Blackburn Fell Drift

Overview

A John Bowes and Partners drift on Blackburn Fell near Sunniside, opened in 1937 to work the Brass Thill and worked by the National Coal Board with over 230 men until its closure in 1979.

History

Blackburn Fell Drift lay on Blackburn Fell near Sunniside, about four and a half miles south-south-west of Newcastle. John Bowes and Partners opened it in July 1937 to work the Brass Thill seam, alongside their Marley Hill Colliery, and it employed 132 people in 1938 under the manager A. Heatherington.

The National Coal Board took it over in 1947. It raised gas and steam coal, and later industrial and coking coal, almost entirely from the Brass Thill, with a spell in the Yard about 1970. Employment grew from 135 in 1950 to 233 in 1965 and 237 in 1970; it is said to have produced 70,000 tons a year. No deaths are recorded at the drift.

The Durham Mining Museum and the drift's abandonment plan give its closure as February 1979; the Northern Mine Research Society's list gives 1973. The ramp of the drift, with narrow-gauge rails and a good deal of concrete, could still be seen in 2007.

Geology

The Brass Thill seam, with the Yard worked about 1970.

Workings

A drift into the Brass Thill seam on Blackburn Fell, worked alongside Marley Hill Colliery.

Closure

Closed in February 1979; one list gives 1973.

What remains

The drift ramp with narrow-gauge rails and concrete remained in 2007.

The drift ramp, narrow-gauge rails and concrete.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Marley Hill Colliery — John Bowes and Partners' drift worked with Marley Hill; DMM returns its 1950 Brass Thill under Marley Hill.

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 1973. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• Opened in July 1937 by John Bowes and Partners. ^1,2
• Employed 237 people in 1970. ^1,2
• Worked the Brass Thill seam. ^1,3
• Closed in February 1979. ^1,3,2
• Closed in 1973. (disputed) ⁴
• H. Burn was manager from 1947 to 1955. ⁵
• The ramp with narrow-gauge rails and concrete remained in 2007. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Blackburn Fell Drift — Durham Mining Museum
2. (observational) Old mine rail track Blackburn Fell (Geograph 433196, Ian Drummond, 2007) — Geograph Britain and Ireland
3. (primary) Blackburn Fell Drift Mine Plans (Mining Remediation Authority plan D1424, Brass Thill, 1979) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
4. (secondary) NCB Collieries - England (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) Blackburn Fell Drift: Colliery Management (prior to 1970) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 9 October 2026 · Last researched: 9 October 2026