25 British Steelworks That Forged an Empire — Then Went Cold

0:00 A countdown of 25 British steelworks that defined the nation's industrial history and their subsequent closures. 0:35 Consett, County Durham 1:10 Bilston Steelworks 1:34 Ebbw Vale 2:17 Shelton Bar 2:45 Palmer's Jarrow 3:21 Dowlais Ironworks 3:54 Brimbo 4:26 Gartcosh Mill 4:50 Temple Borough 6:29 Barrow Hematite Steel Company 7:07 Stocksbridge and Rotherham 7:50 Cyfarthfa Ironworks 8:31 Coalbrookdale 9:09 Orgreave 11:05 Ravenscraig 11:45 Llanwern 12:22 Round Oak 12:58 Shotton 14:52 Corby 15:41 East Moors 16:13 Port Talbot 16:58 Dorman Long 17:37 Redcar 18:18 Scunthorpe 19:11 Sheffield's Don Valley What happens when the works that built a nation go cold? I count down 25 British steelworks that forged bridges, ships, railways, cars and an empire—and trace what happened after the furnaces went out. I look at places such as Consett, Ravenscraig, Port Talbot, Redcar and Scunthorpe, from vanished steel towns and shopping centres to the works still fighting for survival. I also explore how closures changed jobs, families, communities and the identity of entire valleys. This is the story of British steel, from Coalbrookdale and Sheffield's Don Valley to the final furnaces still burning in Britain. These were not just factories. They were the engine of a nation, and their absence is still being felt.