Sarah Envy - Consett Heritage Podcast
Sarah knows Consett as quite a rural and naturally beautiful area, sitting above the Derwent Valley, although as she now understands it, this hasn't always been the case. She spends a lot of time at Derwent Reservoir on walks and has often cycled around the area, which has a completely breathtaking 'natural' landscape abundant with wildlife. Sarah is Engagement Manager for The National Lottery Heritage Fund North. Until her involvement in our Consett Heritage Project, she was unaware that this area had such a significant industrial past. Consett steel was used in the construction of the Eiffel Tower! From photographs she has seen of the old Consett Ironworks, she now realises that you would have been able to see rows of machinery just over the horizon from the Reservoir, peeking over the ridge of the dam. Physically, this view has disappeared, but it is clear that there's a lot of buried history that is not currently accessible, it is discoverable. She believes that we need to continue to provide opportunities to access such a significant part of Consett's heritage, we don't want it to be lost or forgotten. She is particularly excited about the latest Heritage initiative that will truly put Co Durham on the cultural and heritage map!
Employability / September 14th, 2026
Volunteering / September 14th, 2026
Our Awards / September 14th, 2026
Sophie's Reflections on her Placement Year with Building Self-Belief
Sophie has been a fabulous placement psychology student from the University of Newcastle. She has spent the 2025- 2026 academic year working with us here at Building Self-Belief, and here are her reflections, some of her numerous achievements. What is evident is how much she has grown both personally and professionally over her time with Building Self-Belief.
Heritage / June 14th, 2026
'Falling'
This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. Inspired by the exhausting and dangerous reality of mining life, this poem captures the final moments of a miner caught in the disaster.
Heritage / September 21st, 2023
Voices of Consett- David
David is 71 years old and was born in the Richard Murray Hospital at Blackhill, which was where everybody was born, and lived on Benfieldside Road in Blackhill. His father was a ‘Bevin Boy’, during the war you were either sent as a soldier or down the mines, if you were unlucky the mines were worse.