Iveston Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Iveston, near Consett, won in 1839 by Black, Reay and Co. and taken into the Consett Iron Company in the 1860s, where a strike in 1882 ended with 350 people dismissed and evicted; it closed in 1892, and its pumping shaft went on draining the royalty for the ironworks.

History

Coal was mined at Iveston from at least 1440, but Iveston Colliery itself was won in 1839, near Shotley Bridge, by Black, Reay and Co. Jonathan Richardson and Partners took it over in 1857, and in the 1860s it passed to the Consett Iron Company, whose ironworks needed the coal. The Sunnyside pumping shaft was sunk to the Brockwell seam in 1866, and in 1867 a boring below the Busty proved the Brockwell. The colliery was served by the Iveston Railway, and it employed 352 in 1883.

In 1882 the men struck over the company's timekeeper, the 'keeker', who had changed the way the tubs were laid out. About 140 gave notice that they would leave unless he was dismissed; the company refused, the whole workforce came out and took their gear from the pit, and when they did not go back the company dismissed them all. Some 350 people lost their work and were evicted from their homes.

The colliery closed in 1892, when coal of good enough quality could no longer be raised; the nearness of Crookhall Colliery was another cause. By 1894 it was not worked, though a small landsale pit near the village worked a royalty left by one of the Claverings to the people of Iveston manor, who paid only the cost of getting and leading the coal. A powerful duplex pumping engine at the pumping shaft, east of the village, raised water from the royalty to the Consett Iron Works. The colliery stood idle until it was recorded as abandoned by 1910. The museum's list of those killed holds 21 names.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the Busty and Brockwell, with the Ten Band and Main seams in the royalty.

Workings

The colliery shafts of 1839, the Sunnyside pumping shaft (1866) with a duplex pumping engine, and a small landsale pit near the village.

Closure

Closed in 1892, when coal of good enough quality could no longer be raised; Crookhall Colliery's nearness was a further cause.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Crookhall Colliery — Crookhall's nearness is given as a cause of Iveston's closure in 1892; both belonged to the Consett Iron Company.

Recorded claims

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

• Sunk in 1839 by Black, Reay and Co. ^1,2,3
• Taken over by Jonathan Richardson and Partners in 1857 and by the Consett Iron Company in the 1860s. ^1,2
• A strike in 1882 over the company's timekeeper ended with 350 people dismissed and evicted. ²
• Closed in 1892. ^1,2,4
• A duplex pumping engine at the pumping shaft raised water from the royalty to the Consett Iron Works. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Iveston Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) The Ancient Village of Iveston — Consett Magazine
3. (secondary) Iveston Settlement Character Study — Durham County Council
4. (secondary) Wikipedia: Iveston — Wikipedia

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 6 October 2026