MineArchiveBlackton Colliery
| Location | Baldersdale, Teesdale, County Durham — 54.5558, -2.1081 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1921–June 1927 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Butterknowle and Cockfield Coal Company (1921–1927) |
Overview
A small Baldersdale colliery in the Limestone Coal, worked by the Butterknowle and Cockfield Coal Company from 1921 to 1927 with up to 40 men, on a site where shafts, a level and a short railway of older working survive.
History
Blackton Colliery lay in Baldersdale, in upper Teesdale. There are several traces of early mining at the site: at least two shafts, a level and a short length of railway, probably of the eighteenth or nineteenth century.
The Butterknowle and Cockfield Coal Company opened the colliery in 1921, working the Limestone series with 18 people, 14 of them underground, under E. W. Williams as manager. It was standing in 1923 and closed in 1924, but was at work again in 1925 with 40, raising household coal. J. Allison was manager in 1927, when the Limestone seam was abandoned; the plan is dated 8 June 1927, and the colliery closed that month.
Geology
The Limestone series.
Workings
At least two shafts and a level, with a short length of railway.
Closure
Standing in 1923 and closed in 1924, it reopened in 1925; the Limestone seam was abandoned in June 1927.
What remains
The site has been reclaimed; traces of the shafts, level and railway remain.
At least two shafts, a level and a short length of railway.
Nearby mines
- Bowes Cross Mine — 4.4 miles (7.1 km) SE, North Yorkshire
- Lunehead Mine — 5.5 miles (8.9 km) W
- Closehouse Mine — 5.9 miles (9.5 km) NW
- Cabbish Mine — 5.9 miles (9.6 km) W, Cumbria
- Borrowdale Colliery, Brough — 6.2 miles (10.0 km) W, Cumbria
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- The Butterknowle and Cockfield Coal Company opened Blackton Colliery in 1921, with 18 people. 1,2
- Blackton Colliery employed 40 people in 1925. 1
- The Limestone seam at Blackton was abandoned in June 1927. 1,3,4
- At least two shafts, a level and a short length of railway, probably of the 18th or 19th century, survive at the Blackton site. 2,5
Photographs & further reading
The Historic Environment Record entry for the shafts, level and railway at the site.
View sourceSources
- (primary) Blackton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Blackton Colliery — North East Heritage Library (Coals Archive)
- (primary) Blackton Colliery: catalogue of plans of abandoned mines — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21905091: Blackton, Limestone, 8 June 1927 — British Geological Survey
- (secondary) Blackton Colliery, Baldersdale, Teesdale (Cotherstone), Keys to the Past D3297 — Keys to the Past (Durham and Northumberland County Councils)
Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026