Hi folks, a message from the Fred Dibnah Heritage centre, they say the world loves a tryer, well if nothing else I am a tryer, we are currently having the boiler refurbed so that we can steam up this year, and to help fund this we are offering a great deal to you as a valued supporter/visitor. You may even like to visit us again this year to see the changes we have made and of course to see us steam up with all the machinery working at full pelt. Book your tickets to Fred’s Birthday Bash on 27th April 2013, last years was a hoot, and this years will be every bit as much fun, this will be organised by the Heritage Centre ( not the charity ) but after expenses all proceeds will be going towards the refurb of the Boiler, once again we will have steaming hot baked spuds for you, miniature steam engines will be in attendance, and a fabulous Brass Band playing for you on the Lawn, you will be able to see the improvements we have made to the centre, all I might add in the interests of preserving Fred’s legacy, we had to refloor the side of the workshop where Betsy stood because the sleepers were totally rotted and health and safety insisted on replacing them, if Fred had been here he would have replaced them anyway because they would not have supported Betsy any longer as they were completely rotted to nothing, we have installed a beautiful water fountain in the garden complete with lions heads, we chose this one because Fred loved his lions heads and this is evident in the house where he has lions heads holding up the beams, see you there folks, please book early to avoid disappointment.Our brand new website will be up and running soon so watch out fot it at www.freddibnahheritagecentre.co.uk there will be loads of info on there for you to see.

Special offer ; THREE for TWO Buy two of these brilliant DVD’s and get a third one absolutely Free

These are three brilliant DVD’s that will enthrall you and provide hours of entertaining and informative viewing, they are our very own DVD’s made especially for us and are NOT available anywhere else.

DVD 1 ; title ; “Once in a Lifetime” this is a great DVD with Alf Molyneux ( Fred’s best mate ) telling stories to a coach load of 50 people about working with Fred and doing the tour of Britain, very funny and very interesting, Fred would not have managed to do the tour without the help of his faithfull pal Alf.

DVD 2 ; title ; “Park Mill” many people have seen Fred toppling a chimney but not many have seen the actual work that went into preparing the chimney for dropping, well get ready folks this DVD was shot on the day, its a little rough and ready but it shows all the hard and dangerous work that went into a chimney drop, it also has Fred in the pub with his pals telling them stories of past jobs, including one where he was so black with soot after working on a chimney that the hotel he was staying at would not let him in until he had a wash in the car park, very very funny, be warned though it is very rough and ready.

DVD 3 ; title ; Stage 2 ; This is our own DVD which shows a lot of the early work that went on getting the site ready for visitors before we opened to the public, there are some very funny parts and it makes very entertaining viewing, some say its a bit like that film with Eric Sykes called “The Plank”.

These DVD’s normally sell at £14.99 at the heritage centre you can have the three for just £29.99 + 1.99 postage, PLUS a FREE new heritage Centre lapel badge worth £3.99 and a FREE Heritage centre ballpoint pen thats a saving of £20.

We also now have the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre best quality fruit of the loom SWEAT SHIRTS available at £24.99 with FREE lapel badge and FREE Heritage centre ballpoint pen, postage just £1.99

Also Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre best quality TEE shirts at £19.99 with FREE lapel badge and FREE heritage centre ballpoint pen, postage just £1.99

We have a full set of lovely unframed pictures of Fred including his beautuiful drawing of his plan for the mineshaft ( as seen on the wall in the house ) and also my favourite picture of Fred stood on top of Bolton Parish church spire approx 200ft up with no safetly ropes, fag in his hand, not a care in the world, fabulous picture, these pictures are normally £6.99 each but you can have the full set for just £19.99 ( they look fabulous framed ) PLUS FREE lapel badge worth £3.99 PLUS FREE ballpointpen worth £1, postage and packaging just £1.99

Please remember this sale is to help us refurbish the main Boiler so we can bring steam back to Fred’s place, work has already commenced on the boiler and the most expensive part is re-tubing we are not getting any grants towards this so we have to fund it ourselves, so grab yourslef a bargain and at the same time help us to steam up at Fred’s.

If you dont wish to take advantage of our sale, but would still like to help us please feel free to contact us, we would love to hear from you.

kindest regards Leon

• Please, no personal insults. Questioning someone’s actions or attitude is not a problem in my eyes, but once we start getting into name calling nothing constructive can come out of the discussion.
• Please, no multiple aliases. I’ve got logs of three people who have registered three or more very active accounts. Using these account to attack others and making posts agreeing with ‘yourself’ does not help your case when I have to moderate posts. I can merge accounts on this site doing so will show who is using multiple accounts.
• Please, post facts. Give supporting links if you can.
• Please, keep calm. When responding to what may seem to you as an arrogant/ignorant/bad-tempered comment, stop think, take the higher ground, do not attack back with insults rather put your point of view, reasons of actions taken and click “Submit”. Even one personal insult in what may be a rather convincing and eloquent reply may be enough to cause a comment to fail moderation.

