Delves Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Delves, south of Consett, first worked in 1847 as the Latter Day Saints pit, after the Mormons who worked it. Under the Consett Iron Company it supplied coal and fireclay to the works; the Saints Pit closed in 1913 and the Victory Pit worked from 1921 to 1963.

History

The Delves area, marked 'Delfts' on the maps of the 1850s, took its name from old workings, and there were quarries there as well as a colliery. Delves Colliery was first worked in 1847 as the Latter Day Saints pit, so called because Mormons first worked it; the name was shortened to the Saints Pit. By the 1880s it belonged to the Consett Iron Company. In 1894 it was worked by a shaft 130 feet deep to the Busty seam, 4 feet of good coal divided by a variable band, and a good seam of fireclay was worked with it, from which large quantities of brick were made for the iron works; 123 hands raised about 100 tons a day, and the waste heat of 26 coke ovens worked the colliery. The shaft was sunk on to the Brockwell, reached at 220 feet.

The workforce grew from 132 in 1894 to 423 in 1910, working the Brockwell, Busty and Three Quarter seams, and the Delves brickworks used its clay. The Saints Pit was closed temporarily in 1915 and is recorded as closed in September 1913. A new Victory Pit was opened in 1921 and worked until 1963, again supplying the Consett Iron Company with coal and the Delves brick works with clay.

Geology

Durham Coal Measures: the Busty (4 feet with a band), the Brockwell and the Three Quarter, with a good fireclay seam worked alongside the Busty.

Workings

The Saints Pit (1847), worked by a 130-foot shaft to the Busty in 1894; 26 coke ovens; the Victory Pit (1921-63).

Closure

The Saints Pit closed in 1913; the Victory Pit worked from 1921 to 1963.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• Delves Colliery was first worked in 1847 as the Latter Day Saints pit, named because Mormons first worked it. ^1,2
• In 1894 the pit was worked by a 130-foot shaft to the Busty, with a fireclay seam used for bricks for the iron works; 123 hands raised about 100 tons a day. ¹
• The Saints Pit closed in 1913; the Victory Pit opened in 1921 and closed in 1963. ^1,2
• The Delves area, 'Delfts' on the 1850s map, had quarries, a colliery and a brick works. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Delves Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Delves Lane — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Settlement Character Study: Consett — Durham County Council

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026