History

 Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the Old English Cunecsheafod ("Cunec's headland"), first recorded in the 13th century. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground were coking coal and blackband iron ore, and nearby was limestone. These three ingredients were needed for blast furnaces to produce iron and steel.

The 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 is said to have been initiated by immigrant German cutlers and sword-makers from Solingen, who settled in the village of Shotley Bridge during the 17th century.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Derwent Valley was the cradle of the British steel industry, helped by the easy availability of coal in the area and the import of high quality iron ore from Sweden via the port of Newcastle upon Tyne. However, after the invention of the Bessemer process in the 19th century, steel could be made from British iron ore (hitherto 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.

Consett railway station opened in 1896. It remained open for passengers until 1955 and mineral trains continued to pass through the site until 1980 on their way to the steelworks. In November 2020, the Department for Transport approved funding for an initial feasibility study into restoring a rail link to the town.

Consett. (2022, November 30). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consett