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 is said to have been initiated by immigrant German cutlers and sword-makers from Solingen, who settled in the village of Shotley Bridge during the 17th century.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Derwent Valley was the cradle of the British steel industry, helped by the easy availability of coal in the area and the import of high quality iron ore from Sweden via the port of Newcastle upon Tyne.

It was previously part of the North West Durham Parliamentary Constituency, last represented by Richard Holden of the Conservative Party after the 2019 general election.

This makes Consett typically at least 2 °C colder than nearby cities such as Durham and Newcastle, and more prone to frost, ice and snow in the winter months.

Consett has amenities such as shops, pubs and night clubs that also serve several villages in its immediate surroundings, some such as Shotley Bridge and Blackhill contiguous and some not, for example Moorside and Castleside.

Over the next 100 years, Consett became one of the world's most prominent steel-making towns, manufacturing the steel for Blackpool Tower and some of the UK's nuclear submarines.

[7] Steel dominated Consett's economy for 140 years, with the steelworks' tall cooling towers and other large plant looming over rows of terraced houses.

Although there was intense competition in the 1970s from British firms and from abroad, Consett steelworks remained relatively successful and still profitable even in the year it closed.

[8] Consett steelworks had always avoided closure, even in difficult economic times, but in 1980 it was closed with the loss of 3,700 jobs and many more from the knock-on effects in ancillary industries.

BSC Consett was not one of the locations, despite being serviced by a well-established rail network, producing high-quality boron steel and being in profit in 1980, the year it was closed.

In 2011 Durham County Council, which provides a lot of employment for local people, commenced a three-year plan to reduce its workforce by 1600.

Derwentside College, formerly sited at Park Road, moved to a new campus at Berry Edge in September 2002 and more recently, major retailers have moved in and the site which once made steel for Blackpool Tower and Britain's nuclear submarines is now home to rival Tesco and Morrisons stores, a string of high street outlets and fast food restaurants.

In August 2015, only 420 people were receiving Jobseekers' Allowance, with an official unemployment rate of 1.7 per cent, markedly lower than the rest of County Durham.

[citation needed] The Belle Vue Leisure Centre, including a gym, swimming pool, five-a-side football, tennis and babminton courts is situated on Medomsley Road.

[21] There are several well known pubs in Consett town centre including The Turf (which periodically hosts live music, also called Turfed Oot Café),[22] The Fountain, Bellamy's, The Black Horse, The Traveller's Rest, The Duke of Wellington and the real ale pub, The Grey Horse,[23] the latter of which hosts the Consett Ale Works microbrewery.