Elddis is a caravan and motorhome manufacturer based in Consett , County Durham , England .
32-451: Elddis was founded in 1965 by Siddle Cook and his son, Raymond, and is named for 'Siddle' spelt backwards. They established a factory in Consett , County Durham , and in 1960, were manufacturing two popular models of caravan, Whirlwind and Tornado. A third model, Cyclone, was launched in the late 1960s. Its caravans were mainly named for meteorological phenomena like stratus etc. In 1973, Elddis
64-560: A company of the UK is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham , England, about 14 miles (23 km) south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne . It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines . Its name originates in
96-691: A rail link to the town. Consett is part of the Blaydon and Consett parliament constituency . 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 . Since 2024 it is part of Blaydon and Consett Parliamentary Constituency, represented by Liz Twist. Before 1983, the town gave its name to its parliamentary constituency: Consett (UK Parliament constituency) . Consett
128-674: A rail link would be located and whether this study would focus on the former Derwent Valley Railway or also include the former route via Birtley . Consett's secondary school is Consett Academy . However, near to Consett in Lanchester is St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College and in Stanley North Durham Academy , which along with Consett Academy is part of the New College Durham Academies Trust (NCDAT) managed by New College Durham . Consett
160-419: A significant number, given the town's industrial legacy. A large area formerly used by Shotley Bridge Hospital was sold to a property developer, which began to build a further 400 homes in 2013–2014. This development has now become the multi-award-winning Woodlands Estate. This has further aided Consett's recovery as a top commuter town due to its convenient location between Durham and Newcastle. Along with
192-558: A three-year plan to reduce its workforce by 1600. Alongside the public sector, small and medium-sized businesses now provide jobs in the area. The Phileas Fogg Company (County Durham), with its factory in Consett, were mildly famous for a few years from 1988 for their snack food "Made in Medomsley Road, Consett" television adverts. It is now owned by KP Snacks (originally part of United Biscuits ). The Explorer Group , based in Consett,
224-593: Is home to the Empire Theatre, one of County Durham's oldest theatres. Recently refurbished, it stages variety acts, plays and a Christmas pantomime. It also screens films at times when there are no live performances. The Belle Vue Leisure Centre, including a gym, swimming pool, five-a-side football, tennis and babminton courts is situated on Medomsley Road. There are several well known pubs in Consett town centre including The Fountain , Bellamy's , The Black Horse , The Traveller's Rest , The Duke of Wellington and
256-538: Is now home to rival Tesco and Morrisons stores, a string of high street outlets and fast food restaurants. New industrial units are also to be built on the former steel works site, after the Project Genesis Trust secured investment of £358,968 from the Rural Growth Network (RGN) to develop bespoke business premises and offices on part of the site. (The Project Genesis Trust is a body created to regenerate
288-519: 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
320-584: Is the United Kingdom's second-largest manufacturer of caravans . Elddis Transport Limited is based in the town. Since 2000, there have been several new housing developments on the former steelworks site and surrounding areas. 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
352-648: The House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , elected by the first past the post voting system from 1918 to 1983. Consett was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the 1918 general election . It succeeded the abolished North West Division of Durham , comprising the whole of that seat, excluding Tanfield , which was included in the new constituency of Blaydon , and Lanchester , which
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#1733085689086384-540: The Old English Cunecesheafod ( heafod means headland, the meaning of cunec is less clear but is thought to derive from a Brittonic word for "hill"), first recorded in the 13th century. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town : below the ground were coking coal and blackband iron ore , and nearby was limestone . These three ingredients were needed for blast furnaces to produce iron and steel . The town
416-468: The real ale pub , The Grey Horse where Consett Ale Works microbrewery is based. Also well known is Consett's Steel Club north of the bus station. An unconfirmed rumour is that locally born Rowan Atkinson occasionally drank and played the occasional game of dominoes there during the 1970s. Consett was the first in the world to have a Salvation Army Corps Band, formed in December 1879 to play on
448-514: 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 . However, after the invention of the Bessemer process in the 19th century, steel could be made from British iron ore (hitherto too heavily contaminated by phosphorus ) and
480-426: The 1990s, through Project Genesis, went only some way towards repairing the damage done to the local economy by these closures. Unemployment came down to the national average, but this was partly due to outward migration and economic inactivity due to long-term illness, neither of which were included in the government statistics. In 2011 Durham County Council, which provides a lot of employment for local people, commenced
512-480: The Department for Transport's Restoring Your Railway Fund , hoping to access up to £50,000 to cover the cost of an initial study into the feasibility of restoring a rail link between Consett and Blaydon. In November 2020 it was announced that the requested funds would be provided for such a study into reinstating a rail service between Consett and Newcastle , although it was unclear where the Consett terminus of such
