Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone

Fred explores the industrial world of 1940's and 1950's. In this programme he looks back at some of the sites he visited over eight years, plus there is comment from friends, family, experts and academics.

The late Lancastrian steeplejack Fred Dibnah traces the development of industrialisation in Britain. Dibnah described himself as a backstreet mechanic and believed he was awarded his MBE and honorary doctorates for this reason. His garden was all assembled from scrap and the cast offs from old mills and factories, but it was probably the finest working example of a steam-powered engineering workshop in the country. The mechanical and engineering skills he demonstrated in his garden combined with his ability to explain how things worked opened up the world of engineering history to a wide audience.

Fred Dibnah traces the development of industrialisation in Britain. The Industrial Revolution was a time when Britain led the world. It was one of the most important periods in our history, but it has never really had the attention it deserves. Fred's passion and enthusiasm for the machines of the past helped raise public awareness about the way they worked and their importance in history.

Fred's heroes were the great engineers of the Victorian age. In this programme, we show Fred's great interest in their work and his belief in the values of hard work and enterprise that drove them on and led us to a greater appreciation of their significance and achievements.

Fred Dibnah was, by his own admission, a man born out of his time. His era should have been the 19th century. It is the age he admired and the time he would have liked to have lived and worked. This shows how Fred's love for the Victorian age led us to a greater appreciation and understanding of the engineering, architectural and decorative skills of the age.

Fred is often associated with the iconic footage of the demolition of Britain's old industrial chimneys, but in truth this was the job he liked the least. What he really liked was restoring engines and chimneys, and one of his greatest triumphs was his steam traction engine, lovingly restored over 27 years and two marriages.