MineArchiveGoatstones Colliery
| Also known as | Gatestones Colliery |
|---|---|
| Location | Simonburn parish, north-west of Hexham, Northumberland — 55.0661, -2.2450 (approximate) |
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | By 1882–16 May 1932 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Rev. J. Allgood, R. L. Allgood, G. H. Allgood |
Overview
A small landsale colliery in Simonburn parish, north-west of Hexham, which worked the Cowden or Little Limestone Coal with four to eleven men from the 1880s until it was abandoned on 16 May 1932.
History
Goatstones Colliery, also recorded as Gatestones Colliery, lay in the parish of Simonburn, about eight and a half miles north-west of Hexham. It appears in the mines lists from 1882, when it raised landsale coal under John Hall as manager, and it went on raising household coal for local sale into the 1930s.
The Rev. J. Allgood owned it in the 1890s, and R. L. Allgood and G. H. Allgood in the 1910s. It was always a very small pit: eleven men in 1894, ten of them underground, and four or five in every return after that. F. Morrison, who held no manager's certificate, is listed as its manager in every return from 1894 to 1930. The seam was the Cowden, also called the Little Limestone Coal. The Cowden was abandoned on 16 May 1932 and the plan deposited the same year; the site has since been reclaimed.
Geology
The Cowden seam, also called the Little Limestone Coal.
Workings
Unknown.
Closure
The Cowden seam was abandoned on 16 May 1932.
What remains
The site has been reclaimed.
Nearby mines
- Keepershields Quarry — 3.4 miles (5.5 km) E
- Stonecroft and Greyside Mine — 3.6 miles (5.7 km) S
- Sutty Row Colliery — 4.1 miles (6.6 km) NE
- Barrasford Quarry — 4.2 miles (6.8 km) E
- Gunnerton Quarry — 4.6 miles (7.3 km) E
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Goatstones was owned by the Rev. J. Allgood in the 1890s and by R. L. Allgood and G. H. Allgood in the 1910s. 1,2
- Goatstones employed eleven men in 1894 and four or five in each return from 1896 to 1930. 1
- F. Morrison, without a manager's certificate, was listed as manager of Goatstones from 1894 to 1930. 3
- The Cowden seam at Goatstones was abandoned on 16 May 1932. 1,4,5
- The Goatstones Colliery site has been reclaimed. 2
Photographs & further reading
Coals Archive record: the colliery's alternative name, owners, closure and reclaimed site.
View sourceSources
- (primary) Goatstones Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Goatstones Colliery — North East Heritage Library (Coals Archive)
- (primary) Goatstones Colliery: colliery management — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) Goatstones Colliery: catalogue of plans of abandoned mines — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21944268: Goatstones, Cowden seam, abandoned 16 May 1932 — British Geological Survey
Record created: 22 October 2026 · Last researched: 22 October 2026