WELCOME

Just wanted to thank Leon for a super tour yesterday, we all really enjoyed the whole experience, the friendly atmosphere and the warm welcome. Please thank your wife Leon on our behalf for letting us have a look around your home and thank Alf for the memories he shared. The experience was better than we thought it would be well worth a visit.

What a man Fred must have been! So many people interested in him so long after he died. I twice just missed meeting him, to my permanent regret. As next best thing, I intend to visit his home, but as I live in Wiltshire, it's going to be an undertaking travelling so far. May I wish a wonderful New Year to his widow and children, particularly Jack and Roger who seem to be keeping the Dibnah flag flying so proudly. And especial good wishes to all associated with keeping his home together and available for the public to view.
Happy New Year
Graham Harding.

Leon, Jan and all the team at the centre would like to wish all our visitors past and future a very merry christmas and a brilliant new year, many thanks for your fantastic support so far, and if you think you have seen progress at the centre up to now, then let me tell you folks, you aint seen nothing yet, watch out for some major news in the next few weeks, fantastic news that will have you on the edge of your seats. WATCH THIS SPACE !!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Having met Fred in 1997 and watched him on TV so many times, it was a pleasure to finally see where he lived and tour the yard. A very pleasant and interesting couple of hours.Well done for setting up this project and good luck for the future.

Hi Leon

Five of us visited "Fred's Place" on Wednesday 16th November 2011 and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was excellent value for money and we will be recommending it to our friends. Please give our special thanks to Alf and Mark who gave wonderful presentations and humorous renditions of Fred's escapades. Also to you, Leon, for giving us a very honest and funny account of how and your wife you came to purchase the house. We will no doubt be calling again next year. May we wish you every success for the future and "well done".

i have and still watch fred on tv he was agreat man very clever there will never be any one like him again my wife and are going to visit freds house i have seen fred when he used to take his kids to play shcool and senn him many times in his landrover he will be sadly missed

Fred was a marvellous person and it is sad to hear that his property was burgled. The times we live in.
I shall certainly look at visiting some time in the future.
Brian George. Nottingham.

I was thrilled to find you lovely people have saved Fred's home and hope one day to visit. As we live in Essex this will not be easy but we will try. I met Fred at the Princes Theatre in Clacton on Sea when he packed the place giving a superb talk about his life and experiences. I was able to obtain his autograph in a BBC Book and will treasure this forever. I will also cherish the fact that I was able to shake the great man's hand also. He did immesurable good in promoting a very important part of our heritage and ensured a much wider level of interest in steam and it's preservation. You wonderful people are playing an important part in preserving his memory. Well done, keep it up.

We have been a fan of Fred's right from his very first appearance on TV, and to be able to visit his house and workshop was like a dream come true!
Leon and Alf made our party very welcome, and we were made to feel like friends visiting, not paying customers, even down to sitting in Fred's front room supping tea! The tour itself was very interesting and informative, especially the bow and arrow story! Thanks for a wonderful day.

Thanks all of You in keeping this place and memory of such a Great Man alive. Best wishes from Poland

Thanks Leon, Alf, and Mark for a thoroughly enjoyable experience at todays heritage centre tour.
If you love anything about Fred his life, his passion, and are interested, as I am in Britain’s industrial age, the smell of wood burning, pitheads, boilers, steam, old machinery, some rusted, tales of Fred & Alf, then this is for you!
Watch the videos of Fred’s TV exploits then come along here, savour the atmosphere, and you’re transported back in time to a bygone age when coal & steam was king. You know, I’m sure I saw Fred in the corner of my eye stokeing his boiler! eeh Fred sit thi darwn an av a cuppa tay.
Your my hero Fred. Always will be!

Hi Leon, Thanks for hosting a brilliant visit on 18th August. Alf's presentation of his memories were very entertaining ( and his video is splendid too).
Many thanks to you and your wife and Alf for keeping the memories alive. Good luck with the project.

