Duddo Colliery

Overview

A small colliery north-east of Duddo, also called Greenlaw Walls, worked from at least the 1810s; on 8 April 1857 five men drowned there when the water of older workings broke in, and none of their bodies was recovered.

History

Duddo Colliery, also recorded as Greenlaw Walls or Greenlawalls Colliery, lay north-east of Duddo, about seven miles south-south-west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, on the turnpike road to Wooler. It was a small complex with two shafts and a few ancillary buildings. It was being let in 1814, when it belonged to John Carr of Ford, and it was later owned by Thomas Friar, Duddo's principal landowner, who also owned the nearby tile works.

The Lady Pit was sunk from about 238 feet above sea level through tills and thin limestones to the Bulman and the Cowper Eye seams, the Cowper Eye, about two and a half feet of coal, at some 210 feet. On 8 April 1857 the workings broke into a much older working nearby, the barrier between them unable to hold back the weight of water. Five men, who had been down the pit for only half an hour, were drowned, among them James and Robert Hogarth, aged 28 and 35. None of the bodies was recovered.

The heritage record finds no sign that the pit reopened after the flood, but the Mines Department returns list coal from it in 1860 and 1865, when the Scremerston and Shoreswood Coal Company was the owner. The site has since been reclaimed.

Geology

The Bulman and Cowper Eye seams, among tills and thin limestones.

Workings

Two shafts, among them the Lady Pit.

Closure

Flooded on 8 April 1857 when older workings broke in; coal is still returned for 1860 and 1865.

What remains

The site has been reclaimed.

Related mines

• Gatherick Colliery — Greenlaw Walls appears with Gatherick, Etal and Slainsfield on a single abandonment plan of 1839.

What's uncertain

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

• Coal was returned from Greenlaw Walls in 1860 and 1865, when the Scremerston and Shoreswood Coal Company owned it. (disputed) ¹
• Duddo Colliery did not reopen after the 1857 flood. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• On 8 April 1857 five men were drowned at Duddo (Greenlaw Walls) Colliery when water from a much older working broke in; none of the bodies was recovered. ^1,2,3
• Duddo Colliery belonged to John Carr of Ford in 1814 and later to Thomas Friar, Duddo's principal landowner. ³
• The Lady Pit at Greenlaw Walls reached the Cowper Eye seam, about two and a half feet thick, at some 210 feet. ⁴
• Coal was returned from Greenlaw Walls in 1860 and 1865, when the Scremerston and Shoreswood Coal Company owned it. (disputed) ¹
• Duddo Colliery did not reopen after the 1857 flood. (disputed) ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Greenlaw Walls (Duddo) Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Greenlaw Walls Colliery disaster, 8 April 1857 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Duddo Colliery — North East Heritage Library (Coals Archive)
4. (primary) Greenlawalls Colliery: section of strata in the Lady Pit — Durham Mining Museum

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