Chopwell Colliery

Overview

A Consett Iron Company coking-coal colliery on the Durham/Northumberland border, worked from several linked pits from the late 18th century to 1966 — remembered less for its coal than for its village's nickname, 'Little Moscow', earned by decades of militant, communist-leaning trade unionism.

History

Boring for coal at Chopwell began in 1781, and a deep bore-hole was put down in the Maria Pit below the Brockwell Seam in 1795; sinking followed at the Maria Pit (from 1 March 1795) and the Conclusion Pit (from 20 June 1799), with further pits added over the following century — the Taylor Pit (1798), North Pit (1800) and Pennyhill Pit (1802, closed 1940). The colliery was bought by the Consett Iron Company in 1896, which sank three further numbered pits (No.1, 1896-1960; No.2, 1906-1926; No.3, 1909-1959) to work coking and gas coal for its own iron and steel operations, drawing on the Brockwell, Five Quarter, Stone Coal, Three Quarter, Towneley, Hutton and Tilley seams across the different pits. Employment peaked at 2,235 across the three numbered pits in 1925, before contracting steadily; the colliery passed to the National Coal Board at nationalisation in 1947, and the last pit closed on 25 November 1966.

The mining village that grew up around the colliery became known nationally as 'Little Moscow' for the strength of Communist Party support among its miners' lodge, a reputation cemented by a Communist Club opened in December 1913 — financed by George Davison, the then managing director of Kodak UK — and by council housing built on streets named Marx and Lenin Terrace.

Geology

Coal of the Durham field: coking, gas, household and steam coal, and fireclay, from the Brockwell, Five Quarter, Stone Coal, Three Quarter, Towneley, Hutton and Tilley seams. A deep bore was put down below the Brockwell Seam as early as 1795.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Worked through several linked pits over nearly two centuries — Maria, Conclusion, Taylor, North and Pennyhill from the 18th and early 19th centuries, and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Pits sunk by the Consett Iron Company from 1896 — drawing coking, gas, household and steam coal, plus fireclay, from the Brockwell, Five Quarter, Stone Coal, Three Quarter, Towneley, Hutton and Tilley seams.

Closure

The last of the colliery's pits closed on 25 November 1966.

What remains

Part of the former colliery site was turned into Chopwell Meadows Nature Reserve, managed by Durham Wildlife Trust since June 2014 after transfer from Gateshead Council.

No specific surviving colliery structures are recorded; the site is now chiefly a nature reserve.

Related mines

• Garesfield Colliery — The Garesfield Wagonway was extended to Chopwell in 1891 and the Bute Pit at Chopwell belonged to Garesfield Colliery; both passed to the Consett Iron Company.

Culture

• Durham Miners' Gala (Labour)
  Chopwell's 1955 lodge banner, carrying Marx and Lenin, is the best-known political banner of the Gala.

Recorded claims

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

• Boring for coal at Chopwell began in 1781; the Maria Pit was sunk from 1795 and the Conclusion Pit from 1799, followed by the Taylor (1798), North (1800) and Pennyhill (1802) Pits. ¹
• The colliery was bought by the Consett Iron Company in 1896, which sank Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Pits to work coking and gas coal for its own iron and steel operations. ^2,1
• Employment across the three numbered pits peaked at 2,235 in 1925, having reached 2,185 in 1921. ¹
• The village became known as 'Little Moscow' for the strength of Communist Party support among its miners, cemented by a Communist Club opened in December 1913, financed by Kodak UK's managing director George Davison, and by council housing built on streets named Marx and Lenin Terrace. ²
• The last pit closed on 25 November 1966; part of the site later became Chopwell Meadows Nature Reserve, managed by Durham Wildlife Trust since June 2014. ²
• Located at about 54.921 N, 1.823 W. ²

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Chopwell Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Chopwell Colliery — Wikipedia

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026