I watch all of his programmes and have read the books. I cannot believe his home was left to empty for so long. Best of luck getting everything working again, second time around.

Andy, Julie walters visited 6/8/2011. To Leon , Jan and Alf thank you for a fantasic day it was very interesting you made us feel very welcome, keep up the good work in freds memory and will visit again in the near future when you have steamed up thanks again for a great day.

Hi Leon and Jan
Many thanks for the superb tour of your lovely house and interesting garden on 1st September, it is wonderful to see you both keeping the memory of Fred alive. The work you have done and have planned is commendable. It was a joy to meet and talk with Alf on the day and listen to the stories from all of you. We look forward to visiting again in the near future.
Best wishes
Ade & Val

Hi Folks just to clarify, although we are closed from 20th Aug till 26th Aug.

The phone line for booking a tour is still be available for you to book tours, thats 0797 681 2596 ( we are open again on the 27th Aug. )

we will also endeavour to reply to emails you send in. May I also thank you for your support and its lovely to see the wonderful comments you folk are leaving on the forum after visiting us.

Have you seen the news about our sponsor a cobblestone, if not please enquire and we will send you details.

special event on 31st Aug we have a Vintage car club coming on the tour and they will be arriving in their vintage cars so come and have a look.

Best wishes From Leon, Jan and all the team st the Heritage centre.

I want to thank you for an amazing tour of Fred's place on wed 3rd Aug. Us Dibnah fans must thank our lucky stars that you [Leon ] and your good wife have stepped in to take over and restore this fascinating place. This is somthing that Bolton can be proud of. The tour guide was great and did a brilliant impersonation of fred. I was lucky to meet Alf on the day of my visit. He was kind enough to sign my DVD and have a photo taken with me. You deserve success . I wish you all the best for the future .

We visited the centre in July 2011 and it was a fantastic, well worth the money, visit, the guides gave personnel and humerous information about Fred and themselves and it made the visit interesting and special, I would heartly recommend the centre to all, and even if you did not know about Fred. the tour and the tea are one of the best we have been to in England. NOT to be missed.

great visit 2 the heritage centre today 30/7/2011 fantastic time worth every penny good on you leon 4 making it all happen and 2 the god guide his mate alf keep up the good work cant wait 2 visit again later in the year kev from lancaster

What a great place to visit, was made very welcome by Leon, Jan, Alf and Sheila, we would recommend a visit to anyone, you will not be dissapointed, cant wait until our next visit

What a great place to visit, was made very welcome by Leon, Jan, Alf and Sheila, we would recommend a visit to anyone, you will not be dissapointed, cant wait until our next visit

Fred Dibnah's catchphrase 'did yer like that?' received a resounding reply on Saturday July 23rd... 'yes we did!'. This must be the friendliest visitor attraction in the country. Owner Leon welcomed the party the way Fred would do, very cheerfully! The stories and anecdotes started at the gate and continued throughout the tour. Alf, Fred's close friend and TV colleague, recalled many amusing escapades, and the love for Fred was obvious. You could sense Fred around the place with lots of items still there as he had left them.

Leon and Jan must be praised for saving the property from falling into the hands of developers who wanted to flatten the site for apartments and preserving this unique peice of northern industrial heritage for future generations. Thank you for a most enjoyable afternoon.

Stuart

Hi Leon & Jan
My wife and I visited the centre on Saturday 16th July, my 70th birthday treat, and what a treat! .you made us most welcome with your introduction and talk about your involvement with the centre.
I really enjoyed meeting Alf , his tour of the works was most interesting, his stories about Fred were so illuminating & amusing it was as if Fred was still around the corner,
Your team has made a fine job of keeping the place as Fred left it ,I am sure, I worked in heavy engineering ( HGV fitting ) for many years and have seen plenty of workshops like Fred's , so keep up the good work and I wish you good luck in the future, many thanks David.