Thank you.

As Fred Dibnah’s former home comes to the market, Matthew Steeples is reminded of a true BBC legend

As the nation continues to cringe in horror every time the name “Savile” is mentioned, memories of another BBC relic of the 1980s resurfaced when it was revealed that Fred Dibnah’s former home is for sale.

For those of our readers who weren’t fortunate enough to be alive when Dibnah graced our screens, he, unlike Savile, was a legend who truly deserves the accolade of such a title. This thrice-married Lancastrian was a steeplejack who became a television personality just as his breed died out. He didn’t understand why he’d become famous and of it commented:

“It’s a funny thing, this celebrity. If you don’t wave back you’re a miserable bugger, if you do wave back you’re a big-headed bugger. I don’t know.”

Fred Dibnah preferred to think of himself as “just a bum who climbs chimneys” but he ought instead be remembered for his forthright manner. Amongst the legendary comments this “chimney feller” came out with were remarks like:

“The modern world stinks… We’ve become a nation of con men, living by selling double-glazing to each other… Teaching boys to bake cakes? That’s no way to maintain an industrial empire… Them fancy London types don’t know the pleasure of eating chips with fingers… I prefer the past to the present. Because life today, with all its modern technology, isn’t very good, is it? And the future looks even worse.”

Dibnah bought 121 Radcliffe Road in Bolton in 1967 for £5,000. A Grade II listed former park keeper’s lodge, the building is known as “Two Cats” locally because of the coat of arms of the Earl of Bradford on one of the gables features two leopards and is said to have been built in 1854.

Leon and Jeanette Powsney purchased the derelict property in 2009 for £185,000 and set about turning part of it into a 5-bedroomed home for themselves and the remainder into The Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre.

Visitors, who come by the coachload, are able to tour the yard and see Dibnah’s machinery. Amongst that on show are steam-powered workshop with a circular saw, a band saw and a hydraulic hammer. The 70ft mine shaft remains and in addition there is a 50ft chimney, a gift shop and a small tearoom. The venture turns over about £100,000 per annum and is now for sale through agents Intelligent Business Transfer.

Mr Powsney, who is planning to move abroad, commented:

“We’re selling it as a going concern. It was a business set up against all the odds, we saved it from being flattened and from being redeveloped. We have worked hard to make the centre what it is, and have invested a lot of money in it. We think there’s potential for a buyer to make a tidy profit from it, but we’re looking to relax a bit more now.”

If the asking price of £1,250,000 sought by Mr & Mrs Powsney is achieved, I’m sure the legendary steeplejack wouldn’t disagree that here is a case of: “Where there’s muck, there’s brass.”
The cottage was the setting of the filming of many scenes from Dibnah’s shows and it was here also in 2003, whilst undergoing chemotherapy, that Dibnah decided to embark on the construction of a replica coal mine with his friend Alf Molyneux. His rationale for this was simple: “It’s not everyone who has a coal mine in their back garden.”

Source: http://thesteepletimes.com

The steeplejack’s former home in Bolton is for sale. It would be the perfect project for a history buff, says Ed Cumming.

Fred Dibnah was a great British eccentric. His career as a steeplejack, climbing and bringing down chimneys, was anachronistic even as he started out. His passion for antiquated machinery and Victoriana was unusual, too.

Not surprisingly, then, his five-bedroom property in Bolton, Lancashire – where he stored the curios and artefacts from more than 40 years of collecting – is not your typical family home. Now reinvented as the Fred Dibnah Heritage centre, it is for sale for £1.25?million.

After Don Howarth’s BBC documentary Fred Dibnah, Steeplejack was broadcast in 1979, Dibnah became famous for his fearless, no-nonsense character and warm Northern manner. He originally trained to repair and build chimneys, but learnt that there was far more business in knocking them down. In his native Bolton, 70 mills were closed between 1957 and 1965, with dozens standing derelict, waiting to be removed.

The fashion, as it is now, was to use dynamite. Dibnah thought this was wasteful and inelegant, so eschewed it in favour of his more traditional method. He would gradually remove one side of a chimney’s base by hand, propping it up with wooden blocks. These would then be set on fire. As the wood burned away, the chimney fell in the direction of the weakened part.

This dangerous-looking process (though Dibnah maintained it was perfectly safe), combined with his telegenic delivery, made for compelling viewing. He went on to present many documentaries of his own, on everything from Isambard Kingdom Brunel to his beloved traction engines. By the time of his death in 2004, he was a national treasure, synonymous with a working-class sensibility, which was disappearing as fast as the mining industry.

