Return to Consett Steelworks

We returned to Consett to see how much has changed since my dad took photos of the steelworks during the late 1970s and 1980. The steelworks closed in 1980. Much has changed.
All photos are (C) Mike and Paul Matthews, all rights reserved. Please respect our ownership of the images. It has taken a lot of work to put this together and we provide it free of charge for your enjoyment and education.
A big thank you to Peter Jack Shaw for help with the mapping and geolocation of the original photos. Some of the updated photos are a bit out of position but as you will see virtually nothing remains of the steelworks in the original photos.

[@stephenshields9445]

Heartbreaking but a brilliant well put together piece of work. Everyone of those Signal boxes shown I worked as a Consett relief Signalman.

[@thisyearscrimbolights.155]

I remember my Dad who was a shunter for BR taing me into the signal box at Consett when I was a nipper and letting me playwith the levers. I also got to goon the foot plateof one of the steam trains. The video brings back memories of those days.😅

[@andrewchaston503]

Totally stunning. Thank you. Still loathe Thatcher!

[@AJ-yw5zy]

Yup i hear you, were in this mess today due to that bitch i'm afraid.

[@robbiewilson134]

Sorry Andrew, it wasn’t Thatcher that was to blame for the closure, it was Harold Wilson and his Labour government in 1975 that gave the order that 2 new mega blast furnaces were to be built at Redcar ( only one was eventually built and that one was demolished a few weeks ago ) therefore rendering Consett redundant. They knew it would be the death knell for Consett despite it being a profitable plant and they knew it would rip the town apart. Redcar went online late 1979 and the announcement to close Consett came a month or so later. Thatcher ( I’m no fan ) got the blame for it but had only been in power a few months and with the prevailing economic woes at the time it’s perhaps understandable so. Nevertheless, Harold Wilson and the Labour government were the real villains in the sad demise of Consett BSC. Cheers.

[@BJHolloway1]

@@robbiewilson134 I am not so sure about the Labour government per see being to blame for the closure of Consett works. Basically as I left university and started working for BSC they were undertaking a great deal of reorganization and planning for the future. The mistake if we can call it that was that the BSC strategic planners, at the time, took such a rudimentary system to forecast future demand stating that BSC needed to have enough capacity for 40/50 million liquid tonnes production of steel in the UK. In this scenario Consett would play a part. However the reality was that the Japanese at the time were increasing capacity and were much more productive hence lower costs and thereby increasing market share worldwide. Incidentally nobody could categorically say that Consett was profitable because all of the BSC UK production works were treated as Cost Centers and NOT Profit centers. The irony is that one of the ex staff at Consett was upon closure employed by the Koreans to build up their steel production and seems like he did a good job in retrospect. The closure of Consett given the growth in steel production in the growing Asian economies was realistically inevitable. So much so Redcar has now closed down also. As an aside the crazy forecast for steel production back in the 1970s is the reason why Kielder Reservoir was built with the spur off to Teeside from the Tyne near Corbridge.

[@johno4521]

@@robbiewilson134 The Consett plant was built where it was because of the local raw materials and I think the writing was on the wall when they started having to ship the materials in from other countries, must have been a huge cost. Then having to transport molten iron to teesside for steel making; unsustainable, especially given a worldwide glut of steel.

[@paulne9]

When i left school in 1973, I went to Consett Technical Collage for a year. I remember the pink clouds passing by the windows. Also the co-op had the window sills painted white on the Friday, then on Monday they were pink. Everything was coated in pinkish rusty colour, snow, rain water. I lived in Whickham at the time and when you looked over to Consett, a pink cloud hung over it. Then in the mid 1990's I worked in a bank in Consett and it had change so much.

[@stuarthammond5491]

What an excellent presentation. I’ve tried in the past to find where old images of Consett were taken, so I know how much has changed and what a difficult task matching these images must have been. Normally, I dislike “slideshows set to music” on KZbin, as they don’t add any value over looking at the images on a photo sharing website, but this video really does show what can be achieved. Bravo!

[@HighFell]

Thank you for taking the photos so long ago and making this. I regularly ride the old line to Consett and beyond and wonder how it all was and fitted into what there is today. It’s amazing how vast it was and how it’s all gone.

[@chrisdixon9697]

Brilliant, professional standard. The only bit I didn't recognise was the blue sky... thanks for the memories

[@KFK1141]

Wonderfully nostalgic. Thank you

[@louisescott6732]

This is just amazing ... I only moved to Consett late 80s so never saw the Steelworks in their glory. I've obviously seen many photos over the years but the way you've put this together is so haunting and beautiful, very clever well done. Its really sad that so much of what was there has literally been wiped off the face of the earth, not even a signal box or anything anywhere, its like it was never there !