Been to the heritage centre today and what an amazing place !!
For £12 one of the best days out i've ever had. Ofcourse it depends on whether your a Fred fan but who is'nt ??
Everyone needs to visit this place and say yes i'm proud and i'm british cos thats what Fred would say.
Alf also was there today and i've ticked one of my "things to do before you die" boxes and had a photo with him ! For which he was happy to do and didn't seem to have a care in the world !

To Leon,his wife,all the volunteers and Alf (who i think is as loved and admired as Fred) your all doing the British public a great service, by keeping Fred's place alive and him in our heart's.
Come on Lottery/english heritage GIVE Leon some money !!

My father in law Ray Pope was also lucky enough to win the raffle and now i have a beautifull black and white portrait hanging in my very inferior workshop.
Just the wembley of all workshops for all men who love their sheds

James Hague 16/7/11

my cousin & myself visited thurs 14th July 2011,absolutely great,just as if Fred has gone out and we have crept in to look around,the whole tour,information given to us and the relaxed informal atmosphere makes it a "Must" for all Fred Dibnah fans & steam enthusiasts to come and see.

Had a great day yesterday at freds house it was fantastic a great day too be had by all ages.
I am so glad that leon and his family decided to restore and open the house and yard as a heritage center, if they had not of done a place so rich in history would have been lost forever, it was fantastic too hear all alfs (freds friend) strorys about fred and his travels.
FRED WOULD BE SO PROUD OF WHAT LEON AND HIS OLD FRIENDS HAVE DONE.
i think fred can rest in peace knowing that it is all been looked after so good and is in great hands.

hello to all the people who are thinking about going to fred dibnah s heritage center i can only say this.... go and you will be amazed...i travled over 200 mile to see it and the place is so intresting. and you will be made so welcome the place is so full of history of one mans work .when me and my wife arrived at freds house we was made welcome we was given a very detailed tour around the place. we talked to freds mate alf .you can even go into freds palor and have a cup of tea. so if you are intrested in steam and enginering go and have a look or even if you don t know anything about fred and is work still go and learn about this amazing man .... regards paul

A great website, greatest respect to all those involved in keeping Fred`s world alive. I didn`t have the pleasure of meeting Fred, my wife and I have passed Bolton on the way to Manchester, and on many occasion I used to say lets go to Freds workshop for a chat, she used to tell me to respect the mans privacy and that he would be to busy to talk to a total stranger. In hindsite I do regret not having taken the decision to make the detour to Bolton during the living years. We do plan to visit the centre in the near future. If I didn`t live so far away I would offer my labour freely, it would be an honour. Positive vibes from everyone, Fred wouldn`t` have liked negative feedback. I wish all involved in the project the very best of luck. God bless Fred.

I was a little dismayed to read the mixed review of your visit, Ken.

During my time with dear Fred, and after he died I saw many visitor sites in Britain. I can tell you now that there is NO OTHER museum/ heritage centre that goes the extra mile in presenting the ‘personal touch’ such as The Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre. Everything is accessible; people are allowed to wander around the house and workshop & gardens at leisure, unlike most places – where there is a guide sitting in each area, so you don’t touch anything (think The Beatles Childhood homes, Black Country Museum, Beamish, National Trust properties), This is because Leon wants to create a feeling that Fred has invited you along as a casual guest to his home. To suggest doing the tour within an hour would not allow this feeling to develop, since many visitors are stalwart ‘Fred fans’ and do like to be alone with their thoughts and sit in areas where they can ponder about favourite scenes from Fred’s programmes, etc.

