Product Description

For a lot of people, one of their first questions when they visit a great historic building is 'how the heck did they build that all that time ago? How did they manage to lift all that stone and wood up to such a great height?' In Fred Dibnah's "Buildings of Britain", we get Fred Dibnah's own distinctive answer to this question, as he takes us to some of the country's most famous and historic monuments, castles, cathedrals, abbeys, great houses and engineering marvels. One of Fred's great passions was architecture, engineering and the craft skills of builders, carpenters, stonemasons and structural engineers.His interest was not in architectural theory but in the practicalities of how things were built and with the help of his beautifully executed drawings he was very good at giving simple, vivid explanations of how things like great medieval castles and abbeys were built at a time when technology was limited and there were no power tools, no concrete, no steel, no engines and no heavy machinery. From Peterborough Cathedral to St Paul's and from the Humber Bridge to the Blackpool Tower, the book will take us on a tour of Britain's great historic buildings with a very unique and charismatic guide - Fred Dibnah.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51004 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From the Inside Flap
For a lot of people, one of their first questions when they visit a great historic building is ‘How the heck did they build that all that time ago? How did they manage to lift all that stone and wood up to such a great height?’

In Fred Dibnah's Buildings of Britain we get Fred Dibnah's own imitable answers to these questions. Using Fred's beautifully executed drawings and his own words, David Hall (Fred's biographer and friend) celebrates Fred's legacy as a passionate advocate for our country's most famous and historic monuments, castles, cathedrals, abbeys, great houses and engineering marvels. His interest in the practicalities of building and explaining simply how great medieval castles and abbeys were constructed at a time when technology was limited and there were no power tools, concrete, steel, engines or heavy machinery.

From Peterborough Cathedral to St Paul's and from the Humber Bridge to Stephenson's Rocket, this book is Fred's ultimate guide to the buildings and engineering feats that made Britain great.

About the Author
David Hall was Fred Dibnah's tv producer for many years, as well as a personal friend of the family. He made all of the most recent television series and is also the producer of Fred Dibnah's World. He is the author of Fred: the definitive biography of Fred Dibnah and Manchester's Finest, an account of life in Manchester in the aftermath of the deaths of the Busby Babes.

Customer Reviews

Fabulous, artistic book, Perfect for Dibnah fans and architecture enthusiasts alike!
This is a beautifully laid-out book which deals semi-biographically with Dibnah's interest in historical and modern architecture and feats of engineering alike. I bought it for my father last Christmas and,as a competent draughtsman himself, he was very impressed.

Dibnah is famous for being a lovably eccentric steeple-jack and steam enthusiast, but I had no idea he was so interested in architecture, and his draughtsmanship is consistently thorough and beautiful, complemented by Dibnah's beautiful copperplate inscriptions and David Hall's notes on the architectural and engineering features of the places depicted.

This book is perfect for Dibnah fans and architecture enthusiasts alike, a lovely insight into another side of Fred Dibnah.

A good solid book about a good solid chap
Actually the book was a present to my partner who does not use the internet but he "Thoroughly enjoyed it"