Consett is
a Durham town forever linked with miners, steel and industry. So much so that
when Margaret Thatcher died earlier this year, TV crews went to Consett to get
a reaction to her death. Needless to say, they weren’t exactly big fans of
Britain’s first female prime minister in Consett.
But long
before the closures and unemployment in Consett of the 80s and subsequent
deades , when my great grandfather, William Henry Brown was born in Blackhill
(an area of Consett) in 1895, it was the heart of British industry.
Me upon arrival in Blackhill!
The Consett Iron Company (previously the Derwent Iron Compnay and later part of British
Steel) were
colliery and limestone quarry owners, and iron
and steel manufacturers. They were at the forefront of the Industrial
Revolution and the whole area was dominated by their presence - from the collieries and red dust from them
that affected the landscape to the recreation areas and houses provided for the
workers.
William’s father and other
family members were employed by the Company and he too in time would work for
them, as did nearly all the men in the town.
We visited Consett and
Blackhill on day 2 of our trip. The road that William was born in and lived in
until his marriage in 1915 to my great grandmother still exists in name (Dale
Street), but the houses have all been pulled down and replaced with a modern
development. I knew this before our trip (as I had looked on Google streetview)
but there is still a moment of regret when you see that roads around where
you’re standing are intact and the road you are after isn’t!
The view of the Derwent Valley - once home to Consett Iron Works
The fact that many roads
still had the original Victorian terraces did however mean that I was able to
envisage what William’s house would have looked like.
I was also able to enjoy the
stunning views of the Derwent valley that once would have been dominated by the
iron works, and take a walk through the Blackhill & Consett Park which has
recently been totally refurbished due to a Heritage Lottery grant that has
allowed the park to be restored to it’s former glory -complete with replica
Victorian bandstand. The park was originally gifted to the town by The Consett
Iron Company, and the Company’s presence has been kept in the refurbishment.
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| Consett Iron Company reference on park entrance |
Many of the workers
(including my ancestors) lived in terraced houses in Consett known as “Company
Rows” as they were provided by the Company. The rows often matched the jobs in
the Company – Furnace Row and Puddler Row appear in my family history, with
furnace worker and puddler appearing as occupations. The rows were all pulled
down in the 1930s but the name lives on in the Wetherspoons pub that is on the
site today – it’s called The Company Row!
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