As for Leon beginning for money? Words fail me here. I know for a fact that the majority of money spent on the place has come directly from Leon’s own pocket, and he’s spent his entire savings on it such is his passion about the place. He’s up at 6am each day, and doesn’t retire to bed until after midnight. Fred had a team of helpers to maintain the yard – Leon does it mostly himself. Despite blinkered criticism that he is ‘on the make’. If I can get over £70.00 on eBay for a jar of swarf made by Fred, then surely it doesn’t take long to work out that by dismantling the sheds, workshops and selling stuff, then he could have netted thousands of pounds for the sheer amount of stuff in Fred’s workshops. Property developers have approached him – and he refuses to sellt he land for which he’s been offered many thousands of pounds over the original selling price. Leon needs to make as much as he possibly can to keep the place going – there are no government grants/hand outs for him. If Leon doesn’t make some money – then the place closes down and possibly becomes prey to developers. Simple as that!

I was there to see Jan and Leon on Saturday as my friends not get involved in a tour, since I’ve found most people like to hear from Alf – who was on telly with Fred. Although I said I would come early to do a bit of a ‘meet and greet’ which I thoroughly enjoy, and usually, whenever I do this, people are thrilled to shake my hand and pose for a photo and learn a little more about Fred on a one-to-one basis. But because it seems you left early, you did not see me do the tour of the inside of the house, where people were given first-hand experience of what it was like living there and explaining about how Fred loving built the fireplaces , etc? One couple were grateful that they were left alone sitting in Fred’s parlour to drink in the atmosphere and enjoy a quiet time with their thoughts and admiration of the great man. I think £12.00 for a unique and special experience is not a lot to pay.

Despite all the bad energy surrounding the end of dear Fred’s life – Jan and Leon have created the same magnetic and magical atmosphere. I also noticed a little boy there with his grandma and granddad having a smashing time. What a lovely day out where grandpa can share his interest with a younger generation and remember when he was a boy?

Keep up the good work Jan & Leon. And thank you for all your tireless hard work in making Fred’s home a great place to be.

Sheila Dibnah.

Wow I am not really sure what to make of that Ken, firstly you say the tour was very interesting and Tom the tour guide was very good, then you say I should leave it to the tour guides, I am not one to blow my own trumpet Ken but it may have escaped your notice that I trained Tom as a guide, we also have other tour guides
( trained by me ) I purposely let them do the tours because I prefer to keep out of the limelight, and the tour guides are volunteers with a passion for this wonderful place. Alf is not a tour guide, he is our guest, he loves to conduct part of the tour, visitors love to meet him and he is always more than welcome and always will be. When you run a centre like this it may not seem like it but I can assure you it is hard work making sure everybody has an equally interesting tour, and many visitors who come say its too much to take in on one tour, we do allow up to three hours as we hate to rush anybody, but you are saying we should work for less but work harder by doing more tours, its a shame you had to leave early but I think its a little unfair to blame us for that. I also must say that I am hurt by your comment that I was begging for money, I have put my heart and soul, not to mention every penny I have into this place without any help from any companies or the council and am extremely proud of what we have achieved, fighting every inch of the way to save this place from being torn down, and if I have to ask for a little help from loyal fred fans then so be it, but begging !! I think thats a little unfair, most people that take the tour say its damn good value, in fact you are the first person to say its expensive, people usually say it should be more. Just one or two more points just to put the record straight, Sheila spends her working week travelling the country telling stories about her life with Fred, she didnt speak that day because she was here as our guest and just wanted to chill but at the same time show her support for us. Ken if I took any more of a back seat I would be in the river mate, as a matter of courtesy I ask if our visitors want to know how My wife and I got involved with Freds place and people seem genuinely interested in that subject, if you are saying that I should not take part in any of the proceedings then people may never get to know how this place survived, and I think that needs to be told.

I visited on July 9th with my future father in law, a huge fan of Fred.

The tour itself was very interesting and the tour guide, Tom, was very pleasant. It was good to see Alf and hear of the mining project and his time with Fred. Most of the stories gave everyone a chuckle and helped to visualise what Fred was like. Including the fact that pretty much everything at the house was "acquired"! Fred's widow also made an appearance, it would have been good if she had a story or two as well.

