Blackett Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Melkridge, near Haltwhistle, opened in 1873 and worked in the Little Limestone Coal by the Blackett companies until it was abandoned in 1927.

History

Blackett Colliery, at Melkridge just east of Haltwhistle, was opened in 1873 by John Dickinson. The Blackett Colliery Company ran it in the 1880s, the Blackett Coal Company in the 1890s, and from the 1900s Blackett and South Tyne Collieries Ltd, which also held South Tyne Colliery at Haltwhistle.

It worked the Little Limestone Coal for gas and household coal. T. Yeats managed it in 1883 and George Linday through the 1890s; employment rose from 307 in 1894 to 463 in 1902 and was still 381 in 1915. In July 1903 the annual Blackett Colliery picnic and sports at Haltwhistle offered £40 in prizes, with a mixed choir contest and the Haltwhistle Old Brass Band.

By 1921 only 34 men were employed, and about thirty worked it until it was abandoned in 1927, in March by the Durham Mining Museum's record and in July by the Northumberland Historic Environment Record. The Hadrian's Wall mapping project later traced the colliery's earthworks on air photographs, with the remains of a building and a ventilation shaft.

Geology

Northumberland, Haltwhistle area: the colliery worked the Little Limestone Coal.

Workings

Worked the Little Limestone Coal; a ventilation shaft is recorded on the site.

Closure

Abandoned in 1927: March by the Durham Mining Museum, July by the Northumberland Historic Environment Record. Employment had fallen to about thirty from 1921.

What remains

Earthworks of the colliery show on air photographs, with the remains of a building and a ventilation shaft.

The remains of a building and a ventilation shaft, and earthworks.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• South Tyne Colliery — Both owned by Blackett and South Tyne Collieries Ltd.

What's uncertain

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

• Abandoned in March 1927. (disputed) ²
• Closed in July 1927. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Opened in 1873 by John Dickinson. ¹
• Owned by the Blackett Colliery Co. in the 1880s, the Blackett Coal Co. in the 1890s and Blackett & South Tyne Collieries Ltd from the 1900s. ^2,1
• Employed 463 in 1902 and 34 in 1921. ²
• Worked the Little Limestone Coal. ²
• Abandoned in March 1927. (disputed) ²
• Closed in July 1927. (disputed) ¹
• Held an annual colliery picnic and sports at Haltwhistle; in 1903 it offered £40 in prizes. ³
• Earthworks of the colliery appear on air photographs, with the remains of a building and a ventilation shaft. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Blackett Colliery (Melkridge), N6759 — Keys to the Past (Northumberland HER)
2. (primary) Blackett Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Haltwhistle (Hexham Courant clipping, 11 July 1903) — The Heritage Centre, Bellingham
4. (primary) Blackett Colliery: colliery management — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 7 October 2026