Residing in Derwentside, Consett is a medium sized town in the north west of County Durham, England, high on the edge of the Pennine hills.In 1841, Consett was a village community of only 145. Below the ground was coking coal and blackband iron ore, with limestone nearby. These were the three ingredients needed for blast furnaces to produce iron and steel.
The of Consett town is perched on the steep eastern bank of the River Derwent and owes its origins to industrial development arising from lead mining in the area, together with the development of the steel industry in the Derwent Valley, which was initiated by immigrant German cutlers and sword-makers from Solingen, who settled in the village of Shotley Bridge (original home of Wilkinson Sword and now part of Consett) during the seventeenth century.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Derwent Valley was the cradle of the British steel industry, helped by the easy availability of coal from Tyneside, and the import of high quality iron ore from Sweden via the port of Newcastle upon Tyne. However, following the invention of the Bessemer process in the nineteenth century, steel could be made from British iron ore (which was otherwise too heavily contaminated by phosphorus), and the Derwent Valley's geographical advantage was lost, allowing Sheffield to become the leading centre of the British steel industry.
The Consett Steelworks closed in 1980. More history on Consett can be found (and added) in the Consettpedia web site.
