Ravensworth Park Drift

Overview

A drift mine at Lamesley, south of Gateshead, opened by Pelaw Main Collieries in 1936 and worked by the National Coal Board for gas coal with about 250 men until it closed on 9 March 1968; the Team Valley estate now covers it.

History

Ravensworth Park Drift lay at Lamesley, about three miles south-south-west of Newcastle. Pelaw Main Collieries Ltd opened it in 1936, working the Low Main seam for coking, gas, household, manufacturing and steam coal. Two explosions occurred in the sinking pit in 1938. It employed 159 people in 1940, and in March of that year a man died in the Royal Infirmary after a fall of stone.

The National Coal Board took it over in 1947. Employment rose to 248 in 1945 and 264 in 1950, working the Hutton, Low Main and Six Quarter seams, and from the mid-1950s the drift raised gas coal alone, with about 220 to 250 men. It closed on 9 March 1968, still employing 249. The site has since been built over by the Team Valley Industrial Estate.

Geology

The Low Main, Hutton and Six Quarter seams.

Workings

A drift, with a sinking pit in 1938.

Closure

Closed on 9 March 1968 with 249 employed.

What remains

Built over by the Team Valley Industrial Estate.

None.

Related mines

• Ravensworth Shop Colliery — Both were Pelaw Main Collieries pits at Lamesley before passing to the National Coal Board in 1947.

Recorded claims

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

• Ravensworth Park Drift was opened in 1936 and closed on 9 March 1968. ^1,2
• Pelaw Main Collieries Ltd owned Ravensworth Park Drift until the National Coal Board took it over in 1947. ^1,2
• Two explosions occurred in the sinking pit at Ravensworth Park in 1938. ³
• From the mid-1950s Ravensworth Park Drift raised gas coal only, employing 249 people at its closure. ¹
• The site of Ravensworth Park Drift has been built over by the Team Valley Industrial Estate. ²
• Abandonment plans of Ravensworth Park Drift in the Low Main and Brass Thill seams are dated 31 January 1969. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Ravensworth Park Drift — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Ravensworth Park Drift (HER 6993) — Tyne and Wear HER (Sitelines)
3. (primary) Ravensworth Park Drift: miscellaneous notes and incidents — Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21906011: Ravensworth Park Drift, Low Main 'J', 31 January 1969 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 22 October 2026 · Last researched: 22 October 2026