I thought the price was a little high and can't help but wonder if there would be more visitors if the price was lower and there were more tours. We were there for over 2 hours and didn't have time to complete the tour of Freds house, but nevertheless the tour could be reduced to around an hour.

I think it is great that Leon has taken on the house and is trying to restore it to former glory, including getting steam power working. Unfortunately the last half hour was counteractive to the rest of the tour as Leon was virtually begging for money. I understand that more money is needed to restore the place, but i believe that more money would have been spent had Leon taken a back seat and left the tour to Tom and Alf. That said, i sincerely hope that Leon is able to get funding now that the Heritage Centre is registered as a charity, and i will be joining the Facebook Group to help publicise the centre.

It is disgraceful that the place wasn't taken on by Bolton Council in the first place. This heritage centre should be utilised by the local education authority to show how exciting engineering can be.

In short, keep up the good work, but please consider more tours/cheaper price. And leave the tours to the guides.

I visited on 30/6/2011 it was a very interesting tour and Leon really brought it to life and although there is still a lot of work to do it is well worth a visit and when it is in steam it will be wonderful to come back and see it fully working.

We visited today on 30th June 2011, and wow what a wonderful place to visit, the welcome and the freindlyness was amazing, the tour gave a very personal touch and it was like Fred was there prompting what had to be said, the way that the centre has been restored and done would make Fred very happy, i would really recommend a visit here, and when the steam is up and running soon, we will both visit again, thankyou for keeping Fred's memory alive.

Kindest regards,

Wayne and Nikki Chardoux.

Hi Folks, once again I have to thank you for your fantastic comments, its a pleasure to meet you all and we hope to see you again soon, please keep an eye on our website for updates on a few idea's I have for taking us to the next level.

If you run a business and you want to impress your potential or exisiting customers or you work for a company that wants what has to be just about the most unique business venue for board meetings, presentations and corporate meetings then contact us as we can now offer these facilities at the heritage centre, we have boardroom table capacity for up to 16 people, and can seat up to 40 people for a seminar with projection screen available, just email us for details.

regards Leon

we came to visit you as a special treat for my husband len the day before father's day. Len my husband was a big fan of Fred's s0 it was the perfect treat for him as he was diagnosed with terminal leaukemia last year.and he has spent a lot of time in hospital this year. and We thoroughly enjoyed the visit myself, husband and daughter who had never watched any of Fred's t.v. programmes. I think you have done an amazing job and I couldn't think of any better to look after Fred's place. We were made to feel extremely welcome and the finishing touch for us was the scooter for Len You thought of everything.

Wow this site looks amazing Fred would be so proud of this.
I love the pictures.

Thank you for keeping Fred's memory alive.

Kevin Dwyer Liverpool.

Had a great visit on Sat 18 th. Alf gave a very interesting talk .Well worth a visit . Come on Bolton Council show some support.

We just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our visit to the Heritage Centre and to be able to listen to Alf tell us about his time spent with Fred was fantastic.We particularly enjoyed our time spent with Alf's stories in the workshop where Leon had very kindly lit the boiler so it was lovely and warm and the smell of the workshop was just magic.We had so enjoyed watching Fred on TV that when we found out about the Heritage Centre we just had to come along and see where he lived and worked.The cup of tea at the end in the House was very welcome and the house beautiful. We had a great day.Thank you to all.

Just a quick note to say how much we all enjoyed our recent visit. We had three generations present, me, my son, my father in law and my older brother and we all had a great time for different reasons. It was made all the more special by having Alf as our guide, an unexpected bonus. The fact that one of the other visitors was an impressionist and did a fantastic impression of Fred just added to the day. Good luck with the project, and keep up the good work. As Fred would have said "Did you like that? and the answer is a resounding, yes we did.

