Black Close Colliery

Overview

An eighteenth-century colliery of the Duke of Portland at North Seaton, near Ashington, whose Endeavour Pit was sunk in 1754; a waggonway carried its coal to the River Wansbeck, and it closed in 1846.

History

Black Close Colliery was an eighteenth-century colliery at North Seaton, near Ashington, about fourteen miles north of Newcastle, and belonged to the Duke of Portland. The sinking of its Endeavour Pit was started in 1754, and the colliery is also recorded as opening in 1755. In 1755 a waggonway was built from the colliery to the River Wansbeck.

The Endeavour Pit started at about 45 feet above sea level. Below four feet of raised ground it passed through 58 feet of soil and stony clay, then grey metal and metal stone, nine feet of white post and a foot of black metal mixed with coal pipes, to a seam of coal with brass lumps, two feet eight inches thick, between 94 and 97 feet down. The section was later printed in the North of England mining institute's account of the strata of Northumberland and Durham proved by borings and sinkings, published in 1878.

The colliery closed in 1846, and its site has since been redeveloped.

Geology

Below soil and stony clay, grey metal, metal stone and white post overlay a seam of coal with brass lumps, two feet eight inches thick, at 94 to 97 feet in the Endeavour Pit.

Workings

The Endeavour Pit, sunk in 1754, and a waggonway to the River Wansbeck.

Closure

The colliery closed in 1846.

What remains

The site has been redeveloped.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Black Close Colliery opened in 1755. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• The sinking of Black Close Colliery's Endeavour Pit started in 1754. ^1,2
• Black Close Colliery opened in 1755. (disputed) ³
• A waggonway was built from Black Close Colliery to the River Wansbeck in 1755. ³
• Black Close Colliery belonged to the Duke of Portland and closed in 1846. ³
• The Endeavour Pit at Black Close reached a seam of coal two feet eight inches thick at 94 to 97 feet. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Black Close Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Black Close Colliery: Endeavour Pit, sunk 1754 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Black Close Colliery — North East Heritage Library (Coals Archive)

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026