"Their job is one of the most dangerous in the world. You fall off a stack like this only once, so if you're a steeplejack, then you're a careful man."

Tonight's Cathal O'Shannon reports on the craft of steeplejacking. As industrial chimney stacks grow taller and taller, the number of willing and able steeplejacks to build and maintain them is in sharp decline. Steeplejacking is a dying art. With that in mind, the largest British steeplejack firm has set up a 'steeplejack school' in an attempt to encourage a new generation of steeplejacks to the profession.

What kind of character does it take to do this perilous job for a living? Could you make your way to the top as a steeplejack? Could you graduate from steeplejack school?

Originally broadcast 4 January, 1965.




You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of tv to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic tv clips from the BBC vaults.

Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?...