Brian

Back in the 50's I used to go to Bolton Palais with my mates. One night an excited young man with hair greased in the style of the day was talking to his mates and we were close by. I asked what was up and he said that he was bet 10 bob he couldn't climb to the top of Bolton town hall. "I've just done it" he said ,and they won't pay up.
He was laughing about it, no doubt pleased with himself which he should have been. I think I may well have been talking to Fred...I hope so. At the time I used to get a trolley bus from Leigh to Bolton to go dancing at the Palais...Happy days. As a boy of 12 or 13 me and a mate were chase off Bedford mill chimney when about half way up, it was dark but there was an iron ladder pinned to the side of the chimney. We used to climb on factories all the time for fun and adventure: got chased several times too.

HI again folks, has anybody got a spare mig welder they dont need that they could donate to the centre, Many thanks Leon

Hi, once again we are genuinely touched by your enthusiasm for this wonderful place, and it is great to know our hard work and determination is appreciated so much, without all of you it would not work, so well done to all our visitors for your brilliant support, I have lots of idea's to take us forward, so watch this space, kindest regards Leon

Thankyou for the amazing tour we had yesterday 25/5/2011. My dad has always been a great fan of freds and i grew watching his dvd's and tv appearances. It is so nice to see that Fred's yard is exactly how he left it you can feel his spirit living on in the fantastic work that you have done. My dad was thrilled when he opened the tickets as christmas and to see how happy he was yesterday was great. I hope you keep up the great work you have started and that you have sucess in finding investors and grants. It would have been a tragedy for it to go to someone who would have made the place into a normal house and garden. Many thanks again for the tour and the chance to wonder round in Fred's world. We will definatly be back and i will be recomending it !!!!

Hi Leon and Jan.Thanks ever so much for our wonderful tour today.I felt like a kid in a sweet shop.I've dreampt of visiting the old guys house.But never did i think i would actually go into the house..............Amazing feeling!! To be able to touch things that fred had used was out of this world.Keep up the good work. I meant what i say about sotting signage out for you.Plus you will get the Bell.That is a gift From Diane.

LEON POWSNEY 2011.5.9 21:57
Many thanks for your kind words, we are so humbled by the great support and enthusiasm shown by Freds true fans like you guys, this place is truly magical and we are very proud to have made Fred's dream of turning it into a Heritage Centre come true.

I dont know about the hero bit, I just did what nobody else was prepared to do, It has not been easy but I would'nt have missed it for all the tea in china.

Onwards and upwards

Kindest regards Leon and Jan and the team

Andy Donley 2011.5.9 07:32
Well done and thank you, Leon for saving such a magical place. What a great day, NO! what a most fantastic day we had. From the gate when Elf came up and started talking to us like some long lost pal, to the point of having to leave, we had the most amazing day! It was like being my birthday, being able to visit my heroes home and workshop. Although a lot of his stuff has gone, that does not matter. Not only was it great to meet you (by the way you are now a national hero for saving it for us all!) but to be able to meet and talk to both Elf and Sheila (and I got a kiss! From Sheila that is) were great moments. Then to top it all off I won Freds Book and both Sheila and Elf signed it for me. I say again many many thanks for not only a great day but thanks for saving it!
Kind Regards Andy D.

denise gray 2011.5.8 21:49
hi leon! thank u for shown us round fred heritage centreand telling us all the wonderful storys about wot fred got up to in his wonderfull life, i feel iv been part of history! and by the way sunderland won bolton 2-1! we had a fantastic time in bolton! we will defo join freds supporters club and look forward to coming back to any events etc! thank u denise and rob from heathrow

mr and mrs duckworth 2011.5.1 19:21
HI LEON AND JAN AND EVERYBODY WHO WORKS THERE. WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY WE HAD AT FREDS BIRTHDAY BASH .IT IS TRULY A WONDERFUL PLACE TO VISIT. WE FELT SO LUCKY TO MEET AND CHAT TO ELF AND SHEILA THEY ARE SO LOVELY AND THEY MADE US FEEL WE HAD KNOWN THEM FOR YEARS.WE WILL VISIT AGAIN AND TO ANYONE WHO HAS NOT YET BEEN IT IS REALLY WORTH THE VISIT. WELL DONE TO YOU ALL FROM CRAIG AND DEBBIE IN BURNLEY

Kate 2011.4.26 09:17
Just wanted to say we really enjoyed our visit to the heritage centre on Saturday. Hearing all the stories and seeing the actual items Fred used was a real treat. We all remember the arrow tale and Alf looked the part explaining it. Even if you don't know Fred a visit to the workshops is a great treat.

