Clockburn Drift

Overview

A two-mile drift at Winlaton Mill, on the south bank of the Derwent, that joined the workings of Marley Hill Colliery underground and brought their coal out by narrow-gauge railway. Opened in 1952, it fed Derwenthaugh Coke Works and the Tyne staiths until it closed in March 1983.

History

Clockburn Drift was a drift tunnel about two miles long at Winlaton Mill, on the south bank of the River Derwent, driven to connect underground with the workings of Marley Hill Colliery and bring their coal out to the Derwent valley. It opened in 1952 by most accounts, though one history of the Derwent's bridges dates the drift tunnel, and the railway bridge built with it, to 1948. Diesel-hauled sets of tubs ran through it on a 3 ft 6 in gauge line and, on leaving the drift, crossed the Derwent on a bridge just upstream of the Butterfly Bridge. At Clockburn the coal was screened and washed and transferred to standard-gauge wagons, going either to Derwenthaugh Coke Works or to Derwenthaugh Staiths at the mouth of the Derwent.

The drift made its own returns in the mid-1950s, raising coking coal from the Brockwell, Busty, Three Quarter, Tilley and Towneley seams and employing 104 people in 1955 and 165 in 1957. Its workings reached under Hollinside and Gibside, into the remaining reserves of Axwell Park Colliery, which closed in 1954; Axwell Park's Hollinside Shaft was kept as a ventilation shaft for the drift workings, and the National Coal Board installed a fan there. The drift closed in March 1983, the year Marley Hill itself closed. Spoil from the drift had covered much of the land around the coke works, which closed in 1986; the whole area has since been cleaned up and landscaped as Derwenthaugh Park.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the Brockwell, Busty, Three Quarter, Tilley and Towneley seams, worked for coking coal.

Workings

A drift about two miles long joining the Marley Hill workings, with a 3 ft 6 in gauge railway and a bridge over the Derwent; the Hollinside Shaft, formerly Axwell Park Colliery's, used for ventilation.

Closure

Closed in March 1983, the year Marley Hill Colliery closed.

What remains

The drift entrance is buried and the surrounding land landscaped as Derwenthaugh Park; iron-stained water issues from the ground above the entrance, the drift still draining the old workings.

An airlock over the backfilled Hollinside ventilation shaft, near Whickham.

Redevelopment

Derwenthaugh Park, on land landscaped after the coke works closed in 1986.

Related mines

• Marley Hill Colliery — Clockburn Drift joined Marley Hill's workings underground and carried its coal out to the Derwent from 1952 until both closed in 1983.

What's uncertain

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

• The two-mile drift tunnel and its railway bridge over the Derwent opened in 1948. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• Clockburn Drift was a two-mile drift mine with a 3 ft 6 in gauge railway linked to Marley Hill Colliery, opened in 1952 and closed in 1983. ^1,2,3
• The two-mile drift tunnel and its railway bridge over the Derwent opened in 1948. (disputed) ⁴
• The tubs crossed the Derwent on a bridge just upstream of the Butterfly Bridge, and the coal was screened and washed and taken to Derwenthaugh Staiths or Derwenthaugh Coke Works. ^2,5,4
• In the mid-1950s the drift raised coking coal from the Brockwell, Busty, Three Quarter, Tilley and Towneley seams and employed 104 people in 1955 and 165 in 1957. ¹
• Axwell Park Colliery's Hollinside Shaft served as a ventilation shaft for the drift workings after that colliery closed in 1954, with a fan installed by the National Coal Board. ²
• Land around Derwenthaugh Coke Works was covered in spoil from the Clockburn Drift; after the works closed in 1986 it was cleaned up and landscaped as Derwenthaugh Park. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Clockburn Drift — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Marley Hill — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Clockburn Drift Mine — Winlaton & District Local History Society
4. (secondary) Bridges on the Derwent: former bridges and fords — Bridges on the Tyne
5. (secondary) Derwenthaugh Coke Works — Wikipedia

Record created: 5 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026