Corby Iron and Steel Works - Steve Purcell

Since Corby became the site of a new iron, steel & tube works in 1933, the village of 1,500 has grown into a new torn of 60,000. Many of the families that arrived came from north of the border and Corby became known as 'Little Scotland'.

Almost 30 million tons of steel were produced in the forty-six-year life of what was once the largest plant of its type in Europe. The cost of producing steel from low-grade local ore spelled the end of the works once British Steel Corporation had built large plants with deepwater docking facilities, using high-grade imported ore. Once the shutdown was complete, work soon began on demolishing the plant and changing the face of the town that was, until 1980, totally reliant on one industry. The regeneration of the area, with the help of many millions of pounds from the Government, has been Corby pull itself back from becoming a possible ghost town.

This book is a collection of images from inside The Works, showing scenes that could not be generally seen by the public. It provides an inside look into the works and is a record of an industry that is no more in the Northamptonshire countryside.