Program One: The Early Pioneers
A visit to Cornwall illuminates the early history of the steam engine in Britain, which was developed to pump water from the tin mines.

Program Two: The Transport Revolution
How the advent of steam power radically changed the way people travelled.

Program Three: Driving the Wheels of Industry
The Lancastrian steeplejack’s continuing history of steam power charts the role of steam in Britain’s 18th- and 19th-century industrial expansion, and the use of huge stationary steam engines in mills, collieries and steel works until well into the 20th century.

Program Four: Steaming Down the Road
The Lancastrian steeplejack’s continuing history of steam power looks at experiments in the use of steam for road transport that took place a full century before the invention of the car.

Program Five: Steam on the Water
In the penultimate episode of the series tracing the history of steam power, the Lancastrian steeplejack follows the progression of steam ships from early paddle steamers to the use of steam turbines in modern vessels.

Program Six: Steam in the Modern Age
The Lancastrian steeplejack’s history of steam power concludes with a look at today’s powerful steam turbines that generate electricity and the preservation of our steam heritage in museums.

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Contender Entertainment Group
Release Date: 12 Sep 2005
Run Time: 180 minutes

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Here, of course, Fred Dibnah comes into his own. For this is Fred’s favourite era, I think. The Industrial Revolution and then into the times of Victorian Britain.
He returns home to Bolton to look at what remains of the once-extensive canal system and to explain not only how they were constructed (complete with models, of course) but also why they were constructed.

In Victorian Splendour Fred Dibnah takes a look at the fantastic work of Pugin when he was required to rebuild the Palace of Westminster in Medieval style, to match the remains of the palace. He shows how it was built, and how Big Ben’s clock tower was constructed and also reveals that Victorian pennies are still used to help regulate the running of the clock.

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Acorn Media
Release Date: 5 Aug 2002
Run Time: 60 minutes

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The age of the carpenter describes how the skills of the carpenter really came into their own during the time of the Tudor great houses, when newly-wealthy merchants decided that they required a grand house for their family, suitable to their new status. Fred also pointed out some of the problems in these houses caused by faulty construction techniques. He also showed how these are being put right by using modern engineering solutions.
Scottish Style covers what was basically the Adams style. Fred Dibnah examines examples of what became known as Scottish Baronial style. He takes the viewer round Glamis Castle, pointing out how a relatively straightforward stone structure was transformed into the wonderful structure that we see today, by using teams of master stonemasons. The plasterwork in the castle was executed by experts from Italy. Of particular note the violin, skilfully created out of a mould and plaster. As Fred discovered the tale that the plaster violin was a real violin, dipped in plaster was not right. The true story was much more interesting. And Fred has a reasonably successful go at plaster work himself.

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Acorn Media
Release Date: 5 Aug 2002
Run Time: 60 minutes

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Episode 1: The Passion of a Lifetime
In the last series he made before his death last November, the Bolton steeplejack attempts to fulfil a lifelong ambition – a tour of the UK on the 1912 steam traction engine he’s spent 27 years restoring. He’ll be seeking out the bygone skills used to build the engine, but first he has to ensure that the vehicle is roadworthy.

Episode 2: Collecting the Coal
Stocking up with coal fuel is Fred’s first task and a mine near Wigan is his destination – but it’s an uphill struggle as the engine runs out of steam and water just a few miles from home. Fuelled up at last, it’s off to Astley Green Colliery Museum near Manchester-home of Lancashire’s only surviving pit headgear and engine house.

Episode 3: The Source of Iron
The picturesque Lake District is not usually associated with industry, but iron ore was once mined here on a large scale. Fred visits the Florence Mine at Egremont – the last operational deep iron ore mine in western Europe – before heading to the local pub to chat to some former steel workers about the old days.

Episode 4: Castings
Heading north of the border, Fred and his steersman Alf marvel at the ingenuity of the Falkirk wheel and visit one of the few surviving traditional iron works in the area. Then, after some repairs at the Bo’ness and Kinneil railway, they take off to cross the Forth Road Bridge.

