Malton Colliery

Overview

A drift colliery in the Browney valley near Lanchester, opened in 1870 by G. Love and worked by Sir S. A. Sadler's company from the 1890s, with its own coke ovens; it closed on 22 July 1961 and its site is now a Durham Wildlife Trust nature reserve.

History

Malton Colliery, six miles west-north-west of Durham near Lanchester, was opened in 1870 by Mr G. Love; Love and Son held it in the 1880s. By the 1890s it belonged to S. A. Sadler of Middlesbrough, whose company, Sir S. A. Sadler Ltd, worked it until nationalisation. It worked the Harvey, Brockwell and Busty seams, two to four feet thick, by drifts, and in 1894 patent coke ovens and other improvements were being added. It employed 362 in 1894 and 390 in 1915, through the Brockwell and Manor House drifts among others.

The colliery stood idle in 1902 and was nearly so in 1935, when only two men were employed. Under the National Coal Board it employed 262 in 1947, about 135 in the late 1950s and 127 in 1960, working the Brockwell, and it closed on 22 July 1961. On 23 January 1913 George Ephraim Steele, a stoneman, and his son John William, also a stoneman, were suffocated by fumes; the museum's list of those killed holds 23 names.

The colliery site is now Malton nature reserve, looked after by the Durham Wildlife Trust, where even the remaining colliery shale gives a habitat to lichens and insects.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the Harvey, Brockwell and Busty seams, two to four feet thick, worked by drifts.

Workings

Drifts, among them the Brockwell and Manor House drifts, with coke ovens at the colliery.

Closure

Closed on 22 July 1961 under the National Coal Board.

What remains

A nature reserve, where colliery shale remains as habitat for lichens and insects.

Colliery shale.

Redevelopment

Malton nature reserve (Durham Wildlife Trust).

Recorded claims

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

• Opened in 1870 by G. Love. ¹
• The Harvey, Brockwell and Busty seams were worked by drifts. ¹
• Sir S. A. Sadler Ltd owned the colliery from the 1890s. ¹
• Closed on 22 July 1961. ¹
• The former colliery site is a Durham Wildlife Trust nature reserve. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Malton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Durham Wildlife Trust: Malton — Durham Wildlife Trust

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