Brusselton Tower Drift

Overview

A small private drift mine beside the old Brusselton Quarry near West Auckland, worked from 1925 to 1968 and leased out by the National Coal Board after nationalisation.

History

Brusselton Tower Drift lay near West Auckland, beside the old Brusselton Quarry, and opened in 1925. In the 1930s it belonged to the Brusselton Tower Coal Company. From the main site a tramway ran across Brusselton Wood to a north mine near Brusselton Farm, and a third mine to the east appears to have been connected underground. An electric fan on the surface ventilated the workings.

It was always small, never employing more than about thirty people. In 1940 it raised 10,000 tons of household and steam coal with 25 men from the Busty and Harvey seams. Its Brockwell seam was abandoned in September 1947. It went on to the Beaumont and Busty, added the Hutton by 1955, and worked the Hutton alone from 1960. In February 1944 William Henning, aged 48, died of injuries from the explosion of a shot.

Nationalisation did not end its private working: the National Coal Board leased it to Walter Johnson and George Jackson in the 1950s and 1960s. Employment fell from 30 in 1955 to 11 in 1965, the Hutton workings, including the No. 2 mine, were abandoned in 1967, and the drift closed in 1968.

Geology

Durham coal measures: the Busty, Harvey, Beaumont, Hutton and Brockwell seams.

Workings

Drift mines: the main site by Brusselton Quarry, a north mine near Brusselton Farm reached by a tramway across Brusselton Wood, and an eastern mine apparently connected underground; ventilated by a surface electric fan.

Closure

The Brockwell seam was abandoned in September 1947, the Busty in 1954 and the Hutton, with the No. 2 mine, in 1967; the drift closed in 1968.

What remains

Nothing of the drift survives above ground except a visible boundary at the main southern site.

A visible boundary at the main southern site.

Recorded claims

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

• Brusselton Tower Drift opened in 1925 and closed in 1968. ^1,2
• After nationalisation the National Coal Board leased the drift to Walter Johnson and George Jackson in the 1950s and 1960s. ²
• In 1940 it raised 10,000 tons of household and steam coal with 25 men from the Busty and Harvey seams. ¹
• A tramway ran from the main site beside Brusselton Quarry across Brusselton Wood to a north mine near Brusselton Farm. ²
• The Hutton seam workings, including Brusselton Tower No. 2, were abandoned in 1967. ³
• The Brockwell seam was abandoned in September 1947. ¹

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Brusselton Tower Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Brusselton Tower Drift — North East Heritage Library
3. (primary) BGS mine plan D1229: BRUSSELTON TOWER (including Brusselton Tower No 2), Hutton, abandoned 1967 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026