Eshott Colliery

Overview

A small colliery at Eshott, near Felton, with a steam pumping engine and a winding engine; a printed notice advertised it as working early in the nineteenth century, it produced coal in 1860, and it was extinct by the 1890s.

History

Eshott Colliery lay at Eshott, near Acklington and Felton, about ten miles south of Alnwick, in Thirston parish. A printed notice told the public that 'The Colliery at Eshott, near Felton, is now working' and could supply coal of excellent quality in quantity at a moderate price; it is dated 1803, though its printer is found at work in the 1820s. The historic environment record puts the start of mining at the colliery in the late 1840s or early 1850s.

It had a steam engine to pump water from the shafts and a winding engine to raise the men and the coal. Coal was returned there in 1860, and John Thompson, a miner of 24, was killed falling down the shaft on 12 February 1864. The first edition Ordnance Survey shows a coal shaft here and, separately, another colliery by the Eshott Burn, and the Name Books record the small rows near Eshott Hall as occupied by pitmen. By the 1890s the workings were extinct, and only the original coal shaft remained. Nothing is to be seen today.

Geology

Unknown.

Workings

Shafts, with a steam pumping engine and a winding engine.

Closure

The workings were extinct by the 1890s, leaving the original coal shaft.

What remains

There are no remains to be seen.

None.

What's uncertain

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

• A printed notice, dated 1803 by its seller, advertised the colliery at Eshott, near Felton, as now working. (uncertain) ¹
• Mining at Eshott Colliery probably began in the late 1840s or early 1850s. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• A printed notice, dated 1803 by its seller, advertised the colliery at Eshott, near Felton, as now working. (uncertain) ¹
• Mining at Eshott Colliery probably began in the late 1840s or early 1850s. (disputed) ^1,2
• Eshott Colliery had a steam pumping engine and a winding engine. ^1,2
• John Thompson, a miner of 24, was killed falling down the shaft at Eshott on 12 February 1864. ³
• By the 1890s Eshott's workings were extinct, leaving only the original coal shaft. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Eshott Colliery — North East Heritage Library (Coals Archive)
2. (secondary) Eshott Colliery (Thirston), Keys to the Past N11879 — Keys to the Past (Durham and Northumberland County Councils)
3. (primary) Eshott Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026