THE life of a steeplejack is not for everyone. The profession has a long past—one panel of the Bayeux Tapestry shows a figure working on a church roof—and a daunting job description. The dictionary definition of the role is ‘a person whose work is building, painting, or repairing steeples, smokestacks, etc’, but this tells only half the story. By climbing exposed steeples, towers, monuments and chimneys with the aid of little more than rungs and ropes, steeplejacks put themselves into situations that would turn the average individual’s knees to jelly.
This has been the case for centuries. In the Middle Ages, itinerant steeplejacks journeyed where the work took them, carrying out daredevil tasks on spires and cathedrals. The trade really boomed with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, when vast towers and mill chimneys began to proliferate around the country. Fast forward to the 1970s and the trade received an unlikely PR boost after Bolton steeplejack Fred Dibnah climbed to fame by starring in a BAFTA-winning documentary about his vertiginous day job. The next 25 years saw a series of popular programmes about or presented by Dibnah. It was a lifelong calling. ‘When I were a boy, you would see little fellas with flat caps on, way up in the sky,’ he once reminisced. ‘It fascinated me.’
Denne historien er fra August 09, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 09, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
