Greenhead Colliery, Harperley

Location	Harperley, North Bedburn, County Durham — 54.7031, -1.7742 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1860s–24 May 1907
Maximum depth	About 190 feet (shaft section to below the Main Coal)
Operators	Snowden & Kellett (1860–?), Christopher Wilkinson (1880–?), J. H. Coulson (1890–?), Thomas Finley & Wilkinson (1900–1907)

Overview

A small colliery at Harperley in North Bedburn parish, west of Durham, worked from the 1860s by a succession of small owners. Its Main Coal lay at 183 feet, and its last workings were abandoned on 24 May 1907.

History

Greenhead Colliery lay at Harperley, in the parish of North Bedburn, nine and a half miles west-south-west of Durham. Its shaft section, shared with Abbot's Close Colliery, passed the Yard seam at 34 feet, the Five Quarter at 86, the Busty at 132 and the Main Coal, 6 feet 11 inches thick, at 183 feet. Snowden & Kellett held it in the 1860s, Christopher Wilkinson in the 1880s and J. H. Coulson in the 1890s, with Thomas Finley & Wilkinson in the 1900s. Its managers included C. Wilkinson in 1882, Isaac Forster in 1896 and Thomas Finley in 1900.

It was a small pit, employing 13 people in 1896, 6 in 1900, 4 in 1902 and 16 in 1905, raising manufacturing and then household coal. Its Yard and Main workings, planned with Bitchburn and Abbot's Close, were abandoned in April 1877. The Main, Busty and Five Quarter followed on 31 March 1899, because they were no longer profitable, and the Main or Brockwell on 24 May 1907. Two deaths are recorded: Thomas Hunter, a 15-year-old putter crushed by a tub in October 1868, and the hewer Patrick Pender, buried by a fall of roof in April 1906.

Geology

Durham Coal Measures: the Yard at 34 feet, Ballarat at 66, Five Quarter at 86, Busty at 132 and the Main Coal (Brockwell), 6 feet 11 inches, at 183 feet.

Workings

A shaft through the Yard, Five Quarter and Busty to the Main Coal, worked with Abbot's Close; its workings were planned with Bitchburn and Abbot's Close.

Closure

Yard and Main abandoned in April 1877; Main, Busty and Five Quarter on 31 March 1899 as no longer profitable; Main or Brockwell on 24 May 1907.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Woodifield Colliery — 1.0 miles (1.6 km) NE
Roddymoor Colliery — 1.6 miles (2.5 km) N
Witton Park Colliery — 2.6 miles (4.2 km) SE
Willington Colliery — 3.1 miles (5.0 km) E
Houseslip Mine — 3.2 miles (5.2 km) NW

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.

The shaft section reached the Main Coal, 6 feet 11 inches thick, at 183 feet. ¹
Owners ran from Snowden & Kellett in the 1860s to Thomas Finley & Wilkinson in the 1900s. ²
Employed 13 in 1896, 6 in 1900, 4 in 1902 and 16 in 1905. ²
Main, Busty and Five Quarter abandoned 31 March 1899 as not profitable to work. ^3,4
The Main or Brockwell was abandoned on 24 May 1907. ^2,3,5

Photographs & further reading

Greenhead Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) (reference)

Owners, output, employment, managers, shaft section, abandonments and those killed.

View source

Sources

(primary) Greenhead Colliery - Shaft Details — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Greenhead Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Greenhead Colliery - Abandoned Mines — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Mine plan: Greenhead, Main and Busty or Five Quarter — British Geological Survey
(primary) Mine plan: Greenhead, Brockwell or Main — British Geological Survey

Record created: 12 September 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026