Shared description
Ridsdale Ironworks
The remains of Ridsdale Iron Works are to the north of Ridsdale in Northumberland. Established in 1836, the works consisted of 3 furnaces, an engine house, coke ovens, kilns, reservoirs, and tramways to connect with the ironstone mine at Broomhope and nearby sources of limestone and coal. Largely, because of the remote location, the business closed c.1857. In 1864, two of its furnaces were dismantled and taken to Armstrong's Elswick Works in Newcastle. The engine house is a Grade II listed building and the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The ruins can be seen from the A68 road and at first impression can be mistaken for e a small castle!
The engine house, now just a shell, formerly contained a double-beam blowing engine which powered three blast furnaces were located to the north. Using locally sourced iron-ore and coal, it supplied the pig-iron used in construction of Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge in Newcastle.
By 1880, the site had fallen into total disuse. Around one hundred years later, the east wall of the engine house collapsed. The building was consolidated in 1996 and is now listed as a Scheduled Monument. Serious structural issues had seen the monument placed on the Heritage at Risk Register.
The site underwent repairs and consolidation works in late 2018, preventing further deterioration and collapse as part of the Revitalising Redesdale Landscape Partnership, funded by The National Heritage Lottery Fund. Better public access to the site was also provided, with a pedestrian access gate and walkway. An interpretation panel is to be erected at the entrance to the site to inform visitors of the heritage and significance of the monument.
Co-curate: Link
Pastscape: Link
Historic England (List Entry Number: 1006420) Link
Revitilising Redesdale: Link
Williams, A. (2020). Ridsdale Ironworks Corsenside, Northumberland: Link
The engine house, now just a shell, formerly contained a double-beam blowing engine which powered three blast furnaces were located to the north. Using locally sourced iron-ore and coal, it supplied the pig-iron used in construction of Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge in Newcastle.
By 1880, the site had fallen into total disuse. Around one hundred years later, the east wall of the engine house collapsed. The building was consolidated in 1996 and is now listed as a Scheduled Monument. Serious structural issues had seen the monument placed on the Heritage at Risk Register.
The site underwent repairs and consolidation works in late 2018, preventing further deterioration and collapse as part of the Revitalising Redesdale Landscape Partnership, funded by The National Heritage Lottery Fund. Better public access to the site was also provided, with a pedestrian access gate and walkway. An interpretation panel is to be erected at the entrance to the site to inform visitors of the heritage and significance of the monument.
Co-curate: Link
Pastscape: Link
Historic England (List Entry Number: 1006420) Link
Revitilising Redesdale: Link
Williams, A. (2020). Ridsdale Ironworks Corsenside, Northumberland: Link
Created: Fri, 16 Oct 2020, Updated: Wed, 3 Feb 2021
7 images use this description: (all images taken in 2020)
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