Episode 5: Water and Boilers
As well as visiting Ryhope pumping station in Sunderland, which ceased operation in 1967 after 100 years of service, Fred travels across the Middlesbrough transporter bridge and also drops in at the Israel Newton boiler works in Bradford, where the product is still made in the traditional way using rivets instead of welding.

Episode 6: The Road to Steel City
Fred fulfils an ambition when he drives his traction engine across the imposing Scammonden Bridge over the M62 near Huddersfield. Plus a visit to Sheffield for a tour around a fascinating forge to watch crucible steel being produced by the experts at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet.

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Contender Entertainment Group
Release Date: 16 May 2005
Run Time: 174 minutes

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Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Pegasus Entertainment
DVD Release Date: 14 April 2003
Run Time: 55 minutes

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Program One: Wind Water And Steam
Fred starts his journey at the old Bolton, Bury and Manchester Canal where he first discovered his passion for industrial history. As a young boy, he would walk along the towpath, passing cotton mills and old coal mines. Fred fondly retraces his childhood steps before showing viewers some of the many preservation projects he has been working on over the years: a steam-powered pottery in Cumbria, a mill chimney in Lancashire and a steam engine in North Wales.

Program Two: Mill And Factories
In Burnley, he visits Queen Street Mill where the original steam engine still powers the looms in a huge weaving shed. He meets a woman called Evelyn who has worked in the mill all her life and fondly remembers the camaraderie amongst the weavers. For more about the Queen Street Mill and other spinning and weaving heritage spots see The North West Textile Trail, or see the Amazing Animated Spinning Mill!

Program Three: Iron And Steel
Fred traces the development of the production of iron and steel and begins his journey at Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, the cradle of the industrial revolution. It was here that Abraham Darby first smelted iron with coke and thus started a dynasty of iron founders in the gorge who were to change the entire face of industry. Fred visits Abraham Darby’s original furnace and rides on a replica of the first steam railway locomotive which was built at Ironbridge in 1803. To see a blast furnace in action see Fred Amazing animated machines!

Program Four: Mining
Until the 1960s, mining was a major industry around Bolton and Fred recollects how his auntie always believed that there was a coal mine under her house. Fred talks about the working conditions down the mines and the camaraderie between the miners that came from working in this hostile and dangerous environment.

At the National Coal Mining Museum for England, near Wakefield, Fred descends to the coal face to see how the machinery the miners used developed over the years. At Big Pit, in South Wales, Fred rides on top of the pit cage to carry out a shaft inspection and in Scotland he is welcomed to the Lady Victoria Colliery by a pipe band. See the Amazing Animated Winding Gear for a look at how the deep mines worked!

Program Five: Railways
Fred recollects his early excitement for steam locomotives as they roared past his bedroom window at night, the driver’s face lit only by the engine’s firebox. Fred’s enthusiasm has never burnt out and in this programme he traces the development of the railway locomotive from Richard Trevithick’s first locomotive to the world record-breaking Mallard.

Fred visits the North East which is rich in railway history. At Bowes Railway near Gateshead he sees one of George Stephenson’s early engineering projects, where a stationary engine pulled coal wagons up a hill with a rope. But at Darlington Railway Museum he admires Stephenson’s most famous engineering achievement, the original “Locomotion No.1?, which was the first locomotive to run along the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

Program Six: Ships And Shipbuilding
Fred examines the skill of the shipbuilders and machine engineers who turned Britain into a great manufacturing nation. In Bristol, Fred visits the SS Great Britain, the first ocean going ship to be constructed by iron and driven by steam, and pays tribute to the designer, Fred’s hero, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The SS Great Britain won’t be going to sea again so Fred goes in search of a working steamship. He travels to Scotland to take a voyage along the west coast on the paddle steamer Waverley. Back in England he visits the Windermere Steamboat Museum and sails across the lake in the Steam Launch Swallow. See Fred’s animated Paddle Steamer and build-it game to find out how it all worked!

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Beckmann Visual Publishing
Release Date: 1 Mar 1999
Run Time: 150 minutes

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He explains how the castles were designed, how they were constructed, how they were managed and also, using a technique that Fred still used, how they could be taken during a siege.