544-484: The Derwent Valley's geographical advantage was lost, allowing Sheffield to become the leading centre of the British steel industry. Consett railway station opened in 1896. It remained open for passengers until 1955 and mineral trains continued to pass through the site until 1980 on their way to the steelworks. In November 2020, the Department for Transport approved funding for an initial feasibility study into restoring
576-529: The former steelworks site). The population soared to 39,000, higher than in the days of steel, and unemployment plummeted. 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. The wider claimant count of people on out-of-work benefits was 6.3 per cent, half the County Durham average, although it omits those receiving disability benefits, which will be
608-466: The highest towns in the United Kingdom. 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 . The Consett Iron Company
640-503: The housing developments of the last few years (some still ongoing), there has also been major investment in local amenities, such as a £44-million sports complex in Medomsley Road, near the old sports facilities. This is shared with Consett Academy, which was given a brand new £5.7 million building. In June 2020, the MP for North West Durham, Richard Holden , sponsored a bid to the Ideas Fund of
672-444: The iron and steel era a pall of red dust hung over the town, consisting of airborne iron oxide from the steel-making plant. At its peak in the 1960s, the Consett steel works employed 6,000 workers. It was nationalised to become part of the large British Steel Corporation . Although there was intense competition in the 1970s from British firms and from abroad, Consett steelworks remained relatively successful and still profitable even in
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#1733085689086704-481: The national average at the time. The closure marked the end of the Derwent Valley steel heritage, and the decline of Consett as an industrial town. Along with the closure of coal mines, it was also a first step in the decline of all heavy industry in the Derwent Valley. The last steel ingot from the Consett ironworks was made into a cross and is kept at St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Blackhill. Regeneration in
736-402: The national average. A major plan to restructure steel-making in the UK saw light in the mid-1970s, based on concentrating it in five UK coastal locations, to allow easy import of raw materials and export of finished goods. 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
768-494: The re-organisation of local government under the Local Government Act 1972 . On abolition, eastern areas, comprising the former Urban District of Stanley, were included in the newly created constituency of North Durham , and eastern areas, comprising the former Urban District of Consett, were transferred back to North West Durham (which had been re-established in 1950). General Election 1939–40 : Another General Election
800-433: The streets at Christmas. The original four players were Edward Lennox and his bandsmen George Storey, James Simpson and Robert Greenwood. Alphabetical order within sections [REDACTED] Media related to Consett at Wikimedia Commons Consett (UK Parliament constituency) Consett was a county constituency , centred on the town of Consett in County Durham . It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to
832-406: The year it closed. As the rolling mills were closed in the 1970s, despite local opposition, there were discussions over the future of the plant as a whole. 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. The unemployment rate in Consett became double
864-526: Was acquired by Ace Belmont International (ABI), a company formed the previous year by a merger between Ace Caravans and Belmont Caravans. Elddis was later acquired by The Explorer Group who were in turn acquired by Erwin Hymer Group in 2017. They own the brands Compass and Buccaneer, plus the intellectual property rights to the brand Crown which they acquired in 1989 following a demerger from ABI who sold out to Swift caravans. This article about
896-534: Was closed. A deputation of steelworkers lobbied the government in London. The social impact of the decision was often characterised by many of the local people at the time as "The Murder of a Town". After closure of the steel works the town became one of the worst unemployment black spots in Britain. In 1981, it peaked at 36 per cent – one of the worst unemployment rates of any town in the United Kingdom and around three times
928-478: Was established in 1864 as a successor to the original Derwent Iron Company of 1840, when the first blast furnaces were introduced. 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 . Steel dominated Consett's economy for 140 years, with the steelworks' tall cooling towers and other large plant looming over rows of terraced houses. During
960-499: Was part of Derwentside District Council, which merged into the Durham County Council unitary authority on 1 April 2009. The Consett area is currently divided into four electoral divisions (Benfieldside; Consett North; Delves Lane and Consett South; and Leadgate and Medomsley), each electing two county councillors. The town unlike most other towns and villages in County Durham is unparished and has no town council. Consett
992-526: Was part of the constituency of North East England in the European Parliament until 2020. Consett sits above the rural Derwent valley near the boundary of County Durham and Northumberland . The Derwent Reservoir just west of the town makes a popular leisure attraction and beauty spot. At about 900 ft (270 metres) above sea level, Consett is the third highest market town in England and one of
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1024-476: Was transferred to Barnard Castle . Only minor changes - the Urban Districts of Annfield Plain and Tanfield (transferred back from Blaydon) had been merged with Stanley ; and Benfieldside and Leadgate with Consett , along with the parishes of Ebchester and Medomsley . The seat was abolished for the 1983 general election as a result of the periodic review of parliamentary constituencies following
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