Penshaw Colliery

Overview

The pits of Penshaw, or Painshaw, west of Sunderland, from the Lambton Pit sunk in 1792 to the Whitefield D Pit of 1830 and the New D Pit of 1832. Owned in the 1850s by the Marchioness of Londonderry and worked by George Elliot, the colliery probably closed about 1879.

History

Penshaw stands on the south bank of the Wear west of Sunderland, and its coal was being carried to the river by the 1790s, when a short branch was laid from Lord Lambton's colliery at Penshaw to the long waggonway between the Lumley pits and the Wear staiths. The Lambton Pit was begun on 10 May 1792 and sunk from the surface to the Main Coal. Another pit of 1792, New Painshaw, was the scene of an explosion in 1822 and closed in 1833, and plans of earlier Penshaw workings in the Five Quarter, Main, Hutton and Maudlin seams had been deposited as abandoned in 1819. The Whitefield, or D, Pit was begun on 30 October 1830 and sunk to the Hutton seam, and the New D Pit followed in 1831-32, also to the Hutton. In August 1842 a boiler explosion killed the engineman Stephen Hann and a ten-year-old boy, Charles Barber (see Disasters, below).

In the 1850s the colliery belonged to Frances Anne Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry, and was leased and managed by George Elliot and Co.; Sir George Elliot still had it in the 1880s. The first edition Ordnance Survey of 1862 shows the Whitefield Pit with brick kilns inside the colliery. Penshaw probably closed about 1879. Its old Main, Maudlin, Low Main and Hutton workings, with those of Biddick North, Chartershaugh, Penshaw New, Whitefield and other pits round about, were finally abandoned on 27 February 1932. Houses were built on the main site in about 2014, when the ventilation fan house was rebuilt and converted into two homes, keeping its original west front.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the Main Coal, Maudlin, Low Main, Hutton and Five Quarter seams.

Workings

The Lambton Pit (1792) to the Main Coal; the Whitefield or D Pit (1830) and New D Pit (1831-32) to the Hutton; the E Pit; a branch waggonway to the Lumley waggonway and the Wear. The Lambton Pit reached the Main Coal at 571 feet; the Whitfield Pit passed the Five Quarter, Main and Maudlin to reach the Hutton at 723 feet, and the New D Pit the Hutton at 742 feet.

Closure

Possibly closed in 1879 (Tyne and Wear HER). Its workings, with neighbouring pits', were abandoned on 27 February 1932.

What remains

The main site was built over with houses in about 2014; the ventilation fan house survives, converted into two houses.

The ventilation fan house, rebuilt as two houses with its original west front kept; Whitefield cottages, much rebuilt, which appear on an estate plan of 1815.

Redevelopment

Housing on the main colliery site, about 2014.

Related mines

• Felling Colliery — Collieries held by Sir George Elliot, who worked Penshaw from the 1860s.
• Framwellgate Moor Colliery — Both were Londonderry collieries.
• Nettlesworth Colliery — Collieries held by Sir George Elliot, who worked Penshaw from the 1860s.
• Rainton Meadows Colliery — Collieries of the Londonderry family, owners of Penshaw in the 1850s.
• Rainton Plain Pit — Collieries of the Londonderry family, owners of Penshaw in the 1850s.
• Ryhope Colliery — Collieries of the Londonderry family, owners of Penshaw in the 1850s.
• Sacriston Colliery — Collieries held by Sir George Elliot, who worked Penshaw from the 1860s.
• Seaham Colliery — Collieries of the Londonderry family, owners of Penshaw in the 1850s.
• Usworth Colliery — Collieries held by Sir George Elliot, who worked Penshaw from the 1860s.

Recorded claims

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

• The Lambton Pit was begun on 10 May 1792 and sunk to the Main Coal; the Whitefield or D Pit was begun on 30 October 1830 and the New D Pit in 1831, both to the Hutton seam. ^1,2
• The colliery was owned by Lady F. A. Vane Londonderry and leased and managed by George Elliot and Co. ^1,2
• New Painshaw Pit, sunk in 1792 and closed in 1833, was the site of an explosion in 1822. ³
• In the 1790s a short branch was built from Lord Lambton's colliery at Penshaw to the waggonway between the Lumley pits and the Wear staiths. ⁴
• Penshaw Colliery possibly closed in 1879; houses were built on the main site about 2014, and the ventilation fan house was converted into two houses. ²
• The Main, Maudlin, Low Main and Hutton workings of Penshaw and neighbouring pits were abandoned on 27 February 1932. ^1,5
• Plans of Penshaw workings in the Five Quarter, Main, Hutton and Maudlin seams were deposited as abandoned in 1819. ⁶
• The Lambton Pit reached the Main Coal at 571 feet; the Whitfield Pit reached the Hutton at 723 feet and the New D Pit at 742 feet. ^7,8

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Penshaw Colliery (also known as Painshaw Colliery) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Penshaw, Penshaw Colliery, Whitefield D Pit (HER 3099) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
3. (secondary) New Penshaw Pit (HER 3097) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
4. (secondary) Lambton's Waggonway to Penshaw Colliery (HER 17099) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
5. (primary) Penshaw Colliery: catalogue of plans of abandoned mines — Durham Mining Museum
6. (primary) BGS mine plan: Penshaw, Five Quarter, Main, Hutton and Maudlin, abandoned 1819 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
7. (primary) Penshaw Colliery, New D Pit: strata sunk through, 1831-32 — Durham Mining Museum
8. (primary) Penshaw Colliery, Lambton Pit: strata, begun 10 May 1792 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 5 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026