[3][a] By 1857, Consett Iron Company owed the failed Northumberland and Durham District Bank almost a million pounds.

[2]: 2  On 4 April 1864, after operating for several years under the threat of bankruptcy, a new Consett Iron Company Ltd was formed[5][6] with capital of £400,000.

Under his leadership, the company experienced sustained profit for the first time,[7]: 158 [8] despite severe fluctuations in market conditions,[7]: 164  such as the industrial depression that took place from the late 1870s to the early 1890s.

As a result it relied less on loans to survive business cycles and had lower interest rates when it did borrow.

[2]: 3  In 1882, Consett Iron Company began to switch production again, this time to steel plates for shipbuilding using the Siemens-Martin process.

[2]: 3  This uses open hearth furnaces to convert pig iron to steel by burning off excess carbon.

[2]: 5  The company continually invested in modern equipment, such as a Roots blower (a powerful air pump) that was acquired in 1893.

[12][9]: 203  The company initially remained in profit,[7]: 159  but its equipment and technology was not updated due to the lack of available space at Consett; a move was considered but rejected.

[1] The Consett steelworks was privatised in 1955, and a new steel plate mill was opened in 1961 to supply the shipbuilding industry.

[14] Amidst intense debate and large demonstrations by workers and sympathizers, Consett Steel Works was closed in 1980.

[15] Around 3,000 to 4,000 workers lost their jobs, resulting in an unemployment rate of 35% in Consett, twice the national average at the time.

[15][16] The sky over Consett, which had long been famous for its thick haze of red iron oxide dust thrown up by the steelworks, cleared[17] as did the cloud of steam typically found around the tall cooling towers and chimneys.

[21][22] Only the Terra Novalis sculptures (pictured), made with materials from the site, recall past industry.