a bunch of burning tires then stand around with his wife eating a sandwich.
Next up: the old guy in a leisure suit complaining about modern life in the middle of a busy street
posted by SystematicAbuse at 4:34 PM
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Very nice film. Got the heeby-jeebies at the lack of safety measures but the man clearly knows what he's doing.
posted by maxwelton at 5:15 PM
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I used to share a two-person office with the next-door neighbour of a friend of Fred Dibnah, who had often met him. (I'm afraid that's it, I don't have any exciting extra information, but he had the same personality you see on TV)
posted by BinaryApe at 12:58 AM
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Briar Mill built in Crompton in 1906 and most recently used as a warehouse
posted by el_presidente at 3:42 AM
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When I was a child in 50s/60s Manchester there were lots of these chimneys standing including some near my junior school.
Watching him topple a chimney was awe inspiring, knock out some bricks near the base, install stout wooden pit props then knock out more bricks, build a fire and light it. When the props had nearly burnt through he'd signal a warning with a handheld foghorn and beam at the camera. A fearless born showman, in these days of 'elf and safety we won't see his like again.
BBC video clip
posted by epo at 4:18 AM
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20th-century Sisyphus
Shall we say, a Disneyfied Sisyphus.
posted by BWA at 12:40 PM
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there's a typo in the link, it's steeplejack
posted by Sebmojo at 12:54 PM
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