Fred’s description of how the cathedrals were made (complete with working scale models of Medieval construction techniques) is not only interesting but also somewhat moving, too. An interesting aside was that Fred was able to show carpenter’s marks on wood that were used to ensure that beams fitted into beams. A sobering thought that the master carpenter who made those marks has been dead for 1,000-odd years. Yet his work is still a testament to his skills, brought to life by Fred Dibnah.

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Acorn Media
Release Date: 5 Aug 2002
Run Time: 60 minutes

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Join Fred as he visits the famous Cheshire Steam Fair, one of the country’s greatest steam spectacles.

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Beckmann Visual Publishing
Release Date: 11 Jul 1994
Run Time: 55 minutes

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The amazing world of Fred Dibnah – Britain’s legendary Steeplejack – and star of the acclaimed BBC TV series ‘Fred Dibnah – Steeplejack’, ‘A Year with Fred’ and many other TV documentaries. Watch in awe as Fred demolishes the towering brick built chimneys of Britain’s industrial past.

See the nail biting moment as Fred sets the fire going to Rugby Mill Chimney at Oldham, Lancashire – just 4?6? from the next building! See how the master steeplejack ladders a chimney from start to spectacular finish.

Enjoy the wit and wisdom of one of Britain’s most colourful characters and ‘Watch them Fall Down!

Details

Format: PAL
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Beckmann Visual Publishing
Release Date: 11 Jul 1994
Run Time: 76 minutes

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Britain’s best-loved steeplejack, Fred Dibnah, takes a breathtaking trip round Britain’s finest buildings. With the help of his own drawings and and a little building work in his back garden, Fred offers a unique insight into the design and construction of some of our most fascinating national treasures. From Hadrian’s Wall to St Paul’s Cathedral and the Thames Barrier to the ‘The Big One’ Rollercoaster, Fred reveals just what makes a monument into one of Britain’s best.

Program One: Forts and Castles
First in a six part series. Fred begins his journey in Wiltshire with an insight into the development of castles. Featured: Eastnor Castle, Old Sarum, Hadrian’s Wall, Dover Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Warwick Castle.

Program Two: Houses and Palaces
Dibnah looks at various dwellings, including Hampton Court Palace, Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire and his own childhood home in Bolton. Featured: Fred’s house in Bolton, Ightham Mote, Hampton Court, Cragside, Beamish, Lacock Abbey.

Program Three: Places of Worship
Dibnah visits religious sites, starting in Preston and taking in York minster, a Saxon church in Durham, and St Paul’s cathedral in London. Featured: Preston Spire, Avebury Parish Church, York Minster, Chester Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Program Four: Places of Work
Dibnah’s journey takes him from a 1000-year-old tithe barn in Sussex to a modernLloyd’s Building in London. Along the way he visits a Norman hospital and one of Britain’s oldest dockyards in Kent. Featured: Merchant Adventurer’s Hall, Lacock Village, Armley Mills, Lloyd’s Building.

Program Five: Bridges and Tunnels
Dibnah’s journey this week takes him from the earliest wrought-iron suspension bridges to the Channel Tunnel. In Wales he steers a canal barge across the Pontcysyllte aqueduct and later admires the view from atop one of the Humber bridge’s 500 foot-tall towers. Featured: Telford’s Pont Cysyilte, Conwy Suspension Bridge, Brunel’s Box Tunnel and Maidenhead Bridge. York Station, The Forth Bridge, Humber Bridge, Thames Barrier and Channel Tunnel

Program Six: Pleasure Palaces
Fred Dibnah’s final foray takes him to structures built for entertainment. This week he takes in Bath, Shakespeare’s reconstructed Globe theatre, the Victoria and Albert museum and the recently restored Scott monument in Edinburgh, before finishing up in Blackpool. Featured: Scott’s Monument, Bath, Roman Baths, Shakespeare’s Globe, The George Inn, Bankside, Victoria and Albert Museum, Blackpool Tower, Pepsi Big One

Details

Format: VHS
Number of tapes: 1
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Beckmann Visual Publishing
DVD Release Date: 17 April 2000
Run Time: 150 minutes

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