[@BillyfromConsett]

Those original photos are just brilliant, and to show them against how the town looks now - with the evidence of the steelworks and railway network removed from the landscape - is a beautiful tribute to the original photography. Very apt music indeed. Top work.

[@thorntonsfold]

Excellent piece of work Paul. Thanks for doing the hard work and bringing to life what so many of us feel. A lot of folks couldn't understand how you could get emotional about a steel town facing into the bleak west Durham moors. I can't see how you couldn't.

[@rodsmith3911]

Great video. Quite nostalgic looking back to the days when we made steel here instead of importing it. I have a couple of photos looking across to Consett Steelworks taken in the late 1960's which remind me of the days when you could not miss seeing it from miles away on the main road going north. There was always a brown cloud on the horizon telling you where Consett was! The air may be a bit cleaner now but I wonder if the benefits outweigh the loss of jobs and our seeming inability to produce anything anymore..... Sad to see what we lost, but hopefully we will eventually live better lives without the pollution. Thanks for the memories!

[@andrewf9041]

Excellent video, well put together as others have said. I love the fades from "now and then". Same as everywhere, not just in County Durham, but across the whole country. All the industry has gone....sorry I don't know why I'm saying this, we all know it, very sad. Many thanks!

[@malcolmhill691]

A fine piece of film, put together with professionalism and sensitivity. Thank you.

[@Shelfandtabletoplayouts00gauge]

Incredible piece of work I’m speechless, almost like grief though I never new the place. Uplifting towards the end. Thanks for a smashing film. Darren.

[@ipcress1066]

Thank you!

[@markrussell4726]

wow. Having moved to Consett 14 years ago I realised the history the way people talk. But seeing this in pictures is amazing. Thank you

[@mrdunns3338]

Thanks for re-kindling my memory. My grandparents lived at 1 Taylor's Terrace, The Grove and we have their original tenancy agreement from when the house was new. That house still exists, in much extended and modernised form. My grandfather was a coil winder in the electrical dept and one of his sons joined the same department straight from school. I was at boarding school in Hexham in the 60s and regularly caught the bus at weekends, alighting at the bus station then having to walk right through the works, under the bridge and to their house. The only source of heat was a single fire with back boiler for water, coal was free since one of my uncles worked for the Coal Board. In the winter of 62/63, ice formed on the inside of the metal casement windows. These windows were very noisy, rattling as the fully laden trucks crawled up from Castleside with a very distinctive engine note. They were powered by a Commer "Knocker" engine, a peculiar design of 2 stroke diesel, details can be found on KZbin. At some point in the 70s, the old slag heaps opposite the house were being removed and shipped to the Netherlands for land reclamation. I recall Saturday evenings when the paper boy would come round with "The Pink" containing all the football results and the local "Pop Man" delivering crates of Fentiman's, which is still available today. The uncle who worked for the Coal Board was a very successful rally navigator, competing on the Monte Carlo Rally twice, many RAC Rallies and I'm fortunate to have all his trophies and old rally plates. His driver was Geoff Cook, who was one son of Siddle C Cook, a major haulage company of the time, they branched into caravans under the name Elddis and Eldiss Transport still exists today. Whether any of the Cook family are still associated with that company, I can't say but I'm sure a search would reveal that info. If anyone remembers the family name of my mother which is Bowes, I'd be delighted to hear from you, please post a comment. The only relatives we've found are the children of one of my mother's cousins, their family name is Laykin (my maternal grandmother's maiden name) one of whom lives in Stanley, the other living in Turkey and we're in regu;lar contact with them both. Apologies for rambling on, but as I write one fact, others pop into my head........... Thanks again.

[@ipcress1066]

You're welcome!

[@user-bi3ww3im3s]

Good work Paul sad that the steel works closed but people's health will be better it's a pity they didn't save the railway line

[@robertwedd1111]

Thank you - great video of before and after. 👍

[@MrGriff20]

Great to see before and sadly now

[@andybusard6694]

Brilliantly done!

[@markjakeway2035]

Can I say a big thank you for what must have been many hours of hard work. You should really make these into a book, or get a local history society to do one. My late father in law worked in Consett at what was the tech, I now do occasional supply at Consett Academy but spend my retirement cycling along doing similar things to you from some photos from someone I used to work with who took railways photographs though usually further east towards Sunderland. Thank you again

[@sevenbridgesoneriver4838]

What an excellent piece of work this is.Thank you. I wish my Dad were still alive to see this. He would have loved it! I have lived in Scotland for the past 25 years and yet footage of Consett such as this, though tinged with sadness, brings happiness to me. once again thank you. 👍🏽👍🏽

[@jalopyfreaks]

Fantastic collection, it brings back a lot of memories. I remember the bridge at the top of the Grove very well. My friend Gorden and I spent a lot of time there as kids watching the trains rumble beneath. I haven't lived in Consett now for many years but last time I was there in 2019, it had changed so much. But, just a few months back, I drove a good friend up to Rotheram to visit his family, and got chatting with his mom. She asked where I was from and I said a small town in the North East that once has a steel works. Shes smiled and said 'Consett"! It suprsed me that she new where it was, but she explained she had worked for a company that supplied tooling and equipment to BS and so she had been to Consett many times.

