North Walbottle Colliery

Overview

A colliery on the western edge of Newcastle, sunk from 1891 by the North Walbottle Coal Company, which employed up to 1,561 men, kept its steam winders to the end and closed in 1968; two of its shafts are now walled flower beds in a housing estate.

History

North Walbottle Colliery began with the Old Fred Pit, started in 1891; the colliery opened in 1892, the Betty Pit in 1893 and the Mary Pit, sunk the same year, was completed in 1894. It belonged to the North Walbottle Coal Company, and its coal went by wagonway to staithes at Lemington on the Tyne. Employment grew quickly, from 231 in 1896 to 1,389 in 1910 and a peak of 1,561 in 1925, working the Beaumont and Brockwell seams at first, then the Busty, Tilley, Three Quarter and Low Main. Two stonemen, John Ballantyne and Thomas Wright, were killed together by a fall of stone in September 1912. Under the National Coal Board, from 1947, it employed around a thousand and raised 292,000 tons that year. The Betty and Mary shafts kept their steam winding engines of about 1900, served by boilers of which two were the original hand-stoked ones, along with steam pumps and a steam drop-hammer, and the colliery was noted for its drift access, which saved travelling time underground, its pithead baths and its colliery village. It closed on 24 February 1968.

Geology

Northumberland Coal Measures: the Beaumont and Brockwell seams from 1905, adding the Busty, Tilley, Three Quarter, Hodge and Low Main by 1950.

Workings

Three shafts — Old Fred (1891), Betty (1893) and Mary (1894) — with steam winding engines of about 1900 on the Betty and Mary, and a drift giving quicker access to distant workings.

Closure

Closed on 24 February 1968.

What remains

The site was built over with housing in the 1970s; the positions of two shafts are kept as flower beds with low stone walls in the verge of Mandarin Close.

Two shaft sites marked as walled flower beds; nothing of the colliery buildings.

Redevelopment

Housing from the 1970s.

Nearby mines

• Montagu Colliery — 3.2 km SE
• Throckley Colliery — 3.6 km SW
• Hazlerigg Colliery — 5.7 km NE
• Coxlodge Colliery — 5.9 km E
• Blaydon Burn Colliery — 6.0 km S

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.

• Old Fred Pit was started in 1891 and the colliery opened in 1892; Betty Pit opened in 1893 and Mary Pit was completed in 1894. ^1,2
• The Betty and Mary shafts were served by two steam winding engines of about 1900, with boilers including two original hand-stoked ones; the colliery was notable for drifted access, pithead baths and its village. ¹
• Employment rose from 231 in 1896 to 1,389 in 1910 and 1,561 in 1925; 980 in 1947 with output of 292,000 tons; 835 at closure. ³
• The colliery closed on 24 February 1968; the site was redeveloped for housing in the 1970s. ^3,1,2
• John William Ballantyne, 32, and Thomas Wright, 28, stonemen, were killed together on 22 September 1912 when a large stone fell while they were altering timber before firing a canch shot. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) North Walbottle Colliery (HER 4235) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
2. (secondary) North Walbottle Colliery (1892 - 1968) — Co-Curate, Newcastle University
3. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum - North Walbottle Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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