LEON POWSNEY 2011.4.15 08:02
Hi all, couple of recent developments, We are three quarters through the major chimney repair job footage of this will be available at some stage on a DVD we are putting together, if you would like to order a copy please let us know.

We have been advised by a tree surgeon that the very old Ash tree in the garden needs some work doing on it, is there anybody out there that has a high cherry picker they can loan us for two days, if so please let us know asap.

more news soon and thanks for your continued support and interest.

regards Leon

Hello the steam engine that you was talking about may have been taken out of a cotton mill around the ashton area. I talked to a man who knew fred and he told me of a story of him taking one of there old steam engines from the mill and using it to power all the tools and stuff in his workshop. Hope this information helps you.
regards
chris

Andrew struth 2011.3.20 10:47
Andy and Jane struth 20/03/11 Visited this lovely place yesterday 19/03/11 What a brilliant experience.To actually walk around my heros backyard has to one of the best experiences in my life.What Leon Jan and all the lads have done here is truelly marvelous,they deserve my total respect.To meet ALF was also great.Please if you can try and go along,i promise you wont be dissapointed.I came away very pleased and a litte bit emotional,thats what this wonderfull place does to you.Well done all at FREDS PLACE.

LEON POWSNEY 2011.3.8 17:11
Many thanks to the Butterworths for those kind words, and yes they are right, if you have not been to see the Centre yet then you dont know what you are missing, it is truly magical.

We think the living Van may be in the Isle of Man with the lads, the Land Rover is I believe in Darwen with one of Freds daughters, we did ask if we could show it at the centre but unfortunately this was refused, which is a great shame but there you go.

If anybody has a Land Rover they would like to Loan to the Centre even if its a wreck, we would fettle it and bring it back to life with new paintwork bearing the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre Logo.

Mr&Mrs Butterworth 2011.3.5 22:08
Hi, Had the wonderful experience of visiting Fred's house/workshops today. All i can say is that if you havent been then you are missing something in your live's!!! This palce is a wonderful tribute to a once in a lifetime person. It is being developed in fred's own unique way with his 'aquired' materials.
Leon is a very honest person and has lots of good storys to tell, the visit of Alf today was a highlight as he told some very good tales of his and Fred's adventures on the tour of Britan.
Long may his memory live on and i hope this palce gets the recognition it deserves.
Thanks for a fantastic day, We will return!!!!
Mr&Mrs Butterworth

LEON POWSNEY 2011.2.13 23:57
HI TO ALL OUR FOLLOWERS, HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE CENTRE THIS YEAR, WE HAVE LOTS OF EXCITING THINGS PLANNED;.

PLEASE NOTE IF THERE ARE ANY LOCAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE TIME ON THEIR HANDS WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE FOLLOWING VOLUNTEERS TO HELP OUT AT THE CENTRE, THIS COULD LEAD TO PAID WORK LATER THIS YEAR ;

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO BE TRAINED AS PART TIME TOUR GUIDES, MAIN REQUIREMENT = ENTHUSIASM

ALSO A VERY PART TIME VOLUNTEER TO SERVE TEA / COFFEE JUST AN HOUR PER DAY WEDS / THURS/ SATS

ALSO A HANDYMAN TO KEEP THE YARD TIDY FOR OUR VISITORS

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP PLEASE CAL LEON ON 0797 681 2596

Kieron 2011.2.3 21:23
Hi, does anybody know if Fred ever climbed or visited the huge paper mill chimney at Horton Kirby in Kent. ?

sid tarrant 2010.12.30 13:52
Hello to all Fred Dibnah-ites out there,
May I wish all a very happy new year and a very successful one as well. Good to see that the centre is thriving, well done to you all, and I hope to be able to visit after new year in the spring time perhaps.
Very Best Wishes,
Sid.

