Penchford Colliery

Overview

A rudimentary landsale colliery of levels and shallow shafts by the river near Elsdon, also called Paunch Ford, worked by the Paunchford Coal Company in the 1880s and out of use by the end of the century.

History

Penchford Colliery, also called Paunch Ford, lay by the river near Elsdon, about eighteen miles south-west of Alnwick. It was a rudimentary working with few buildings. The Ordnance Survey of 1866 shows two levels, one on either side of the river, and the colliery's record lists a level and four shafts close together.

The Paunchford Coal Company worked it in the 1880s, selling its coal at the pit as landsale in 1882, 1883, 1884 and 1888, and an official notice concerning the company appeared in August 1883. The later maps of the nineteenth century show the levels out of use.

Geology

Unknown.

Workings

Two levels on either side of the river, with four shafts nearby.

Closure

The levels are shown out of use on the later 19th-century maps.

What remains

The site has been reclaimed.

Recorded claims

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

• The Ordnance Survey of 1866 shows Penchford's two levels on either side of the river. ¹
• The Paunchford Coal Company worked Penchford Colliery in the 1880s. ^2,1
• Penchford sold its coal as landsale in 1882, 1883, 1884 and 1888. ²
• Penchford's record lists a level and four shafts. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Penchford Colliery — North East Heritage Library (Coals Archive)
2. (primary) Penchford Colliery (Paunch Ford Colliery) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026