Brandon Colliery

Overview

Strakers and Love's colliery at Brandon, south-west of Durham, sunk from 1856, which turned its Busty and Brockwell coal into the best quality coke, made sanitary pipes and firebricks, employed over 1,500 by 1910 and closed in 1968.

History

Brandon grew from a small village into a large mining township in the second half of the 19th century. The Newcastle firm of Strakers and Love obtained the site of Brandon Colliery and sank its A shaft in 1856 and its C Pit in 1860; the Durham Mining Museum also records a sinking at Brandon in October 1842, a new winning to the Hutton seam in 1857 and a sinking from the Hutton to the Main Coal in 1869. In the 1890s the colliery worked three seams — the Hutton at 26 fathoms for gas coal and the Busty at 68 and Brockwell at 90 fathoms for the best quality coke — from three drawing shafts, ventilated by a 45-foot Waddle fan and a 35-foot Guibal. It had a large bank of coke ovens and an extensive sanitary pipe, firebrick and fancy ware works, and employed 1,150 men and boys. On 15 August 1899 an explosion in the Brockwell seam, in broken pillar workings called the Jubilee way about a mile and a half from the shaft, killed six men (see Disasters, below). Two died from the blast and four later from pneumonia following their burns; the jury found that natural gas had been ignited by flame passing from a shot hole into an old headway. Employment peaked at 1,548 in 1910. Strakers and Love became a limited company in 1927, and the colliery passed to the National Coal Board in 1947. It closed on 15 March 1968, ending coal mining in the parish.

Geology

The Hutton (2 feet 10 inches, at 26 fathoms), Busty (variable, at 68 fathoms) and Brockwell (2 feet 10 inches, at 90 fathoms) seams, with the Main Coal and Three Quarter; the Hutton gave gas coal and the lower seams coking coal.

Workings

The A, B, C and Appleby pits, three of them drawing shafts in the 1890s, ventilated by a 45-foot Waddle fan (Brockwell) and a 35-foot Guibal fan (Hutton and Busty); coke ovens and a sanitary pipe and firebrick works stood at the colliery.

Closure

Closed on 15 March 1968; the Three Quarter and Brockwell seams had been discontinued by 1950.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Related mines

• Brancepeth Colliery — Both Strakers and Love collieries; NMRS names Brandon among the firm's group of west Durham pits in 1896.

Nearby mines

• Littleburn Colliery — 1.0 km SE
• Bearpark Colliery — 3.4 km N
• Tudhoe Whinstone Mine — 4.3 km SE
• Page Bank Colliery — 4.9 km S
• Tudhoe Colliery — 4.9 km SE

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

People

• William Carr · victim, 1899 — Deputy overman in charge of the district, aged 39, killed in the 1899 explosion.

What's uncertain

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

• DMM also records that Brandon Colliery was sunk in October 1842, before its 1856 opening date. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Strakers and Love sank the A shaft at Brandon in 1856 and the C Pit in 1860. ^1,2
• DMM also records that Brandon Colliery was sunk in October 1842, before its 1856 opening date. (uncertain) ¹
• In the 1890s the colliery worked the Hutton, Busty and Brockwell seams, made coke, sanitary pipes and firebricks, and employed 1,150 men and boys. ^1,2
• On 15 August 1899 an explosion in the Brockwell seam killed six; the jury found natural gas was ignited by flame from a shot hole passing into an old headway. ^1,3
• Brandon Colliery closed on 15 March 1968, and coal mining in the parish ended that year. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Brandon Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Brandon and Byshottles Parish History — Brandon and Byshottles Parish Council
3. (secondary) Brandon Colliery Explosion – Brandon – 1899 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026