Bomarsund Colliery

Overview

A mid-Northumberland colliery, officially Bedlington 'F' Pit, sunk in 1854 and named for that year's Crimean War battle at the fortress of Bomarsund; the pit village it created survives, its site now a business and nature park.

History

The colliery was sunk in 1854 as part of the wider Bedlington Colliery concern -- initially developed from the earlier Barrington Colliery -- and named Bomarsund to mark the Royal Navy's capture that August of the fortress of Bomarsund, on the Åland Islands, during the Crimean War. Officially designated Bedlington 'F' Pit, it was generally known locally simply as Bomarsund, and gave its name to the terraced housing built beside it for miners and their families, which grew into the present-day village. The pit was one of three major mid-Northumberland collieries, alongside Ashington and Choppington, and closed on 23 October 1965.

Workings

No reliable detail on the pit's own individual underground workings has yet been located, beyond its position as one shaft ('F Pit') within the wider Bedlington Colliery concern.

Closure

Closed on 23 October 1965.

What remains

No colliery structures survive; the site is now home to Bomarsund Farm and Earth Balance, a business park promoting sustainable development, built around a small lake.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

• The pit was named Bomarsund to mark the August 1854 capture of the fortress of that name in the Åland Islands during the Crimean War, and was officially designated Bedlington 'F' Pit. ¹
• The former colliery site is now home to Bomarsund Farm and Earth Balance, a sustainable-development business park built around a small lake, alongside a former brewery site and a 1922 War Memorial Hall. ²
• Bomarsund was one of three major mid-Northumberland collieries, alongside Ashington and Choppington. ¹

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (secondary) Bomarsund, Northumberland — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Bomarsund, Northumberland — Co-Curate (Newcastle University)

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026