Consett with Knitsley Township, 1848

CONSIDE, or CONSETT, with Knitsley, a township, in the chapelry of Medomsley, parish and union of Lanchester, W. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 14½ miles (N.W. by W.) from Durham; containing 195 inhabitants. This place, anciently Conkesheved, was successively in the possession of various families, and once belonged to the Halls, of whom several had a taste for literary pursuits, especially John Hall, born in 1627, who was a man of very considerable talent, and is commemorated by Antony a Wood. The township comprises 2,353 acres, of which 1,561 are arable, 520 pasture, and 272 woodland. Extensive iron-works are carried on at Consett, being a recent revival of the ancient manufacture of which this neighbourhod was the seat; the Romans, and, about two centuries ago, a colony of Germans who had settled at Shotley-Bridge, having worked the mines, the produce of which, known as the Derwent iron, is very superior. Coal is also abundant, and, being the outcrop of the Durham coal-field, is probably worked at less expense than that of any other part of the kingdom. Fire-bricks are manufactured; and besides the coal and iron, a considerable traffic exists in lead, lime, and timber. The Stanhope railway, in connexion with the Pontop and Shields railway, intersects the township.