Consett

Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, and is the administrative centre of the district of Derwentside. Consett is a town of 27,000 people, high on the edge of the Pennines in north-west Durham. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town. Below the ground was coking coal and blackband iron ore. Nearby was limestone. These were the three ingredients needed for blast furnace 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 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... full article at wikipedia