Horsley Wood Colliery

Overview

A small colliery in Horsley Wood at North Wylam, worked in the early 19th century and reopened by John Stoker in the 1910s; it worked the Victoria and Brockwell seams until its last abandonment in 1927.

History

Horsley Wood Colliery lay in Horsley Wood at North Wylam. A colliery was worked in the wood in the early 19th century and then stood disused for many years before it was reopened as Horsley Wood Colliery. John Stoker and Sons, and then the Horsley Wood Coal Company, worked it in the 1910s; it was part of a network of tramways running between the Tyne and a level at Spital.

The Marshall Green seam was abandoned in 1916 or 1918, and the colliery went on in the Victoria seam with six men in 1915, then in the Brockwell, with 30 men in 1921, raising household and manufacturing coal. Employment fell to eight by 1924, and the Brockwell was abandoned on 29 November 1924. The pit stood idle in 1925, was worked again with three men for household coal and fireclay, and was abandoned for the last time on 10 December 1927.

Geology

The Marshall Green, Victoria and Brockwell seams, and fireclay.

Workings

Workings in the Marshall Green, Victoria and Brockwell seams, linked to a tramway network between the Tyne and a level at Spital.

Closure

The Brockwell was abandoned on 29 November 1924; after a short final working the colliery was abandoned on 10 December 1927.

What remains

Unknown.

What's uncertain

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

• The Marshall Green seam at Horsley Wood was abandoned on 1 December 1916. (disputed) ³
• The Marshall Green seam at Horsley Wood was abandoned in 1918. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• A colliery worked in Horsley Wood in the early 19th century stood disused before it was reopened as Horsley Wood Colliery by John Stoker. ¹
• Horsley Wood Colliery was owned in the 1910s by John Stoker and Sons and the Horsley Wood Coal Company. ²
• Horsley Wood employed 30 people in 1921, working the Brockwell seam. ²
• The Marshall Green seam at Horsley Wood was abandoned on 1 December 1916. (disputed) ³
• The Marshall Green seam at Horsley Wood was abandoned in 1918. (disputed) ²
• Horsley Wood was abandoned on 29 November 1924 and, after a short final working, on 10 December 1927. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Horsley Wood Colliery — North East Heritage Library (Coals Archive)
2. (primary) Horsley Wood Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21915258: Horsley Wood, Marshall Green, abandoned 1 December 1916 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 22 October 2026 · Last researched: 22 October 2026