Hebburn Colliery

Overview

A Tyneside colliery sunk in 1792 in one of the most arduous winnings of its day, working the Monkton, High Main, Bensham and Hutton seams among others until closure in 1932. Hebburn suffered repeated and severe firedamp explosions — in 1805, 1849 and 1852 — and its gas, sampled directly by Humphry Davy in 1815, contributed to the development of the miners' safety lamp.

History

Small-scale coal working is recorded in the Hebburn area from at least the reign of James I, with a staithe on the Tyne, the 'Black Steath', shown on a 1655 map. The present colliery was begun in 1792 under Mr. Wade; the winning was considered one of the most arduous yet attempted on the coalfield, with over 3,000 gallons of water a minute drained before wood tubbing brought it under control. The Monkton Seam, at 20 fathoms, and the High Main, at nearly 130 fathoms, were both worked, along with the Bensham seam some 45 fathoms below the High Main; the coal was considered excellent, comparable to the neighbouring Wallsend colliery. Large quantities of firedamp were encountered from an early date and caused repeated, heavy explosions through the colliery's first sixty years — most seriously in 1805, 1849 and 1852. Following the 1812 Felling Colliery disaster a few miles away, Hebburn became one of the pits from which Sir Humphry Davy took gas samples in 1815 for the experiments that produced his safety lamp. Ownership passed through Mr. Wade (from 1792), Messrs. Easton & Co. (from the 1850s, later Easton, Anderson & Partners), the Tyne Coal Co. (1880s) and finally the Wallsend & Hebburn Coal Co. Ltd (from the 1890s), under whom the colliery reached its peak workforce of over 1,800 in 1914, working the Beaumont, Bensham, Busty, Five Quarter, Hutton and Yard seams from its A and C Pits. The colliery closed in 1932.

Geology

Coal of the Northumberland and Durham field on Tyneside: the Monkton, High Main, Bensham and Hutton seams among others. The winning was one of the most arduous of its day, over 3,000 gallons of water a minute drained before wood tubbing held the ground back.

Workings

Two principal pits, A Pit and C Pit, working the Monkton, High Main, Bensham, Beaumont, Busty, Five Quarter, Hutton and Yard seams at various dates.

Closure

Closed in 1932 after 140 years of working, by which date most of its seams had already been abandoned in a series of closures through the preceding two years.

What remains

The colliery site has been redeveloped for housing, though the site's original boundaries are said to survive in the modern street layout.

No colliery structures survive above ground; the site is now residential.

Related mines

• Felling Colliery — Both were Tyneside pits of the same group whose upper workings drained into one another; Felling is named on the Hebburn record for that reason.
• Wallsend Colliery — Both collieries were owned by the Wallsend & Hebburn Coal Co. Ltd from the 1890s — the company took its name from the two pits, and worked them as a single concern into the twentieth century.

Disasters & major incidents

• Hebburn Colliery Explosion, 1805
  21 October 1805 · Explosion · 32 fatalities
  A firedamp explosion at Hebburn Colliery on 21 October 1805 killed between 32 and 35 men and boys, leaving five widows and eighty-one orphaned children — a tragedy that directly inspired Newcastle physician Dr. Thomas Trotter's pioneering pamphlet on preventing mine gas explosions.
• Hebburn Colliery Explosion, 1814
  12 August 1814 · Explosion · 11 fatalities
  An explosion at Hebburn Colliery on 12 August 1814 killed the underviewer and ten others while they were adjusting the mine's ventilation, after not allowing enough time for firedamp to clear.
• Hebburn Colliery Explosion, 1836
  19 July 1836 · Explosion · 3 fatalities
  At about 7 a.m. on 19 July 1836 two explosions in quick succession struck the B Pit of Hebburn Colliery, on the Tyne, which had not been fully worked for some time. Cuthbert Short, 30, and a boy of seven, Thomas Lamb, were killed, and the overman Thomas Fairs died of his burns.
• Hebburn Colliery Explosion, 1849
  5 June 1849 · Explosion · 33 fatalities
  A firedamp explosion in the Bensham seam at Hebburn Colliery on the morning of 5 June 1849 killed 33 men and boys, with almost everyone in the affected north-west district of the pit killed outright.
• Hebburn Colliery Explosion, 1852
  6 May 1852 · Explosion · 22 fatalities
  A firedamp explosion at Hebburn Colliery on 6 May 1852 killed 22 men and boys after a single 37-yard bord became fouled with gas when a ventilation door was left neglected.
• Hebburn Colliery 'A' Pit Explosion, 1889
  4 November 1889 · Explosion · 6 fatalities
  An improperly stemmed shothole in the Beaumont seam triggered an explosion at Hebburn Colliery's 'A' Pit in the early hours of 4 November 1889, killing six.
• Hebburn Colliery scalding, 1890
  13 September 1890 · Machinery · 2 fatalities
  Two blacksmiths at Hebburn Colliery on Tyneside were scalded to death on 13 September 1890 when a valve was opened on the steam pipes to an underground engine.

Culture

• Gresford (Robert Saint's Miners' Hymn) (Music)
  Robert Saint worked as a putter at the Hebburn pit from 1919 until its closure in 1932.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The present colliery was begun in 1792 under Mr. Wade, in a winning considered one of the most arduous yet attempted on the coalfield owing to the volume of water encountered. ¹
• Ownership passed from Mr. Wade (1792) to Messrs. Easton & Co. (1850s), the Tyne Coal Co. (1880s), and finally the Wallsend & Hebburn Coal Co. Ltd (1890s-1932). ¹
• Hebburn Colliery closed in 1932 after 140 years of working; the site was later redeveloped for housing. ^2,3
• Following the 1812 Felling Colliery disaster, Humphry Davy took firedamp samples from Hebburn Colliery in 1815 as part of the experiments that produced the miners' safety lamp. ²
• Located at about 54.972 N, 1.513 W. ²

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum — Hebburn Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Hebburn Colliery — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) History of Hebburn Colliery (1792-1932) — Co-Curate (Newcastle University)

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 September 2026