Dibnah always hoped that his home in Bolton would become a museum, where his life’s passions could be preserved. Yet after his death it lay dormant until 2008, when it was bought by Leon Powsney, an insurance broker. With his wife, Jan, and a team of dedicated volunteers, Leon has transformed the five-bedroom house. It is now a place where visitors come to celebrate the great man’s life.

“Over the past four years, we have put a tremendous amount of work and money into the property,” explains Leon. We bought it for £185,000, but it was pretty much derelict because it had stood empty since Fred died. We had to spend £7,000 on curtains and blinds before we moved in, and then two months just cleaning it out. After that it took us about a year to secure planning permission to create the heritage centre.”

Dibnah might have been much loved around the country, but it seems he could be a less-than-perfect neighbour. “He was basically running a blacksmithing company,” explains Leon. “There was banging, riveting, smoking: you name it. I spoke to some of his neighbours and they said that as soon as they put the washing out it would turn black from all the smoke coming out of Fred’s garden.”

Visitors to the house today are given a tour of the yard and Fred’s machinery. There is a circular saw, massive lathes, planer, a band saw, hydraulic hammer and 7ft drills. All powered by steam. The garden also contains a 70ft mine shaft, which Fred put in so people could see how a mine worked, and a 50ft chimney. “Doesn’t everyone have a 50ft chimney in their back garden?” Leon asks, wryly. Inside the house is a gift shop and a small tea room.

“At the moment the museum turns over about £100,000,” he explains. “But the potential is there to more than double that. We have applied for a licence to get the old steam boiler refurbished, so all the steam-powered objects can run again. We already get 50 coach-loads of tourists a year. But with steam power back, it could be more than double that. There is a team of dedicated volunteers, who give the tours and talks. They would be happy to continue whoever owned the place.”

Leon adds that while he hopes to remain involved with the centre in some ways, at 65 he no longer has the energy to do it full time. “There’s potential for a buyer to make a tidy profit,” he says. “But we’re looking to relax a bit. I have always dreamt of having a little place in Spain – and there’s never been a better time to buy one. We want some privacy, too. This will always be Fred’s home.”

Maybe. But for the millions of fans of his work, the chance to share Fred’s home could be too good to miss. Add in a corner of Britain’s industrial heritage, as well as a healthy profit, and this house in Radcliffe Road, The Haulgh, could be far more than just a “going concern”.

• The Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre is on the market for £1.25 million through Intelligent Business Transfer (0800 612 7718; intelligentbusinesstransfer.co.uk)

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

PLEASE READ THE LISTING CAREFULLY,

THIS IS TO LAUNCH THE FRED DIBNAH HERITAGE CENTRE SUPPORTERS CLUB, SO BEFORE YOU BID PLEASE EMAIL US FOR FULL DETAILS, WE WILL GET STRAIGHT BACK TO YOU WITH FULL DETAILS.

MEMBERSHIP WILL ENTITLE YOU TO A MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATE PLUS A FREE HERITAGE CENTRE BADGE, PLUS A HALF YEARLY NEWSLETTER TO KEEP YOU UP TO DATE WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE CENTRE, YOU WILL BE FIRST TO KNOW OF ANY FORTHCOMING EVENTS AT THE CENTRE, PLUS DISCOUNTS ON ANY PURCHASES OF OUR MEMORABILIA AND DVD’s, PLUS LOTS MORE EXCITING STUFF TO BE ANNOUNCED.

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT WHATS GOING ON HERE BY JOINING OUR EXCLUSIVE SUPPORTERS CLUB.

PLEASE EMAIL US AT FREDDIBNAHTOURS@LIVE.COM FOR FULL DETAILS

I HAVE STARTED THE AUCTION AT £.01P THAT IS ONLY TO KEEP THE LISTING COSTS DOWN AS WE NEED TO RAISE AS MUCH FUNDING AS WE CAN FOR THE CENTRE. PLEASE DONT GET INTO A BIDDING WAR IF YOU WANT TO JOIN JUST EMAIL US FOR DETAILS OR JUST GO TO OUR WEBSITE.

PLEASE EMAIL US FOR DETAILS OF AVAILABILITY ETC.

MANY THANKS FOR LOOKING AND PLEASE REMEMBER ALL FUNDS GO TOWARDS THE MAMMOTH TASK WE HAVE OF RESTORING FREDS PLACE TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION.

REMEMBER IF YOU NEED MORE DETAILS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL US.
FOR DETAILS YOU CAN CONTACT US AT freddibnahtours@live.com

PLEASE ALSO NOTE ; WE ARE THE ONLY GENUINE FRED DIBNAH HERITAGE CENTRE !!! HAVE YOU SEEN OUR CATALOGUE ON OUR WEBSITE

Fred Dibnah’s old home is up for sale — with a £1.25 million price tag.
The former steeplejack’s house in The Haulgh is now a heritage centre, but its owner says someone younger is needed to take the helm and develop it further.