[@roderickmain9697]

Nicely done. I used to live in the south and my Grandparents in Fife. When I was young, my parents travelled up the A68 and could see the works across the valley. After I learnt to drive in 79, I drove that way in my own car at night, seeing the steelworks illuminated on the hill. I recently went that way again and the landmark had vanished. Very sad.

[@frenchsteam7356]

I worked at Consett Station when TOPS was introduced [1976?] Even went to Blackhill with the pilot to shunt the coal yard. -through the tunnel! Great photos past and present.

[@GBPaddling]

1974 TOPS, if it's the Railways TOPS you refer to?

[@frenchsteam7356]

@@GBPaddling TOPS was introduced at Consett from the 4th August 1975 - I moved on in March 1977

[@GBPaddling]

@@frenchsteam7356 I'm referring to the re-numbering of all the BR Diesel Locos from the old system?

[@frenchsteam7356]

@@GBPaddling locos were renumbered 1973/1974 but as the introduction of T.O.P.S. was a rolling programme the North East was the last to go on TOPS.

[@davidbuchan2214]

nicely done , one of the better attempts at old and new , cheers for posting

[@ipcress1066]

High praise indeed! Glad you liked it

[@TONYNORTHEASTERN]

A great tribute to once was. and boy do we need that steel now. instead of relying on very expensive imported steel....thank you for sharing this video. very well put together. all the best Tony

[@rogerblackwood8815]

That's exactly what I was thinking! We now import all our needs for construction and industry, how the hell can that be more economical? They could have built all the Lego Housing Estates, that's all they seem to build these days, anywhere else and kept the infrastructure we now need! Politicians just never seem to do the "Right" thing?

[@johnriggs4929]

@@rogerblackwood8815 They do the 'Right Thing' for their careers and bank accounts.

[@DistrictDriver]

What an amazing video! Very well put together and the slow transition between old and new was perfect. Thank you (from someone who was born in Consett many decades ago!)

[@catherinegraves4344]

That was amazing - I was born in blackhill in 79 so never remembered it in action. I've see loads of photos and can remember parts of the demolition. I used to live near Bessemer St and remember them filling in the bridges and planting the trees - unfortunately those trees look well big which now makes me feel old - would love to see more.

[@graemerichardsonmusic8941]

This is absolutely fantastic, to re visit the exact same locations from the original photos is eerily beautiful & amazing to see. Well done for putting this together. Love it 👏👏👏

[@harleythomy]

Absolutely stunning! Great work putting those photos together. Brilliant!

[@richardskelton5119]

Wonderful piece of work Paul, thank you for sharing.

[@northernblue1093]

Nicely done. You've clearly put a lot of thought into finding the exact locations.

[@jerryplews1023]

Fantastic. Well done

[@dulls8475]

When we look at our History, maybe 100 years from now people will wonder why we destroyed our railways and our culture and for no reason that I can think of. They will marvel at how quickly we dismantled ourselves. I think in 100 years our history will have been rewritten by todays ideologues. perhaps they will not morn it. I have perhaps 20 years to go so will hopefully miss the worst of what will happen. I fear for us all.

[@StorminBriski]

Loved the fades. I remember most of these locations. Thanks for the memories.

[@owenevans83]

Good use of fading, thanks for sharing

[@herbertvonzinderneuf8547]

Wonderful work, sir.

[@caravancapers5091]

Great video. Excellent transitions to show the changes.

[@sharonyoung9220]

Amazing and heartbreaking.

[@tonyborn8877]

Wow, sad, beautifully executed dissolves, I take my hat off to you.

[@edwardwest5035]

Superb video, thank you.

[@chrisgee7631]

Excellent video, thanks 👍

[@glennnattrass3312]

Very well done I can only just remember the steel works as a kid so it brought back a lot of memories

[@frankmatthews3929]

Wonderful video, so powerful and brought back a lot of memories.

[@AJ-yw5zy]

Growing up in the 70's & 80's all these sights were all too familiar, just a shame, its completely the opposite now. With the current state of the Russia/Ukraine issue effecting the steel market, I bet there's a few out there wishing places like this, Redcar & Corby steel works were still producing. Look what Thatcher did to the UK!

