Jean Simmons - Consett Heritage Podcast

Consett Heritage Project / March 8th, 2024

Jean Simmons - Consett Heritage Podcast

Our volunteer, Maisie Dobson, conducts an interview with her great-grandma, Jean Simmons, aged 96, discussing life and work in Consett during the peak of the Consett Steelworks era. During the conversation, Jean mentions a royal visit to the steelworks, prompting Maisie to enquire about its accuracy. Upon researching, we discovered that the event did indeed occur. Listen in to enjoy this unique recording, offering insights into the social history of Consett.

Youth Social Action / July 31st, 2021

Wellbeing and the Arts / July 31st, 2021

Crookhill Primary School 1950's Heritage Project

Our Heritage project with Crookhill Primary School took the children back to the 1950s. We looked at childhood games, the space race, the children's programmes. We also had visitors to the school who discussed their 1950's childhoods.

Consett Heritage Project / February 7th, 2025

Playing in the Red Dust - Moorside Primary School

This poem was created by Corben, Roxi, Lacey, Oscar, Leandra, and Millie from Moorside Primary School. It reflects their take on the red dust that once covered Consett — the cloud of iron oxide emitted during the Steelworks’ production because of this red clouds of dust would hang over the town, settling on cars and clothes hung out to dry, a sight captured in many photos of Consett from that time.

Consett Heritage Project / February 3rd, 2025

Designing a Steel Statue for Consett

On Tuesday 28th January, we hosted a fundraiser and design session to generate some ideas about what the community want the Ray Lonsdale statue to look like. We were very lucky to have renowned artist Ray Lonsdale with us, who gave a talk about his artistic journey and past designs, and answered all of our questions about his statues and how we should go about creating our own for Consett.