Phil The Fetler 2010.12.24 08:52
Hello to all of Freds army of Fans.

On behalf of the team of volunteers that have the great pleasure of working in Freds "Yard", May we wish evryone who has supported us over the last twelve months, The very many visitors who gave us so much pleasure in showing them the Magic that is The Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre, The visitors to the web site, and the people who were passing and stopped to have a chat. May we Wish you ALL A Very Happy Christmas, and A Peaceful and Prosperous New Year;

Phil The Fettler; Steve; Noel; Ian; Big Dave; Digger Phil.

Robert Jennings 2010.12.18 15:48
Hi Ladies and Gents My Dad is a mechanical engineer who started my interest in all things Fred. i hope to one day visit the centre if i can find a way up there from Devon especially if discounted tickets are available.Maybe one day memorabilia such as t-shirts etc will be on the cards in a similar vein to the fan club of a major truck company. Best wishes cheers Rob

LEON POWSNEY 2010.12.18 07:15
A quick word from Leon and Jan

Hi everybody, many thanks for your kind words, this last 12 months has been one heck of a giant learning curve, to say it has'nt been easy would be somewhat of an understatement, this time last year we didnt even know whether we were going to be granted planning consent to open up, but after a 12 month battle with the powers that be we did it.

All this would not have been possible without the help of our fantastic team of vounteers, the help of all our true Fred fans who have been so supportive and I suppose our own determination to get the job done and my missus who has had to put up with but has also supported me in my vision of seeing this ownderful aladdins cave come alive again, we have met so many nice people that have come to visit our centre and so many of them have become firm friends, it makes it all seem worthwhile. It has taken a lorra lorra time effort energy and yes money to get this far, and we still have lots to do, we are trying to get Freds famous chimney repaired at the moment but obviously the weather is hampering us as it is everybody else.

We have such a story to tell, and if you want the nitty gritty with a few laughs along the way, why not join our "Friends of the FDHC suporters club" where for just £30 a year you will get up to date news and articles, unseen video footage, introduction to our team, discounts and lots more with access to an exclusive members only website and in doing so you will be helping us achieve our aim of making this magical place an amazing experience for all our visitors which of course hopefully includes yourself.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our team, all our visitors and our supporters a happy christmas and a prosperous new year, we think we may have some very exciting breaking news in January so watch this space.

Best wishes Leon and Jan 

lee blake 2010.12.12 20:08
I live in Lincolnshire and today i was in Bolton so took little detour to try and find where Fred use to live and work, i was so supprised to see it looked exactly the same as it does in the dvds and sky programs ive watched, I cant believe its been 6 years and its all Freds work is still there
Well done and thankyou for keeping his memory alive, as soon as i got home i looked on the internet to see who lives there and im so pleased to find this site
From what i could see from the roadside the house and yard is a fantastic tribute to Fred and his memory
Rgds Lee

Paul Thirkill 2010.12.12 13:04
It's so good to know that Fred will be remembered. He was and is an inspiration to us all in this fast moving time that we live in.Thanks for all your great work in setting up the heritage centre and the web site.

Sylvia Cousins 2010.12.7 20:30
What a great man Fred was, I have just watched his life story on tv ..again, We have watched all his shows he was an inspiration to all. keep up the good work, and for the future of the Heritage centre. A Fred's fan couple.

Andrew Davies 2010.12.2 13:40
Hello,
Love the new website !!!

Mark Smith 2010.11.29 23:27
Hi Leon.
Love the new Website! Someone has done a great job with this. I look forward to reading the Chrismas News Letter.