Longhirst Drift

Overview

A National Coal Board drift mine at Longhirst near Morpeth, driven from 1954, opening in 1956 and closing on 15 March 1969 after growing to 573 people.

History

Longhirst Drift was a National Coal Board drift mine at Longhirst, near Morpeth and about 15 miles south-south-east of Alnwick. The Durham Mining Museum's returns show the board driving it from 1954, with 35 men that year, 44 in 1955 and 93 on drift drivage in 1956, and give 1956 as its opening year; the Northern Mine Research Society's list of NCB collieries dates it from March 1955.

It worked the Bentinck, Diamond and Five Quarter seams, with the Low Main added in 1959 and 1960 and again in 1969, and raised household and steam coal. Employment grew from 240 in 1957, 206 of them below ground, to 357 in 1959 and 573 from 1964 to 1968, 497 underground; the 1969 return shows 549 including shared services.

The drift closed on 15 March 1969. The museum lists five deaths between 1960 and 1967: a power loader killed by a fall of stone in October 1960, another crushed by a machine in May 1963, a coal cutter killed by a fall of stone in August 1964, a faceworker struck by machinery in October 1966 and a cableman killed by a fall of stone in September 1967.

Geology

The Bentinck, Diamond, Five Quarter and Low Main seams were worked.

Workings

A drift driven to the Bentinck, Diamond and Five Quarter seams, with the Low Main worked in 1959, 1960 and 1969.

Closure

The drift closed on 15 March 1969, when 549 people were on its books including shared services.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

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 Durham Mining Museum gives 1956 as the year the drift opened, after driving from 1954. (disputed) ¹
• The Northern Mine Research Society's list of NCB collieries dates the drift from March 1955. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• The Durham Mining Museum gives 1956 as the year the drift opened, after driving from 1954. (disputed) ¹
• The Northern Mine Research Society's list of NCB collieries dates the drift from March 1955. (disputed) ²
• The drift closed on 15 March 1969. ^1,2
• Employment was 240 in 1957, 357 in 1959, 573 from 1964 to 1968 and 549 in 1969. ¹
• The Bentinck, Diamond and Five Quarter seams were worked, with the Low Main in 1959, 1960 and 1969. ¹
• The drift raised household and steam coal. ¹
• Five deaths are recorded between 1960 and 1967, from falls of stone and accidents with machinery. ¹
• The British Geological Survey catalogues abandonment plans for Longhirst Drift. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Longhirst Drift — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) NCB Collieries - England (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plans: LONGHIRST DRIFT — British Geological Survey

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