Hedleyhope Colliery

Overview

A coking-coal colliery near Tow Law, opened in 1836, worked by Sir B. Samuelson & Co. alongside East Hedleyhope, and abandoned in 1945.

History

Hedleyhope Colliery lay near Tow Law, nine miles west-south-west of Durham, at about 830 feet above sea level. It opened in 1836 and in 1858 was called Hedleyhope Colliery (Edward Pit). In the 1850s it was held by Joseph Pease and his partners, in the 1860s by Taylor, Smith Brothers, and in 1873 by Vaughan & Co. The Hedley Hope Coal Company employed 230 men there in 1883 under the manager J. G. Wild, but the pit was returned as standing from 1884 to 1900.

By the 1890s it belonged to Sir Bernhard Samuelson & Co., who worked it with East Hedleyhope for coking coal, and in 1894 large quantities of coke were made at both. Work resumed with 448 men in 1902 under the manager W. H. Telford, the Brockwell seam being worked by 1905, and in 1921 484 worked the Ballarat, Brockwell, Five Quarter, Main, Three Quarter and Yard seams. The Hedley Hope Coal Company is recorded again as owner in 1923 and 1936, and Dorman Long & Co. in 1928.

Employment fell to 177 in 1930 and 17 in 1935, when the Main and Top seams were abandoned in February and the Ballarat in November. The Bearpark Coal & Coke Company held the colliery from 1936, and 284 worked there in 1940. The Yard seam was abandoned at the end of 1937, the Main in 1944 and the Five Quarter in December 1945, when the colliery was abandoned with five men employed.

Geology

Durham Coal Measures at shallow depth. The Edward Pit section records thin coals at 43 and 72 feet and the Brockwell seam, 4 feet thick, at 100 to 104 feet, with ironstone girdles and whin bands above. The colliery later worked the Ballarat, Five Quarter, Main, Three Quarter, Top and Yard seams.

Workings

The Edward Pit, whose recorded section runs to 122 feet, with workings in the Brockwell, Main, Five Quarter, Ballarat, Top and Yard or Three Quarter seams. Abandonment plans record the Main and Top seams abandoned on 13 February 1935, the Ballarat on 12 November 1935, the Yard or Three Quarter on 31 December 1937, the Main in 1944 and the Five Quarter in December 1945.

Closure

Employment dwindled through the 1930s and 1940s; the last seam, the Five Quarter, was abandoned in December 1945, when five men were employed.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• East Hedley Hope Colliery — Both were worked by Sir B. Samuelson & Co. for coking coal in the 1890s, and both were later held by the Hedley Hope Coal Co. and the Bearpark Coal & Coke Co.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Hedleyhope Colliery opened in 1836 and closed in 1959. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Hedleyhope Colliery opened in 1836 and closed in 1945. ¹
• Hedleyhope Colliery opened in 1836 and closed in 1959. (disputed) ²
• Recorded owners were Pease & partners (1854), Vaughan & Co. (1873), the Hedley Hope Coal Co. (1883), Sir B. Samuelson & Co. (1894 to 1919), Dorman Long & Co. (1928), the Hedley Hope Coal Co. (1936) and the Bearpark Coal & Coke Co. (1945). ²
• Owners were Joseph Pease, Joseph Whitwell Pease and Joseph Pease & Co. in the 1850s, Taylor, Smith Bros. in the 1860s, the Hedley Hope Coal Co. in the 1880s, Sir B. Samuelson & Co. Ltd in the 1890s, the Hedleyhope Coal Co. in 1923 and the Bearpark Coal & Coke Co. Ltd from 1936. ¹
• The colliery was called Hedleyhope Colliery (Edward Pit) in 1858 and was standing in 1900. ²
• Hedleyhope employed 230 in 1883, 448 in 1902, 484 in 1921, 17 in 1935, 284 in 1940 and 5 in 1945. ¹
• In 1894 Hedleyhope and East Hedleyhope were worked by Samuelson & Co., and large quantities of coke were made at both. ¹
• The Edward Pit section passed the Brockwell seam, 4 feet thick, between 100 and 104 feet, and was recorded to 122 feet. ³
• The Main and Top seams were abandoned on 13 February 1935, the Ballarat on 12 November 1935, the Yard or Three Quarter on 31 December 1937 and the Five Quarter in December 1945. ⁴
• J. G. Wild managed the colliery from 1882 to 1888 and W. H. Telford from 1890 to 1910. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Hedleyhope Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Durham Collieries: Hedleyhope Colliery - Durham County Record Office — Durham County Record Office
3. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Hedleyhope Colliery Shaft Details — Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Hedleyhope Colliery - Abandoned Mines — Durham Mining Museum
5. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Hedleyhope Colliery Management — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 1 October 2026