Hauxley Colliery

Overview

A new pit sunk in 1926 at the northern edge of the Northumberland coalfield, near Amble, to win coal under the sea. Colliery Engineering described it in May 1931 as one of the most highly mechanised mines in the country: unencumbered by older workings, Broomhill Collieries laid it out on modern lines with generous shaft sidings, arched steel girder roadways and electric cables carried on clips. It worked the Albert, Bottom, Duke, Princess, Queen and Radcliffe seams, gave up the Bensham in 1946, and closed on 26 November 1966.

History

Hauxley was the newest of the Broomhill Collieries group, whose royalties of about 6,000 acres lay at the extreme north of the Northumberland coalfield, bounded on the north by the Hauxley Fault. The shaft was sunk in 1926, about a mile north of Newburgh, to develop coal under the sea. Colliery Engineering devoted an article to the group in May 1931, and singled out Hauxley: being a new pit, unencumbered by the dictates of expediency that confront managers taking over older workings, it had been possible to develop it on the best modern lines, with generously proportioned shaft sidings, roads carried on arched steel girders and electric cables suspended from the girders on purpose-made clips. The returns record steam coal from 1930 and household coal as well from 1935, with fireclay and later clay raised alongside; the colliery worked the Albert, Bottom, Duke, Princess, Queen and Radcliffe seams in 1930, and the Bensham seam was discontinued on 3 August 1946. Broomhill Collieries Limited held the colliery until nationalisation, when it passed to the National Coal Board; output in 1947 was 54,000 tons. Hauxley closed on 26 November 1966. The Durham Mining Museum names 16 men killed there and records no disaster of five or more.

Geology

The northern edge of the Northumberland coalfield, bounded by the Hauxley Fault with a supposed upthrow of about 140 feet, the workings driven out under the sea. The Albert, Bottom, Duke, Princess, Queen and Radcliffe seams were worked, with the Bensham given up in 1946.

Geological setting: Faults and Fractures (historical documentary reference), Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

A shaft sunk in 1926 about a mile north of Newburgh to reach undersea coal, laid out from the start on mechanised lines: wide shaft sidings, roadways carried on arched steel girders and electric cables clipped to the girder flanges.

Closure

The National Coal Board closed Hauxley on 26 November 1966, forty years after the shaft was sunk.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Shilbottle Colliery — 8.2 km NW
• Widdrington Colliery — 8.7 km SW
• Whittle Colliery — 11.1 km W
• Ellington Colliery — 11.6 km S
• Longhoughton Quarry — 13.0 km NW

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.

• The Hauxley shaft was sunk in 1926, about a mile north of Newburgh, to develop coal under the sea at the northern edge of the Northumberland coalfield. ^1,2
• Colliery Engineering reported in May 1931 that, being a new pit unencumbered by older workings, Hauxley had been developed on the best modern lines, with generous shaft sidings, roads carried on arched steel girders and electric cables suspended from the girders on special clips. ²
• The Broomhill royalties covered about 6,000 acres at the extreme north of the coalfield and were bounded on the north by the Hauxley Fault, supposed to have an upthrow of about 140 feet. ²
• The colliery worked the Albert, Bottom, Duke, Princess, Queen and Radcliffe seams in 1930 and gave up the Bensham seam on 3 August 1946; it raised 54,000 tons in 1947. ¹
• Broomhill Collieries Limited held the colliery until nationalisation and the National Coal Board closed it on 26 November 1966; the museum names 16 men killed there. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Hauxley Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Broomhill Colliery: a highly mechanised mine (Colliery Engineering, May 1931) — Colliery Engineering, via the Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 20 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026