Fred lived in the Radcliffe Road property until his death in 2004 and it is full of his collection of industrial artefacts.

The grade II house, which was originally built in 1854, was a gatehouse for the Earl of Bradford’s estate, and now also includes a refurbished vintage lineshaft used to power Fred’s equipment.

Leon Powsney bought the home in 2009 for £180,000 and spent 12 months transforming it into a heritage centre, which opened to the public in 2010.

It was awarded charitable status last year, and The Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre Charity Trust will continue regardless of the sale.

Mr Powsney said yesterday: ”The business, the property and the whole site is up for sale.

“If it is sold it will be on condition that it remains as a heritage centre.

“We have done all the hard work with a small team of volunteers.

“I have tried to organise public ownership of the site via the trust but it just didn’t get the massive support we would have needed. Although we did have a strong core of true enthusiasts, we needed lots more.”

Mr Powsney, who received a letter of praise from Prince Charles for his work, said Fred’s house is a major Bolton tourist attraction, with nearly 50 coach parties from all over the UK booked in to visit the house this year.

The first coach party with 49 steam enthusiasts came from Doncaster-based Steam4 Fun.com — the world’s only supplier of miniature, working Fred Dibnah model engines.

Mr Powsney said he would like the business to move “to the next level”, but that he and his wife are too old to take the challenge any further.

He said: “I’m now aged 65 and my wife, Jeanette, is not so well.

“We also want a home of our own and some privacy — this will always be Fred’s home.

“It’s an exciting time and I’d like to help the new owner in some way.

“However, the last few years have been very hard work for us. We need a break.”

The centre has permission to hold tours twice per day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but currently holds only one tour per day.

To fund some of the work, Mr Powsney offered people the chance to sponsor cobblestones to raise money for future improvements at £125 per cobble, as well as selling Fred’s old screws and rivets.

Mr Powsney said: “People have also donated money to the trust and that remains alongside the business.

“There is now a plaque for every sponsored cobble which will remain there as long as the museum exists.”

The sale is being organised by Intelligent Business Transfer in Leeds.

Spokesman Sam Roser said: “Its value has risen five-fold, which is almost unheard of in the current economic climate.

“The fact that this is being offered to the market is a great rarity and is something that is unique, locally and nationally.

“It is extremely scarce that anything of this stature is offered to the public and I am sure that it will be hugely evocative to many people.”

 

Source: link , link

Update: Lots of descussion going on about this in the Bolton New’s site, click here to read it all. Thanks goes to George Ellis for the heads up.

Update #2: Direct link to the IBT Sale Page (you have to register and not much content on there at the moment)

This falls nicely on the Saturday this year so it should be a nice busy day. We will be having an open day and people will be able to have a good wander round! There will be volunteers here to tell them about Fred’s place and answer any questions visitors may have and there will be talks going on in the main workshop by Alf ( Elf ) Molyneux Fred’s trusty pal, as seen on TV, will be here to tell stories of working with Fred.

There will be entertainment and a Brass band. Also there will be the chance to browse our memorabilia store and to take something home to treasure! Visitors will get to see all Fred’s wonderful collection of Victorian machinery and of course see at first hand the beautiful brass plaque’s along the cobblestone path sponsored by Fred’s fans.
We believe it will be a fantastic night to remember and hope that you will support the Heritage Centre and of course, Fred’s Memory!

More details include:

The cost is £15 per head ( half price for children under 10 ) this will include food ( baked spuds with choice of fillings and or lashings of butter and black eyed peas ) soft drinks and tea and coffee will be available. We will be open from 10am until kicking out time at 5pm. Parking will be in the Bridge church car park around the corner.

We are taking bookings now so please book early to avoid disappointment by our contact details on the right and we can take payment by card. Or write to us enclosing a cheque made out to the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre ( please enclose SAE ) email us or you can also book via the website and pay by paypal if you wish.

Among the many attractions at The Riverside Leisure Complex on Southport Road will be vintage vehicles that once belonged to famous steeplejack Fred Dibnah, with 500 other cars, wagons and tractors also on display.

This will be the fourth year of the charity event which has so far raised £100,000 for worthy local causes.

There will be 22 full-size steam engines at the show including Fred Dibnah’s steam roller Betsy, while his iconic Land Rover will also be there. Motorbikes and military vehicles will also be on show.

Other attractions will include a vintage fairground, working demonstrations and hundreds of trade stands.

New attractions for 2012 are a beer tent with live music including several performances from The Lancashire Hotpots. Other acts on stage will include Tom Doughty, the Reel Gentlemen, Dave Goulder, and Live Steam. The fun tug-of-war contest will feature teams from local pubs and other organisations.

Adult tickets priced £6, children £3, with under 11s free.

Head over to their web site for more details.

Also see details of last year’s show.