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by: Andy Guy, Frank Atkinson
Amazon.com's Price: $39.69 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 2 to 3 weeks
Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9781860774478
ISBN: 1860774474
Label: Phillimore & Co Ltd
Manufacturer: Phillimore & Co Ltd
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: April 01, 2008
Publisher: Phillimore & Co Ltd
Studio: Phillimore & Co Ltd
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The industrial history of West Durham has been long, varied and dynamic. The famous 'lead dales' of Teesdale, Weardale and Derwentdale were major components of an orefield that dominated lead production during the Georgian and Victorian eras. The numerous remains of sites associated with ore mining and processing include the extraordinary and complex water management systems that powered the industry, which was followed in turn by the production of iron ore, fluorspar and barytes and the quarrying of vast amounts of limestone and whinstone.The pits of West Durham formed a key part of the Great NorthernCoalfield, Britain's most important source of coal for over 500 years, and her colliery complexes were the bases not only for a renowned coke but also for the associated manufacture of bricks, refractories and by-products. These fuels and materials, together with local iron ores, limestone and fluorspar, stimulated an extensive and often pioneering iron industry, culminating in the great Consett works whose background can be traced back to medieval sites and to the only complete steel cementation furnace to survive from the 18th century.These, and a host of other regionally significant industries, were served by a dense railway system which has left behind sites of international importance. The world's oldest working railway, its first public steam railway, earliest railway town and company works are all to be found in the area - as are Tanfield Arch and embankment, the first great railway engineering projects of the Industrial Age. 'West Durham: The Archaeology of Industry' provides a general introduction to the industries which made the region internationally important in the 18th, 19th and earlier 20th centuries, and a concise guide to several hundred surviving remains. These are presented in their historical context together with a consideration of how their redundancy affected not only the industries themselves, but the economy, communities and landscape of the area.
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