Barmoor Colliery

Location	Hepscott, near Morpeth, Northumberland — 55.1512, -1.6618 (approximate)
Commodities	Coal, Fireclay
Type	Coal
Worked	By 1882–26 October 1962
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	Hepscott Coal Co. Ltd (?–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1962), A. Goodman and Co.

Overview

A small colliery at Hepscott, near Morpeth, raising household coal from the 1880s under a string of local owners and then the Coal Board, with seldom more than eighty men, until it closed on 26 October 1962.

History

Barmoor Colliery lay at Hepscott, near Morpeth in Northumberland. It was a landsale pit of A. Goodman and Co. in the 1880s, raising household coal and later fireclay. It employed eight in 1896 and 26 in 1900, stood for reopening in 1902, and by 1910 had East and West pits with 59 and 75 men, working the Barmoor seam and the Five Quarter. Its owners changed often: the Hepscott Coal Company in the 1900s, J. H. Strong in the 1910s, James Storey and then the Hepscott Coal Company Ltd in the 1920s. Its Barmoor, Splint and Bottom seams were abandoned in 1911 and 1912.

Between the wars Barmoor worked the Bandy, Barmoor, Brockwell and Splint seams with between 25 and 82 men. The National Coal Board took it over in 1947, when it employed 63 and raised 17,000 tons of household and steam coal, and worked it in the Brockwell with around seventy men until it closed on 26 October 1962; its last Brockwell plans, with those of the neighbouring Isabella, John and Netherton workings, are dated February 1963.

Geology

Northumberland coalfield: the Plessey or Splint, Barmoor (Low Main), Five Quarter, Bandy (Bottom) and Brockwell (Victoria) seams, with fireclay.

Workings

East and West pits by 1910; household and steam coal; fireclay worked at times.

Closure

Closed on 26 October 1962; the Brockwell plans for Barmoor, Isabella, John and Netherton are dated 14 February 1963.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Pegswood Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.7 km) N
Netherton Colliery — 1.8 miles (2.9 km) SE
Longhirst Grange Colliery — 2.5 miles (4.1 km) N
Bedlington 'D' Colliery — 2.8 miles (4.5 km) SE
Choppington 'A' Pit — 3.3 miles (5.2 km) E

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

Barmoor's owners were A. Goodman and Co. in the 1880s, the Hepscott Coal Co., J. H. Strong, James Storey and the Hepscott Coal Co. Ltd. ¹
In 1910 Barmoor had East and West pits employing 59 and 75 men. ¹
In 1947 it employed 63 people and raised 17,000 tons of household and steam coal. ¹
Barmoor Colliery closed on 26 October 1962. ^2,1
Barmoor and Hepscott's Barmoor seam workings were abandoned in March 1911, and the Brockwell in February 1963. ^3,4

Photographs & further reading

Barmoor Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) (reference)

Owners, employment and seams of the colliery.

View source

Sources

(primary) Barmoor Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) NCB Collieries - England (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) BGS mine plan: Barmoor/Isabella/John/Netherton, Brockwell, abandoned 14 February 1963 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
(primary) BGS mine plan: Barmoor and Hepscott, Barmoor, abandoned 31 March 1911 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026