For our 100th cache hide we wanted to do a special cache in honour of a great character from Bolton Fred Dibnah. We are Fred addicts and still enjoy watching all of his videos, sadly we never got to meet Fred, apart from a wave as he chugged past on his beloved Betsy.
Freds Famous House in Bolton
In 2002, Fred began to dig a replica coal mine in the back garden of his Grade II listed house in Bolton. He had already assembled the wooden pithead gear, and was planning to sink a 70-100ft shaft below this into the hillside. At the bottom of the shaft, a horizontal tunnel would lead out to the steep side of the valley above which his garden sits. The aim was to have a narrow gauge railway track running along the tunnel, back up the hillside on a rope-hauled inclined plane, returning to the pithead. The ultimate aim was to be able to demonstrate the basic working of an early colliery. The headgear is still there but his beloved steam engines and most of his personal possesions have had to be removed due to thieves who broke in and stole a number of items. There are plans to build a monument to honour one of Boltons most famous character.
One of Freds famous quotes is "Did yer like that!?" but one of the most amusing ones to me was related to his chimney climbing "If you make one mistake, it's half a day out with the undertaker."
Fred passed away in November 2004, he is buried in the cemetary in view of his beloved house and workshop.
THE landmark home where celebrity steeplejack Fred Dibnah lived for more than 40 years has been put up for sale. Fred's fascination with steam and industrial heritage turned the house and its ground in Radcliffe Road, The Haulgh, into a tribute to Bolton's past. Along with his beloved steam engines the grounds of the house were home to a huge collection of tools and machinery which will be included in the sale. The house also comes complete with its own mineshaft and the sale on November 12 is expected to generate a frenzy among enthusiasts and fans of Fred, who died aged 66 in 2004 following a battle with cancer. A guide price of between £300,000 and £350,000 has been attached to the property by auctioneers Miller Metcalfe. "Coming to the house is like stepping back 100 years and it is being sold with most of the machinery and tools that Fred owned. "I hope there's a real enthusiast with plenty of money somewhere out there who comes and buys the house and keeps it like it is because people continue to come from all over the country to look over the wall."
FTF WICKER