MineArchiveBebside Colliery
| Location | Bebside, near Blyth, Northumberland — 55.1269, -1.5544 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1858–1926 |
| Maximum depth | No reliable depth figure has yet been located. |
| Operators | Lambert, Nicholson & Co. (1853–1880), Bebside & Choppington Coal Co. (1880–1890), Bebside Coal Co. (1890–1926) |
Overview
A south-east Northumberland colliery at Bebside near Blyth, sunk from September 1853 and raising coal from May 1858 through its A and B pits. It worked steam coal for the Blyth trade under a succession of local companies and closed in 1926. No disaster of five or more deaths is recorded there.
History
Sinking began on 13 September 1853 and the colliery opened in May 1858, working two shafts, the A and B pits. It was held by Lambert & Co. in the 1850s and by Lambert, Nicholson & Co. in the 1860s, then by the Bebside & Choppington Coal Company in the 1880s and the Bebside Coal Company Ltd from the 1890s. Its returns are those of a Northumberland coast colliery working for the shipping trade: plain coal to 1890 and steam coal from both pits from 1894. It closed in 1926, before nationalisation.
Geology
The colliery worked the Coal Measures of the Northumberland coalfield close to the coast at Blyth, where the steam coals that fed the collier trade out of the Tyne and the Blyth staithes were the mainstay. Its output was returned as steam coal from 1894, which is what the port it sat beside was shipping.
Workings
Two shafts, the A and B pits, sunk from September 1853 with coal drawn from May 1858. The returns record plain coal to 1890 and steam coal from both pits from 1894 onward.
Closure
The colliery closed in 1926, before nationalisation.
What remains
The colliery has been cleared and the site absorbed into the built-up area around Blyth; no account of surviving structures has been found.
Not established.
Related mines
- Choppington 'A' Pit — Both collieries were worked by the same companies — the Bebside & Choppington Coal Co. in the 1880s and the Bebside Coal Co. from the 1890s — which took their name from the two places.
- Choppington 'B' Pit — Both collieries were worked by the same companies — the Bebside & Choppington Coal Co. in the 1880s and the Bebside Coal Co. from the 1890s — which took their name from the two places.
Nearby mines
- Bomarsund Colliery — 2.0 km NW
- Choppington 'B' Pit — 2.4 km NW
- Choppington 'A' Pit — 2.7 km NW
- Bedlington 'D' Colliery — 2.9 km W
- Seaton Delaval Colliery — 5.4 km S
Straight-line distance, within 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.
- Sinking began on 13 September 1853 and the colliery opened in May 1858. (high) 1
- The colliery was held by Lambert & Co. in the 1850s, Lambert, Nicholson & Co. in the 1860s, the Bebside & Choppington Coal Co. in the 1880s and the Bebside Coal Co. from the 1890s — the same companies that worked the Choppington pits a few miles away. (high) 1
- From 1894 both the A and B pits returned steam coal. (high) 1
- The Durham Mining Museum records no disaster of five or more killed at Bebside, though it lists 94 named fatalities across the colliery's working life. (high) 1
- The colliery closed in 1926. (high) 1,2
- Bebside was formerly a mining village west of Blyth, a township in Horton parish and from 1866 a civil parish of its own until it was absorbed into Blyth in 1920. Its mine operated between 1858 and 1926, and it was served by Bebside railway station from 1850 to 1964. (medium) 2
Photographs & further reading
The colliery's sinking and opening dates, its two pits, the local companies that owned it, and the annual output returns.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Durham Mining Museum: Bebside Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Bebside — Wikipedia
Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 September 2026