Why Is There A Flowerpot Man Of Fred Dibnah Climbing A Mill In Settle?

Ever been wandering through a town and seen something that just makes you stop and smile? Not a grand monument or a fancy building, but something quirky and unexpected. Well, if you find yourself in the Yorkshire town of Settle, you might just see the spirit of a national treasure scaling a massive chimney. Made of flowerpots.

It's a brilliant sight and it's all part of the annual Settle Flowerpot Festival, a celebration of creativity that has just welcomed its latest star: a flowerpot tribute to the one and only Fred Dibnah. This new addition perfectly captures the fun of the festival and pays homage to a man who was fascinated by the very kind of industrial giant it's attached to, the old town mill.

So, who was this Fred Dibnah chap?

For anyone who didn't grow up watching his programmes, the name might not ring a bell. But Fred Dibnah was a proper British icon. A steeplejack by trade from Lancashire, he was the bloke you'd call to climb hundreds of feet up a rickety ladder to fix a towering factory chimney. What's a steeplejack? Think of them as industrial mountaineers, scaling giants of brick and stone instead of rock faces. Fred wasn't just a master of his craft; he was a natural on television.

With his flat cap and infectious enthusiasm, he brought the forgotten world of the industrial revolution right into people's living rooms. He had a deep love for the very chimneys he worked on, having grown up surrounded by the textile mills of Northern England. These weren't just structures to him; they were monuments to a bygone era. He became famous not just for repairing them, but for bringing them down. And he did it with style. Fred developed a method for demolishing chimneys without using explosives, a delicate art of knocking out the base and letting gravity do the work. He felled an incredible ninety of them in his lifetime. He was a character, a historian, and a craftsman all rolled into one, which is why he's still so fondly remembered. The tribute to the famous steeplejack, Fred Dibnah, at the Settle festival is therefore a perfect fit.

A flowerpot tribute fit for a legend

It's one thing to build a statue, but the creation at the Settle Flowerpot Festival is something else entirely. An effigy of Fred Dibnah, made from cleverly assembled flowerpots, has been installed part-way up the historic chimney at the Watershed Mill. There he is, in all his terracotta glory, looking like he's on another one of his famous jobs. It's a funny, clever, and wonderfully British tribute. What makes it even better is the story behind its installation. A new festival volunteer, Simon Swales, helped the flowerpot Fred make his ascent. And he did it with just a single ladder.

This is a brilliant little nod to the man himself, as Fred Dibnah was known for having a collection of around thirty ladders to reach those dizzying heights. It's this kind of attention to detail and gentle humour that makes the whole display so charming. It's not just a model; it's a story. The flowerpot creation has become a major talking point of the whole festival, bringing a bit of industrial history to a fun, family event in Settle.

What's the Settle Flowerpot Festival all about?

If you think this sounds like your kind of day out, then you're in luck. The Settle Flowerpot Festival is a massive event that takes over the entire town, and it's completely free to wander around. It runs all the way until 7th September, attracting thousands of visitors who come to see what wonderfully bonkers creations the locals have come up with this time. The Fred Dibnah flowerpot man might be the new celebrity, but he's in good company. There are more than 200 different flowerpot exhibits dotted around Settle, using over 4,000 donated or recycled flowerpots. People make everything from famous characters and animals to hilarious scenes from everyday life. It turns a walk through the town into a treasure hunt. Festival at a Glance:

• What: The Settle Flowerpot Festival
• Where: All around the town of Settle, Yorkshire
• When: On now until 7th September
• Cost: Absolutely free!
• Highlights: Over 200 creative flowerpot displays, including the new Fred Dibnah climbing the Watershed Mill chimney.

This annual festival is a testament to community spirit and imagination. It shows how something as simple as a humble flowerpot can be transformed into a piece of public art that brings joy to thousands. It's a highlight of the year for the town.

The mill at the heart of the action

The setting for the flowerpot Fred is just perfect. The Watershed Mill isn't just any old building. Established way back in 1780 as a cotton weaving mill, it's a genuine piece of the industrial history that Fred Dibnah was so passionate about. It's exactly the kind of place he would have revered. Thankfully, this chimney escaped his unique demolition technique and now stands as a landmark for the town. Today, the mill has a new lease of life as a visitor attraction. And, fittingly, it's home to a place called The Potting Shed.

This is the creative hub where many of the imaginative figures for the flowerpot festival are born. So, the very place that inspires the tribute to Fred is also where the art for the festival gets made. It's a fantastic example of how heritage can be kept alive, not just by preserving old buildings, but by making them part of the living, breathing community. The old cotton mill provides the backdrop, the history, and the inspiration for one of the most creative events in the country, the wonderful Settle Flowerpot Festival.