MineArchiveHarbour House Drift
| Also known as | Cocken Drift |
|---|---|
| Location | Low Cocken, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham — 54.8193, -1.5603 (approximate) |
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1938–April 1957 or April 1958 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Finchale Coal Co. Ltd (1938–1946), National Coal Board (1947–1958) |
Overview
A Brass Thill drift at Low Cocken, near Chester-le-Street, also called Cocken Drift, worked by the Finchale Coal Company from about 1938 and by the National Coal Board until it closed in 1957 or 1958.
History
Harbour House Drift, also called Cocken Drift, lay at Low Cocken near Chester-le-Street, about three miles north-north-east of Durham, close to the site of the 19th-century Cocken Colliery. The Northern Mine Research Society's list dates the Cocken Drift from 1938 and counts it as part of Harbour House.
It was worked by the Finchale Coal Company in the Brass Thill seam, raising coking, gas, household and steam coal; in 1944 it employed 176 people under T. R. Smith, who managed it until 1952. The National Coal Board took it over in 1947, when 170 worked there and it raised 40,000 tons.
Employment rose to 363 in 1950 but fell to 247 in 1953 and to 87 by 1955. The Low Main workings of the Cocken Drift were abandoned in 1956 and the Brass Thill at Harbour House in 1958. The Durham Mining Museum gives the closure as April 1957; the Northern Mine Research Society gives April 1958.
Geology
The Brass Thill seam, with Low Main workings at the Cocken Drift.
Workings
A drift into the Brass Thill seam at Low Cocken.
Closure
The Low Main workings were abandoned in 1956 and the Brass Thill in 1958; the closure is given as April 1957 by one source and April 1958 by another.
What remains
Unknown.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Related mines
- Cocken Colliery — A 20th-century drift at Low Cocken near the site of the Lambton family's 19th-century Cocken Colliery; kept as two records.
Nearby mines
- Cocken Colliery — 0.8 miles (1.4 km) E
- Kimblesworth Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.2 km) W
- Frankland Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.3 km) SE
- Brasside Colliery — 1.6 miles (2.6 km) SE
- Framwellgate Moor Colliery — 1.6 miles (2.6 km) SW
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
What's uncertain
Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.
- Closed in April 1957. (uncertain) 2
- Closed in April 1958; the Brass Thill was abandoned in 1958. (uncertain) 1,5
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- The Cocken Drift dates from 1938 and was part of Harbour House. 1
- Employed 176 people in 1944, working the Brass Thill. 2
- Employed 363 people in 1950. 2
- T. R. Smith was manager from 1944 to 1952. 3
- The Low Main workings of the Cocken Drift were abandoned in 1956. 4
- Closed in April 1957. (uncertain) 2
- Closed in April 1958; the Brass Thill was abandoned in 1958. (uncertain) 1,5
Photographs & further reading
Sources
- (secondary) NCB Collieries - England (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
- (primary) Cocken Drift (Harbour House Drift) — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) Cocken Drift: Colliery Management (prior to 1970) — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) Cocken Drift Mine Plans (Mining Remediation Authority plan D551, Low Main, 1956) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
- (primary) Harbour House Mine Plans (Mining Remediation Authority plan D621, Brass Thill, 1958) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
Record created: 9 October 2026 · Last researched: 9 October 2026