Littletown Colliery

Location	Littletown, Pittington, County Durham — 54.7857, -1.4736 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1831–1914
Maximum depth	587 feet (179 m) to the Hutton seam
Operators	Earl of Durham (1831–1896), Lambton Collieries Ltd (1896–?), Sir B. Samuelson & Co. Ltd (?–1914)

Overview

The Earl of Durham's colliery at Littletown, Pittington, also called Lambton Colliery, whose Lord Lambton and Lady Alice pits were sunk to the Hutton in 1831; it raised 500 tons a day in the 1890s, employed nearly 700 in 1900 and closed in 1914.

History

Littletown, once called South Pittington, grew up near the colliery the Earl of Durham sank there, less than a mile south of Pittington church. The Lord Lambton and Lady Alice pits were sunk to the Hutton seam in 1831 and the Engine Pit in 1833; Whellan's directory dates the sinking to 1834. The colliery was also known as Lambton Colliery, and the hamlet is still described as the former site of the Lambton Colliery.

By 1894 the Hutton was almost worked out, and the colliery was working the Low Main, about two feet nine inches thick at 95 fathoms; the Main Coal and Five Quarter were of full section and scarcely touched. It raised 500 tons of coal a day with 500 men and boys, and the village had a school, a reading room and a Wesleyan chapel. Lambton Collieries Ltd took it over in 1896.

Employment reached 696 in 1900 and stood at 627 in 1910, when Sir B. Samuelson and Co. Ltd held the colliery, working the Low Main and Main Coal. It closed in 1914. The museum's list of those killed holds 30 names; on 12 December 1845 a large stone fell from the roof in Little Town Pit, killing Thomas Maudlin, 18, outright and crushing Edward Cressby, 45.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the Hutton (reached at about 582 ft, almost worked out by 1894), Low Main (2 ft 9 in at 95 fathoms), Main Coal and Five Quarter.

Workings

The Lord Lambton and Lady Alice pits (1831) and the Engine Pit (1833), all sunk to the Hutton.

Closure

Closed in 1914.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Sherburn Hill Colliery — 0.6 miles (1.0 km) S
Elemore Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.7 km) NE
North Hetton Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.7 km) N, Tyne and Wear
Sherburn House Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.7 km) SW
Ludworth Colliery — 1.9 miles (3.0 km) SE

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.

What's uncertain

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

Sunk in 1834. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

The Lord Lambton and Lady Alice pits were sunk to the Hutton in 1831. ¹
Sunk in 1834. (disputed) ¹
Littletown was the site of the Lambton Colliery. ^1,2
In 1894 it raised 500 tons a day with 500 men and boys from the Low Main. ¹
Closed in 1914. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Durham Mining Museum: Littletown Colliery (reference)

Pits, owners and employment from 1831 to 1914, with Whellan's account of the colliery and village.

View source

Sources

(primary) Durham Mining Museum: Littletown Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) Wikipedia: Littletown, County Durham — Wikipedia

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