Bigges Main Colliery

Overview

A Wallsend colliery won in 1784 by Matthew Bell and William Brown and named after the royalty owner William Bigge; its High Main lay at 570 feet, it was abandoned in 1809, reopened for the Low Main in 1836 and drowned out in 1857.

History

Bigges Main Colliery lay at Wallsend, about three miles north-east of Newcastle. Three pits were sunk around the site from about 1782, and the colliery was won in 1784 by Matthew Bell and William Brown, who also owned Willington Colliery. It took its name from William Bigge, the owner of the royalty, and the pit village of Bigges Main took its name from the colliery. A Pit, B Pit and C Pit stood along a waggonway to a staith on the Tyne at Wallsend, which had branches to Willington Colliery's George and William Pits and in 1808 was extended west as the feeder for the Kenton and Coxlodge Waggonway, relaid with cast iron rails on stone blocks.

The A Pit was sunk from about 130 feet above sea level through 102 feet of clay to the High Main seam, 6 feet 8 inches thick, at about 563 feet; in 1798 a boring from the High Main went on to over 1,150 feet. The High Main was exhausted and the colliery abandoned in 1809. It was reopened in 1836 to work the Low Main, and in 1843 its return, which included Heaton, counted 489 people. On 29 December 1839 three brothers, two of them aged 60 and one 58, were killed there. Flooding ended the work in 1857. The C Pit site was later partly filled with refuse, bulldozed into a hillock and seeded.

Geology

The High Main seam, 6 ft 8 in thick, worked until 1809, and then the Low Main.

Workings

The A, B, C and Engine pits, on a waggonway to Wallsend staith.

Closure

Abandoned in 1809 when the High Main was exhausted; reopened in 1836 for the Low Main; flooded and closed in 1857.

What remains

The C Pit site was filled with refuse, bulldozed into a hillock and seeded.

Related mines

• Bigge Pit, Willington — Both belonged to Bell and Brown, and the Bigges Main waggonway had branches to Willington Colliery's George and William Pits.
• Heaton Main Colliery — Bigges Main's 1843 return of 489 people included Heaton.

Recorded claims

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

• Bigges Main Colliery was won in 1784 by Matthew Bell and William Brown and named after William Bigge, the owner of the royalty. ^1,2
• Bigges Main was abandoned in 1809 when the High Main was exhausted and reopened in 1836 to work the Low Main. ¹
• Flooding ended work at Bigges Main in 1857. ^1,3,2
• The A Pit at Bigges Main reached the High Main seam, 6 feet 8 inches thick, at about 563 feet, and a boring of 1798 went on to about 1,159 feet. ⁴
• The Bigges Main waggonway ran to a staith at Wallsend and had branches to Willington Colliery's George and William Pits. ²
• In 1843 the Bigges Main return, including Heaton, counted 489 people. ⁵
• Three brothers were killed at Bigges Main on 29 December 1839. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Bigges Main Colliery (HER 1133) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
2. (secondary) Bigges Main to Wallsend Waggonway (HER 1135) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
3. (secondary) Bigges Main Colliery C Pit (HER 1127) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
4. (primary) Bigge's Main Colliery: A Pit sinking and boring, 1798 — Durham Mining Museum
5. (primary) Bigge's Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 22 October 2026 · Last researched: 22 October 2026