Isabella Colliery, Blyth

Overview

Cowpen's Isabella Pit at Blyth, sunk from 30 October 1848 to the Low Main at 111 fathoms, which employed 1,254 people in 1925 and closed on 12 February 1966, leaving a wooded heap.

History

Isabella Colliery, on Southend Road at Blyth, was sunk by the owners of Cowpen Colliery, with sinking beginning on 30 October 1848, to open the Low Main seam at 111 fathoms. The owners had taken the coal under the properties of Messrs Sidney and Harbottle in 1840, and a railway from Blyth to Hartley had been made in 1847. At the 1851 census only four dwellings stood beside the pit, occupied by a master sinker, an engineer and two enginemen and their families; eight dwellings of North Row appear on the 1897 map. The Durham Mining Museum files it as a pit of Cowpen Colliery.

The Cowpen Coal Company Ltd owned it in the 1890s and the National Coal Board from 1947. It raised steam coal, with household coal from 1925 and manufacturing coal from 1947, when it produced 54,000 tons. Employment was 666 in 1894, 1,064 in 1910 and 1,254 in 1925, a return that includes the Straker Pit, then 917 in 1930 (Isabella and Straker combined), 572 in 1935, 551 in 1955 and 407 in 1965. Local accounts give 917 as its peak. The Beaumont, Low Main and Yard seams were worked in 1905, the Beaumont and Plessey in 1930, and the Bensham, High Main and Five Quarter later; the Low Main was abandoned in 1926 and the Yard on 18 February 1928. There were underground connections with the Mill Pit.

The colliery closed on 12 February 1966. The museum lists 39 names of those killed, among them the 12-year-old driver John Carnaby and George Lee, killed together by a fall of stone on 3 April 1861. None of the buildings remain; the large pit heap is now covered with trees and nature trails.

Geology

The Low Main was reached at 111 fathoms. The Beaumont, Low Main and Yard seams were worked in 1905, the Plessey in 1930 and the Bensham, High Main and Five Quarter later; the Low Main was abandoned in 1926 and the Yard on 18 February 1928.

Workings

The Isabella Pit, with underground connections to the Mill Pit and returned with the Straker Pit in some years.

Closure

The colliery closed on 12 February 1966, when 407 people were employed, 334 of them below ground.

What remains

None of the buildings remain; the large pit heap is covered with trees and nature trails.

The large pit heap survives, wooded and crossed by nature trails.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Cowpen Colliery — The Durham Mining Museum files the Isabella Pit under Cowpen Colliery; the Cowpen owners sank it in 1848.
• Mill Pit, Blyth — The Mill Pit had underground connections to the Isabella Pit.

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 colliery first opened around 1850 and was worked until 1966. (disputed) ³
• At its peak the colliery employed 917 men and boys. (disputed) ^1,3

Recorded claims

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

• Sinking of the Isabella Pit began on 30 October 1848, to open the Low Main seam at a depth of 111 fathoms. ^1,2
• The colliery first opened around 1850 and was worked until 1966. (disputed) ³
• The Cowpen Coal Company Ltd owned the pit in the 1890s and the National Coal Board from 1947. ²
• Employment was 666 in 1894, 1,064 in 1910, 1,254 in 1925, 917 in 1930, 572 in 1935 and 407 in 1965. ²
• At its peak the colliery employed 917 men and boys. (disputed) ^1,3
• At the 1851 census four dwellings stood at the colliery, occupied by sinkers and enginemen and their families. ¹
• The Mill Pit had underground connections to the Isabella Pit. ³
• The colliery closed on 12 February 1966. ^2,3,4
• None of the buildings remain, and the large pit heap is covered with trees and nature trails. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) The Blyth Isabella Pit Early Days (Northumberland Past) — Northumberland Past
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Isabella Pit — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Coal mines of Blyth (Blyth Hub) — Blyth Hub
4. (secondary) The Staithes and Coal Heritage of Blyth (Blyth.live, 30 May 2026) — Blyth.live

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 29 September 2026