Black Prince Colliery

Location	Tow Law, County Durham — 54.7526, -1.8143 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1846–1933
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	Attwood & Co. (?–1858), Weardale Iron and Coal Company (1858–1899), Weardale Steel, Coal and Coke Co. Ltd (1899–1933)

Overview

A colliery on Cornsay Fell at Tow Law, sunk in 1846 as Charles Attwood's ironworks were built there, which gave good coking coal from thin seams and employed about 720 in the 1890s; it stood idle through the First World War and closed in 1933.

History

Black Prince Colliery was sunk in 1846 on Cornsay Fell, near Tow Law, nine and a half miles west of Durham, a year after Charles Attwood opened his ironworks there; the shaft top stood about 1,005 feet above sea level. Attwood's Weardale Iron Company, which became the Weardale Iron and Coal Company, built six blast furnaces at Tow Law and opened collieries in the district. Attwood and Co. are recorded as owners in the 1850s, the Weardale Iron Co. from 1858 and the Weardale Iron and Coal Co. in the 1860s.

In 1894 about 640 men and boys worked the Ballarat, one foot ten inches to two feet thick, the Five Quarter, the Top Coal and the Main Coal, all good coking coal; the Main Coal cropped out a little west of Dan's Castle. The Five Quarter and Main Coal pits together employed 721 that year and about 700 to 750 until 1910. The ironworks at Tow Law shut in 1882, and from 1899 the Weardale Steel, Coal and Coke Co. held the colliery.

Both pits were standing in 1915 and 1921. The colliery was at work again with 96 men in 1923 and 185 in 1925, and it closed in 1933; Durham County Council's study of Tow Law puts its closure in the 1920s. On 28 June 1856 a rope broke and a runaway set of empty tubs killed two on an incline, one of them a boy of ten; the museum's list of those killed holds 36 names.

Geology

Durham coalfield, western edge: the Ballarat (1 ft 10 in to 2 ft), Five Quarter (2 ft 5 in to 2 ft 9 in), Top Coal (2 ft 9 in) and Main Coal (2 ft 10 in to 3 ft 6 in), all coking coal; the Main Coal outcrops west of Dan's Castle.

Workings

The Black Prince Pit of 1846 on Cornsay Fell; separate Five Quarter and Main Coal pits in the 1890s.

Closure

Standing 1915-21; reopened by 1923 and closed in 1933.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Blackfield Colliery — 0.3 miles (0.5 km) W
Houseslip Mine — 0.6 miles (1.0 km) S
Hedleyhope Colliery — 0.8 miles (1.3 km) E
West Thornley Colliery — 1.1 miles (1.7 km) SE
Viewly Hill Ganister Quarry — 1.4 miles (2.2 km) W

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

What's uncertain

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

Closed in the 1920s. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

Sunk in 1846 on Cornsay Fell, near Tow Law. ^1,2
Charles Attwood opened the Tow Law ironworks in 1845; the Weardale Iron and Coal Company opened collieries in the district. ^3,4
In 1894 about 640 men and boys worked the Ballarat, Five Quarter, Top Coal and Main Coal, all good coking coal. ¹
Closed in 1933. ¹
Closed in the 1920s. (disputed) ³

Photographs & further reading

Durham Mining Museum: Black Prince Colliery (reference)

Owners, employment and seams from 1846 to 1933, with Whellan's 1894 account and the names of those killed.

View source

Sources

(primary) Durham Mining Museum: Black Prince Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Durham Mining Museum: Black Prince Colliery shaft details — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) Tow Law and Thornley Settlement Character Study — Durham County Council
(secondary) Wikipedia: Weardale Iron and Coal Company — Wikipedia

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 6 October 2026