Marley Hill Colliery

Overview

John Bowes's great coking colliery on the hills south-west of Gateshead, re-established in 1840 after the Grand Allies had abandoned the old workings, with 330 beehive coke ovens that sold coke across Britain and France; nationalised in 1947, it outlived its neighbours to close in 1983.

History

An older Marley Hill colliery was abandoned as unprofitable by the Grand Allies in 1815. On 9 January 1840 the Lodge Pit was begun from the surface, reaching the Busty seam on 28 June, with coal already being drawn from the upper seams in May; a partnership of John Bowes, William Hutt, Nicholas Wood and Charles Mark Palmer re-established the colliery for the manufacture of coke. The Busty was prime coking coal, and in 1842-43 the Marley Hill Coal Company built 330 beehive coke ovens; the Marley Hill Coking Company, formed in 1844, also ran ovens at Grimsby fed with Marley Hill coal shipped from Jarrow, and by 1847 the colliery produced 200,000 tons of coal and 70,000 tons of coke, sold all over Britain and France. In the winter of 1849-50 its men struck over low wages. In 1894 John Bowes and Partners worked the Main Coal at 35 fathoms, the Busty at 72 and the Brockwell at 86 from two shafts, raising about 700 tons a day with some 520 men and boys, two-thirds of the coal going into the ovens. In July 1908 a by-product coking plant of 60 (later 90) vertical ovens replaced the beehive ovens at Marley Hill, Byermoor, Burnopfield and Dipton, making sulphate of ammonia, benzol, sulphuric acid and tars, until the Monkton works superseded it in 1937. The colliery employed over 900 in the 1920s and again in the 1970s under the National Coal Board, and closed on 3 March 1983.

Geology

Durham Coal Measures: the Main Coal (4 ft at 35 fathoms), the Busty (5 ft 6 in at 72 fathoms), prime coking coal, and the Brockwell (3 ft at 86 fathoms), later also the Hutton, Brass Thill, Low Main, Tilley, Yard and Harvey.

Workings

Two shafts from the Lodge Pit of 1840, with 330 beehive coke ovens (1842-43) replaced in 1908 by a by-product coking plant; linked by the Marley Hill wagonway to the Pontop and Jarrow Railway.

Closure

Closed on 3 March 1983.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Burnopfield Colliery — Both John Bowes collieries: Hobson supplied Marley Hill's coke ovens during the 1849-50 strike, and Marley Hill's 1908 by-product plant replaced Burnopfield's ovens.
• Byermoor Colliery — Both John Bowes collieries a mile apart; the 1908 Marley Hill by-product plant replaced Byermoor's coke ovens.

Nearby mines

• Byermoor Colliery — 1.9 km W
• Burnopfield Colliery — 3.6 km W, County Durham
• Beamish Colliery — 3.9 km S, County Durham
• Kibblesworth Colliery — 3.9 km E, County Durham
• West Stanley Colliery — 4.4 km S, County Durham

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

• The colliery was commenced on 9 January 1840 and the Busty seam reached on 28 June 1840, production having begun in May from the upper seams; 330 beehive coke ovens were built in 1842/3 by the Marley Hill Coal Company. ¹
• Marley Hill Colliery, abandoned by the Grand Allies in 1815 as unprofitable, was re-established in 1841 by J. Bowes, W. Hutt, N. Wood and C. M. Palmer for the manufacture of coke. ^2,3
• By 1847 the colliery was producing 200,000 tons of coal and 70,000 tons of coke, sold all over Britain and France; the Marley Hill Coking Company, formed in 1844, also had ovens at Grimsby. ¹
• A by-product coking plant of 60 (later 90) vertical ovens opened in July 1908, replacing the beehive ovens at Marley Hill, Byermoor, Burnopfield and Dipton; it was replaced by the Monkton plant opened on 5 April 1937. ¹
• In 1894 the Main Coal (4 ft, 35 fathoms), Busty (5 ft 6 in, 72 fathoms) and Brockwell (3 ft, 86 fathoms) were worked by two shafts; about 700 tons a day, 330 coke ovens, about 520 men and boys. ^2,3
• Owners John Bowes & Partners, then the NCB from 1947; employment 944 in 1925, 948 in 1975; closed 3 March 1983. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Marley Hill Colliery (HER 3705) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum - Marley Hill Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Marley Hill Colliery - Suscram — Suscram (Sunniside local history)

Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026