[@shawty_ds]

Paul, what a fantastically well done bit of video work that is, you've lined things up almost perfectly spot on. Amazingly well put together my friend.

[@ipcress1066]

Thank you Peter, and many thanks for the help in finding the locations

[@shawty_ds]

@@ipcress1066 any time Paul, that's what the HCSW team are here for.

[@FLOOPC]

What a fantastic video! Thank you, beautiful look into the past.. Brilliant before and afters

[@dennisthickett4941]

Such powerful evocative images, even though I don't know the area, I feel somewhat sad...Excellent choice of music to accompany them too. I live close to the Blackcountry musem , which allows an opportunity to step back into times gone by, even if on a smaller scale... 'I get a similar feeling when driving past Bescot yard, and reminisce about the abundance of locos there in the early 70's Thanks for sharing. 👍👍

[@clarkensteindeclarkenstein5017]

Great video, thanks for posting. Sometimes ride through on my bike and wonder what happened to it all like it was never there

[@jerryplews1023]

outstanding video. well done

[@consettvlogger9793]

Brilliant loved it thank you

[@flippop101]

Absolutely stunning video! Well done, very impressive!

[@Delta-pantages]

Beautiful. Very moving.

[@musicgarryj]

Great now and then photos! Back in the day I remember that most older people called it Consett Ironworks, probably because originally it was owned by the Consett Iron Company. At 4:10 the sign just says Consett Works! (not anymore it doesn't, sadly.)

[@kenkd3769]

Superb

[@fatboyruss6297]

Wonderful video.

[@mikecawood]

All those railways gone, sad.

[@garydoc]

¡Hola buenas tardes Paul! A brilliantly edited snapshot of one small chapter in time. For me, the most moving sequence was at time stamp (2:30 - 2:41) Grove Bridge. Clever use of angle, framing and, especially that solitary figure glancing back into local history past. Well done! Un saludo. Gary

[@ipcress1066]

You're welcome Gary, glad you enjoyed it

[@jdmodels1968]

Excellent work Paul.

[@delticnapierdccsound4236]

Very well done on the fade out,but all so sad...

[@gregrsvr3947]

Superb, thank you.

[@drydendixon2079]

Brilliant, brings back great memories.👍

[@lewisner]

Amazing photos. It's as if they have made a determined effort to erase the railway and steelworks from the landscape.

[@markwarren9651]

I don't know the area at all, but brilliant video. Well produced and fantastic fades.

[@SuperMarkbrewer]

Superb video really brilliant but so sad what a great country we were with all we produced. Thank you so much

[@Nikhileditzxd]

I would definitely come to consett in future I'm from india I don't the reason to come to consett why I am attracted towards this place , even then I want to go there I find it so peaceful

[@davidmilton1736]

Excellent video...but very sad..what happened to all the people that worked there?..

[@BJHolloway1]

Great video reminded me of old times.I used to work in the steelworks (Finishing Mill) right up to closure. Some of the best years of my life. I took a lot of photos in the run up to the works closing, across the works, including a few unique ones showing the vote by the workers. It was held on the old bus stand within the works outside the main offices. The vote was held by the union on accepting the closure terms. I have never seen a similar photo. I took it from the windows in the Power Station.

[@ipcress1066]

Thanks 👍

[@catherinegraves4344]

You should post them, it would be great to see if not sad to see the moments when the workers were absolutely shafted

[@chrismccartney8668]

Superb Video Well Done..

[@DurhamGooner]

Remarkable work. Very sad too....

[@grahamhawthorn2320]

Fantastic.

[@levelcrossing150]

How saddening, all surgically removed and cleansed from the earths surface. How they can ever find an excuse to scrap our wonderful industries I won't ever know.

[@peterhorsman8611]

as i remember it all

[@richardbrown6565]

Kinda sad. Nothing left showing, hey! we were here!

[@bruceanderton1518]

Such is progress...or is it? I doubt it.

[@davesimms5397]

Progress

[@chris52386]

As if the steelworks, was never there!

[@paulberry7489]

There was a deliberate effort at the time to obliterate everything.

[@AJ-yw5zy]

@@paulberry7489 And there still trying, the UK will become an island of boxes & coffee shops very soon.......

[@nickwass9700]

Wow! It is hard to believe that the railway and the steelworks actually existed, no obvious trace of either now. What can I say? The whole area looks cleaner and brighter now, maybe it is better?

[@136miles]

is it better living there now than it was then?

[@stevenweasel2678]

BRILLIANT / SUPERB RECORD OF THEN COMPARED TO NOW / ITS AS IF THAT PAST OF NOT SO LONG AGO HAD NEVER EXISTED. THE 1980'S REALLY WERE JUST ABOUT THE END OF BRITAINS HEAVY INDUSTRIES