Teesside's Stories of Steel shed new light on area's industrial heritage
Extract from Oral History, Spring 2024
On BBC Breakfast in November 2022, viewers across the nation witnessed the toppling of the Redcar Blast Furnace – redundant for over seven years since the closure of the Teesside Steelworks – and in ensuing coverage heard soundbites from past workers, policy makers and politicians about the sense of loss, change and hopes for the future.
Alongside the press coverage in the North East of England occasioned by national media interest capturing the sense of crisis, change and challenges for a deindustrialised or reindustrialised future at the site now branded as ‘Teesworks’. There have been several heritage controversies around demolition, failure to retain buildings, politicians making decisions that challenged Historic England expertise and those concerned at a lack of apparent value attached to the area-defining iron and steel history.
Recording voices from the Steelworks
Writing in November 2023, little of the former site’s buildings remain although some smaller site components such as a ladle, crane hook and other small machinery have been retained with the view to incorporating into either existing collections or through use in reinterpreting the site aligned with its reindustrialisation and regeneration. Yet, Teesside Archives have led efforts to work collaboratively with Tees Valley Combined Authority to ensure that site records – from operation documents to historic photographs and plans - have been saved and added to their collections. In such a contentious and at times toxic environment, the issue of mobilising oral history interviews as a mechanism to record some of the site’s intangible heritage has been difficult. There have of course been a number of oral history projects that either focus solely on or address Teesside’s iron and steel history and heritage, including those carried out through the Manpower Services Commission in the 1980s and the British Steel Archive Project in the late 2000s. Other museum and academic projects have also recorded oral histories of the steelworks but the recordings remain inaccessible to the public or researchers.
It was determined through advice from the Teesworks Heritage Taskforce and agreement with Teesside Archives, that an oral history project should be pursued to record this moment in the area’s industrial history that would not only provide an insight into life ‘At The Works’ (to borrow the title of Lady Florence Bell’s Edwardian social survey of Teesside steelworkers and their families), at the closure of the works, after the works and to also gain a perspective on what industrial heritage is important (or not) and what interviewees would like to see happen to their works.
The project has been funded by Tees Valley Combined Authority – the public body working with contractors on demolition - and there have been dissenting voices who have resultantly refused to engage with the project excepting to email to confirm non-participation. The interviews that have been recorded capture new perspectives on the site’s history absent from existing collections. As might be expected, many feature the memories of former steelworkers spanning those who worked for famous steel firm Dorman Long before nationalisation, to those who have continued to work on the recommissioning of the steelworks in more recent years or were amongst the 2,070 made redundant as a result of the closure of the works by Thai steel firm SSI.
Life at and after the works
The interviews have recorded day-to-day working practices, the emotional experience of closure and seeing the site disappear through explosive demolition after another. Some participants have also helped provide context to the collections recovered from the site. Others have focused on some of the debates around contentious demolitions and site clearance – including that of the iconic Dorman Long Tower coal bunker that had been emergency Listed by Historic England only to be overturned the following week. The oral histories have also engaged a number of other key stakeholders around the closure, clearance and contentions associated with the Teesside Steelworks. They include an interview with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen which provides an insight into the mechanisms of government and the decision process to overturn the listing, author and former worker Mike Guess who has captured the changing site extensively through his camera lens, former Chair of the TVCA and ex-Mayor of Middlesbrough Dave Budd as well as artists and heritage professionals who reflected some of the frustrations, inspirations and suggested new directions – or what might have been done differently – around the Teesside Steelworks site history and heritage.
It is hoped that in capturing the range of voices around Teesside Steelworks past, present and future, the new collection will help provide some of the perspectives on this important period for the future of Teesside’s industrial past and future.
Dr Tosh Warwick is founder of Heritage Unlocked. Through collaboration with Teesside Archives and the Tees Valley Combined Authority, he is working on the oral history project recording steelworker and wider community stories of the Teesside Steelworks