Murton Colliery Band

The brass band of the Durham pit village of Murton, formed in 1884 as a temperance band, which took the name of Murton Colliery in 1895, kept it after the pit closed in 1991, won the National Mineworkers title in 2001 and folded for want of players in 2018 after 134 years.

The mining history in this record

The band began in 1884. One account gives its first name as the Murton Gospel Temperance Blue Ribbon Army Band; another says it was formed as Murton Temperance and dropped the name after nine months. It was winning contests by 1893, when it took first prize at Belmont, and in May 1894 it won at Hetton and West Stanley. In 1895 it took the name of the local colliery, an association it kept until Murton Colliery closed in 1991.

Some 344 contest results are recorded for the band. It was North of England Fourth Section champion in 1974, 1983 and 1997, and on 24 November 2001, under Philip Rosier, it won the Third Section of the National Mineworkers Championship. It reached the National Finals in 2008, and in 2016 won Section B at the open-air Brass at Beamish contest.

People

Philip Rosier, who conducted the band to the National Mineworkers title in 2001; Dennis Noble, its conductor from 2005 to 2011.

Legacy today

After the colliery closed the band became a self-supporting organisation, but it struggled to recruit and keep players, and in June 2018 its committee and trustees decided to fold it. Its last contest was the North of England Third Section championship of March 2018, where it came fifth.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The band was formed in 1884 as the Murton Gospel Temperance Blue Ribbon Army Band. (documented fact, disputed) ¹
• The band was formed as Murton Temperance and dropped that name after nine months. (documented fact, disputed) ²
• The band took the name of Murton Colliery in 1895 and kept the association until the colliery closed in 1991. (documented fact) ¹
• In November 2001 the band won the Third Section of the National Mineworkers Championship under Philip Rosier. (documented fact) ^1,2
• It was North of England Fourth Section champion in 1974, 1983 and 1997. (documented fact) ¹
• In June 2018 the band's committee and trustees decided to fold it for lack of players, after 134 years. (documented fact) ^1,2

Mines

• Murton Colliery — County Durham
  The village band took the name of Murton Colliery in 1895 and kept it until the pit closed in 1991.

Real-world mining concepts used here

Colliery

Sources

1. (secondary) Murton Colliery comes to last chord (4barsrest, 11 June 2018) — 4barsrest
2. (secondary) Murton Colliery Band 1884-2018 (Brass Band Results) — Brass Band Results

Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026