Elswick Colliery

Overview

A colliery a mile and a half west of Newcastle on ground where coal was dug from at least 1293, with the Wortley Pit sunk in 1805 and the Mill Pit in 1828; it employed up to 670 in the 1930s and raised 150,000 tons in 1940.

History

Elswick, a mile and a half west of Newcastle, is among the earliest recorded coal-working sites in the north-east: men were digging for coal on Elswick moor by 1293, and in 1330 the Prior of Tynemouth let the mines. The colliery of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was open before 1828 and worked several pits: the Wortley or Engine Pit, sunk from 22 April 1805, the Mill Pit, sunk from 19 December 1828, and North Elswick Pit. The Elswick Colliery Company owned it in the 1860s and the Elswick Coal Company Ltd in the 1890s. In 1894 the North pit employed 288 people and the South pit 216. Across the colliery employment was 352 in 1915, 666 in 1923 and 670 in 1933, and output in 1940 was 150,000 tons. North Elswick Pit met the Low Main seam, 5 feet 9 inches thick, at 396 feet. On 4 May 1900 two hewers were killed in the Beaumont seam when they holed unexpectedly into old workings holding an accumulation of water.

Geology

North Elswick Pit passed the High Main seam, 6 feet thick with its base at 84 feet, the Metal Coal at 102 feet, the Stone Coal at 150 feet and the Low Main, 5 feet 9 inches thick, at 396 feet.

Workings

Three pits worked from the 1860s: the Wortley or Engine Pit, the Mill Pit and North Elswick Pit. Returns of 1894-1910 list the North and South pits separately, and the coal went for household and manufacturing use, with fireclay raised at times.

Closure

Unknown.

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.

• Men were digging for coal on Elswick moor by 1293, and the Prior of Tynemouth let the coal mines in 1330. ^1,2
• The colliery opened before 1828 and had the Wortley or Engine Pit (sunk 1805), the Mill Pit (sinking 19 December 1828) and North Elswick Pit. ^3,4
• Owned by the Elswick Colliery Company in the 1860s and the Elswick Coal Company Ltd in the 1890s. ^3,4
• Employment was 288 at the North pit and 216 at the South pit in 1894, and 666 across the colliery in 1923 and 670 in 1933. ³
• Output in 1940 was 150,000 tons. ³
• North Elswick Pit met the Low Main seam, 5 feet 9 inches thick, at 396 feet. ⁵
• On 4 May 1900 two hewers, Robert Hankinson and Thomas Watson, were killed in the Beaumont seam when a hole was made into old workings holding water. ³
• The Coal Authority holds Low Main seam plans for Elswick Colliery. ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Elswick, coal mines (HER 1367) — Tyne and Wear Historic Environment Record (Sitelines)
2. (secondary) Elswick - Co-Curate — Co-Curate (Newcastle University)
3. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Elswick Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) Elswick Colliery (HER 4098) — Tyne and Wear Historic Environment Record (Sitelines)
5. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Elswick Colliery, North Elswick Pit shaft details — Durham Mining Museum
6. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plans: ELSWICK — British Geological Survey

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 29 September 2026