Pelton Fell Colliery Band

A brass band formed in 1877 as the Pelton Fell Methodist Band that became the Pelton Fell Colliery Band and, through later sponsors' names, plays today as the NASUWT Riverside Band from a rehearsal building in Pelton Fell Memorial Park.

The mining history in this record

Pelton Fell grew up around its colliery, which opened in 1835 and closed in the mid-1960s, and the village's band began in 1877 as the Pelton Fell Methodist Band. Brass Band Results says it changed its name to Pelton Fell Colliery in 1928; the Scottish Borders Brass Band Association says it soon became the Pelton Fell Colliery Band and played under that name until the colliery closed in 1966. Brass Band Results records the name Pelton Fell Workmen's (Institute) from 1964.

After the pit closed the band was sponsored by Newcastle Breweries, which gave it practice rooms at its Washington depot from 1975 (Brass Band Results dates the name Newcastle Brown Ale to 1974), and as the Newcastle Brown Ale Band it rose to the championship section in the early 1980s. When the sponsorship ended in 2001 it became the Chester le Street Riverside Band, and in 2008 a sponsorship from the teachers' union NASUWT gave it its present name. In 2005 it reached the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall for the first time, and it has a youth band of over thirty children.

Legacy today

The band moved in 2010 into a purpose-built rehearsal building in the Memorial Park at Pelton Fell, back in the village that gave it its first names. It plays a part in the mining heritage of Durham: it took a key role in the Miners' Hymns performances in Durham Cathedral in 2010 and performed them at the Sage Gateshead and the London Barbican in 2014, and was North of England champion band in 2013. In 2016 the village won Heritage Fund money to recreate its colliery lodge banner, whose original is at Beamish Museum, and to mark the 150th anniversary of the 1866 Pelton Fell colliery disaster, in which 24 people died.

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 1877 as the Pelton Fell Methodist Band in the village of Pelton Fell near Chester-le-Street. (documented fact) ^1,2
• Brass Band Results says the band changed its name to Pelton Fell Colliery in 1928. (documented fact, disputed) ²
• The band soon became the Pelton Fell Colliery Band and played under that name until the colliery closed in 1966. (documented fact, disputed) ¹
• The colliery opened in 1835; the Heritage Fund says it closed in 1964, the band's history gives 1966. (documented fact, disputed) ^1,3
• Newcastle Breweries sponsored the band from 1975, providing practice rooms at its Washington depot, and the band rose to the championship section in the early 1980s. (documented fact) ^1,2
• After the brewery sponsorship ended in 2001 it became the Chester le Street Riverside Band, and from 2008 the NASUWT Riverside Band. (documented fact) ^1,4
• In 2005 the band reached the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall for the first time. (documented fact) ¹
• The band took a key role in the Miners' Hymns performances in Durham Cathedral in 2010 and performed them at the Sage Gateshead and the London Barbican in 2014. (documented fact) ^1,4
• In 2010 the bands moved into a purpose-built rehearsal facility in the Memorial Park at Pelton Fell. (documented fact) ¹
• In 2016 the Pelton Fell Community Partnership won Heritage Fund money to make a replica of the village's miners' banner, the original being at Beamish Museum, and to mark the 1866 colliery disaster in which 24 people died. (documented fact) ³

Mines

• Pelton Colliery — County Durham
  The colliery of Pelton Fell whose name the band took and played under until the pit closed in the mid-1960s.

Sources

1. (secondary) Under the spotlight: NASUWT Riverside (Scottish Borders Brass Band Association) — Scottish Borders Brass Band Association
2. (secondary) NASUWT Riverside - Band (Brass Band Results) — Brass Band Results
3. (secondary) Pelton Fell set for new banner to mark mining heritage (National Lottery Heritage Fund, 2016) — National Lottery Heritage Fund
4. (secondary) The Bands (The Coal Tour) — The Coal Tour

Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026