Dewley Pits

Overview

A scheduled group of late 18th- and 19th-century colliery shaft mounds, spoil heaps and waggonway embankments south-west of Black Callerton, worked from the 17th century and the workplace of George Stephenson early in his career.

History

The Dewley Pits lie about 650 metres south-west of the hamlet of Black Callerton, some three and a half kilometres south of Ponteland. Coal was being worked there by the 17th century, and the pits were still worked into the 19th century, when George Stephenson worked at them early in his career.

What survives is a well-defined group of late 18th- and 19th-century shaft mounds with the remains of their transport system. The largest is the Lady Pit, south of Broom Hall, worked in the later 18th and early 19th centuries: a sub-circular shaft mound about 50 metres by 40, with a waggonway embankment running north-south to its west and joined to it by two short branches. To the east, four widely spaced shaft mounds run north-east to south-west, at least three of them once linked by a waggonway whose line a public footpath now follows. They include the Engine Pit by Stamfordham Road, about 50 metres by 40, the Andrew Pit with its spoil heap, and the mound of the pit formerly known as the Brass Pit.

The mounds and waggonways overlie ridge and furrow from the farming that came before them. The site is a scheduled monument because it shows the change from small, low-investment workings to the larger, more capital-intensive collieries that emerged in the late 18th century, a transition that is rare nationally.

Geology

Coal; the seams worked are not recorded.

Workings

Dispersed shafts including the Lady Pit, Engine Pit, Andrew Pit and Brass Pit, linked by waggonways.

Closure

Worked into the 19th century; a closing date is not recorded.

What remains

A scheduled monument of shaft mounds, spoil heaps and waggonway earthworks set in farmland, over ridge and furrow.

Shaft mounds and spoil heaps, a waggonway embankment with two branch lines, and ridge and furrow beneath.

Recorded claims

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

• The Dewley Pits were worked into the 19th century and were the workplace of George Stephenson early in his career. ^1,2
• Coal extraction at the Dewley Pits had begun by the 17th century. ^1,2
• The Lady Pit at Dewley, worked in the later 18th and early 19th centuries, survives as a shaft mound about 50 by 40 metres with a waggonway embankment and two branch lines. ^1,2
• The Engine Pit mound at Dewley, by Stamfordham Road, measures about 50 by 40 metres. ^3,2
• Dewley Pits is scheduled as a rare example of the transition from small, low-investment mining to the capital-intensive collieries of the late 18th century. ^4,2
• The shaft mound and spoil heap of the pit formerly known as the Brass Pit survive at Dewley. ^5,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Dewley Pits, Lady Pit (HER 3976) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
2. (secondary) Dewley Pits, SW of Black Callerton — Co-Curate (Newcastle University)
3. (secondary) Dewley Pits, Engine Pit Number 2 (HER 3981) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
4. (secondary) Dewley Pits, Andrew Pit (HER 3979) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
5. (secondary) Dewley Pits, Brass Pit (HER 3980) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)

Record created: 22 October 2026 · Last researched: 22 October 2026