MineArchiveBrusselton Colliery
| Location | Brusselton, near West Auckland, County Durham — 54.6193, -1.6802 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1834–1968 |
| Maximum depth | 493 feet (shaft section) |
| Operators | Brusselton Colliery Co. Ltd (?–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1968), Bolckow, Vaughan and Company, Thomas Walton |
Overview
A colliery near West Auckland where boring began in 1834. Bolckow, Vaughan worked it in the 1900s and Thomas Walton's Brusselton Colliery Company from the 1920s; it grew again under the National Coal Board and closed on 7 June 1968.
History
Boring began at Brusselton, near West Auckland, in 1834, and the shaft was sunk to about 493 feet. In the 1900s the colliery belonged to Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. Ltd, employing 232 in 1902 and 318 in 1905 in the Brockwell and Busty, with the Harvey by 1910. In the 1920s it passed to Thomas Walton, who worked it as the Brusselton Colliery Company, a limited company by the 1930s. It was very small in the mid-1920s, eleven men in 1925 working the Beaumont, and grew through the 1930s to 120 in 1940.
The National Coal Board took it over in 1947 with 138 men and enlarged it: 258 in 1950, 317 in 1955 and 366 in 1960, working the Beaumont, Busty, Hutton and Low Main, and pithead baths were opened in March 1956. By 1964 it was in the Top and Bottom Busty and the Tilley with 361 men. The colliery closed on 7 June 1968.
Geology
Durham Coal Measures: the Brockwell, Busty (Top and Bottom), Harvey, Beaumont, Hutton, Low Main and Tilley.
Workings
A shaft of about 493 feet; pithead baths (1956).
Closure
Closed on 7 June 1968.
What remains
Unknown.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Nearby mines
- Woodhouse Close Colliery — 2.1 miles (3.3 km) N
- Auckland Park Colliery — 2.6 miles (4.1 km) NE
- Eldon Colliery — 2.8 miles (4.4 km) NE
- Middridge Colliery — 2.8 miles (4.4 km) E
- Randolph Colliery, Evenwood — 3.1 miles (5.0 km) W
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.
- Boring operations were begun at Brusselton in 1834. 1
- Under the National Coal Board the workforce grew from 138 in 1947 to 366 in 1960. 1
- Brusselton Colliery's pithead baths were opened in March 1956. 2
- The colliery closed on 7 June 1968. 1,3
Photographs & further reading
Owners, employment, seams and those killed at the colliery.
View sourceThe NCB years in the south-west Durham coalfield.
View sourceSources
- (primary) Brusselton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Nationalisation — Evenwood and Ramshaw District History Society
- (primary) Brusselton Colliery: shaft details — Durham Mining Museum
Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026