Bigge Pit, Willington

Overview

A pit of Willington Colliery, between Newcastle and North Shields, worked by the Bells of Woolsington and their partners from the 18th century. Explosions in the Bensham seam killed several in 1831 and 32 in 1841; the colliery closed in 1889, reopened in 1913 and worked another eighteen years.

History

Willington Colliery was the venture of Matthew Bell, a draper, and William Brown, who met when Brown came into Bell's shop for flannel for his pit clothes and went into partnership with him. Bell died in 1786 and his share passed to his son and then to Matthew Bell IV, MP, of Woolsington Hall, who became chief owner at 48. The colliery was advanced for its time, drawing coal in cages rather than corves, with a separate upcast, the Edward Pit.

By the 1830s the High Main had been worked out wastefully on pillars, much of it lost to creep, so in 1831 a shaft was sunk to the Bensham seam. Breaking into it released gas that exploded, killing three men; four of fourteen burnt also died, and the shaft was vaulted over to carry the gas to a flare. The Bensham was reopened in 1840, and on 19 April 1841, under Bell and George Johnson, it exploded again in the Bigge Pit, 140 fathoms deep, killing 32 when a trapper's door was left open.

The colliery closed in 1889 and reopened in 1913 for another eighteen years.

Geology

Northumberland Coal Measures: the High Main, worked out on pillars and much lost to creep by the 1830s, and the Bensham seam below, which gave off gas in quantity.

Workings

The Bigge Pit, 140 fathoms deep to the Bensham, with the Edward Pit as a separate upcast; cages rather than corves; a shaft vaulted over to carry gas to a surface flare; three wagonways passing the site.

Closure

Willington Colliery closed in 1889 and was reopened in 1913 for another eighteen years.

What remains

The first-edition Ordnance Survey shows a reservoir and an engine house on the site.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Burdon Main Colliery — George Johnson was senior viewer for Burdon Main and Willington collieries.

Disasters & major incidents

• Willington Colliery Bensham seam explosion, 1831
  20 September 1831 · Explosion · 8 fatalities
  On 20 September 1831 gas from a large blower in the newly opened Bensham seam at Willington Colliery, on Tyneside, forced its way through the water left to drown it, rose into the High Main and fired at the men's candles. Eight were killed, four men and four boys.
• Bigge Pit explosion, 1841
  19 April 1841 · Explosion · 32 fatalities
  In the early afternoon of 19 April 1841 an explosion in the Bensham seam of the Bigge Pit at Matthew Bell and partners' Willington Colliery, between Newcastle and North Shields, killed 32 of the 35 below. The three survivors were working in a stone drift elsewhere in the mine.

Recorded claims

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

• The colliery was owned by Messrs Bell and Brown; Matthew Bell IV became chief owner of Willington Colliery aged 48. ¹
• In 1831 a shaft was sunk to the Bensham seam, and the gas met there exploded; the shaft was later vaulted to carry the gas to a flare. ¹
• An explosion in the Bigge Pit on 19 April 1841 killed 32; only three of those below survived. ^2,3,1
• The colliery closed in 1889 but reopened in 1913 for another 18 years. ¹
• Willington Colliery drew coal in cages rather than corves and had a separate upcast, the Edward Pit. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Willington Colliery, Bigge Pit — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
2. (secondary) Bigges Pit Explosion - Willington - 1849 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Bigge Pit — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026