Handen Hold Colliery

Overview

The Joiceys' pit at West Pelton, begun as a staple to the Hutton seam in 1857 and reopened with a Busty pit in 1910, which outlived the older West Pelton Colliery by almost half a century; three men were killed by one fall of stone in 1932, and it closed in 1968.

History

West Pelton grew up in the mid-nineteenth century around West Pelton Colliery, opened by James Joicey and Company about 1858, and in 1857 a six-foot staple was put down from the surface to the Hutton seam at Handen Hold. Handen Hold is recorded as a colliery from 1860, owned by Sir James Joicey and Company; in 1894 the 'Hand-in-Hold' pit was working the Low Main seam at 54 fathoms, with 263 men. It grew to 707 by 1910, when the old Handen Hold pit was reopened; the Five Quarter, Main, Maudlin, Low Main and Hutton seams were abandoned that year and a Busty pit took over most of the work, the two employing 769 in 1925. West Pelton Colliery itself was abandoned in 1921. On 19 February 1932 a fall of stone killed two hewers, William Gamble and John Shepherd, and a putter, Thomas Hall. Lambton, Hetton and Joicey Collieries owned the pit in the 1940s, and after nationalisation it worked the Busty, Five Quarter, Shield Row, Tilley and later the Brockwell seams, employing nearly 500 in 1964. Photographs of the 1950s show pit ponies still at work. It closed on 1 March 1968.

Geology

Durham Coal Measures: the Hutton and Low Main in the nineteenth century, then the Busty, Beaumont, Five Quarter, Shield Row, Tilley and Brockwell.

Workings

The Six Feet Staple (1857) and the reopened Handen Hold pit, with a Busty pit from about 1915.

Closure

Closed on 1 March 1968.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Urpeth Colliery — 2.1 km NE
• Pelton Colliery — 2.2 km SE
• Beamish Colliery — 2.4 km NW
• Craghead Colliery — 2.9 km SW
• Edmondsley Colliery — 3.6 km S

Straight-line distance, within 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.

• Handen Hold Colliery, West Pelton: opened 1860, closed 1 March 1968; owners Sir James Joicey & Co. Ltd, Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Collieries Ltd (1940s), NCB 1947; employment 263 in 1894, 707 in 1910, 769 in 1925, 491 in 1964. ¹
• In 1857 a 6 ft staple was put down from the surface to the Hutton seam at Handen Hold, West Pelton Colliery; West Pelton Colliery was abandoned in 1921. ²
• William H. Gamble, 30, hewer, Thomas Hall, 19, putter, and John Shepherd, 40, hewer, were killed by a fall of stone on 19 February 1932. ¹
• A photograph taken by James Rutter between 1954 and 1958 shows Martin Lowe with the pit pony Dutton at Handen Hold Colliery. ³
• West Pelton developed with coal mining in the mid-nineteenth century; West Pelton Colliery opened c.1858. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum - Handen Hold Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum - West Pelton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) Handen Hold Colliery, pit pony (M2595) - Durham Record — Durham County Council (Durham Record)
4. (secondary) West Pelton | Co-Curate — Co-Curate, Newcastle University

Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026