Seaton Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Seaton, just west of Seaham, sunk from 1844 by the Hetton coal owners and opened in 1845. Six men and boys died in an explosion there in 1852, and in 1864 Lord Londonderry bought it and merged it with the adjoining Seaham Colliery.

History

The sinking of the Union Pit at Seaton, a township of Seaham parish west of the town, began on 31 July 1844, and Seaton Colliery opened in 1845. Co-Curate names the sinkers as the Hetton and North Hetton Coal Company; the Durham county landscape record and the Durham Mining Museum say it was worked by Lord Durham and the Hetton Coal Company. It lay close to the Londonderrys' Seaham Colliery, which was begun in 1849, and contemporary accounts of 1852 call it the 'Nicky Nack Colliery', a short distance from Seaham Harbour.

On 16 June 1852 an explosion killed six, among them a boy of ten and two brothers who supported their mother; the inquest blamed the naked lights the men were using.

In November 1864 Lord Londonderry bought Seaton Colliery and merged it with Seaham, and the two were worked as one; a Seaham newspaper item of August 1860 is headed as the transfer of Seaton Colliery to the Marchioness of Londonderry. The Durham Mining Museum lists the Seaton shaft as Seaham Colliery's No. 3 (Seaton) Pit, open from 1845 to 1864. At their height the combined collieries employed over 1,500 men and raised more than 2,500 tons a day, shipped from Seaham Harbour down an incline the Londonderrys built for the coal of both pits. Seaham, known locally as the Nack, closed in 1988.

Geology

Durham Coal Measures. The combined Seaham and Seaton workings took the Harvey, Main, Maudlin and Hutton seams, the Harvey, the lowest, about 282 fathoms down at the shaft bottom.

Workings

The Union Pit, sunk from July 1844, listed by the Durham Mining Museum as Seaham Colliery's No. 3 (Seaton) Pit at NZ411494. After 1864 the Seaton and Seaham workings were run as one colliery.

Closure

Seaton ceased to be a separate colliery in November 1864, when Lord Londonderry bought it and merged it with Seaham Colliery. The combined colliery closed in 1988.

What remains

Unknown for the pit itself. The overgrown trackbed of the incline that carried Seaham and Seaton coal down to Seaham Harbour was photographed in 2017.

The trackbed of the railway incline to Seaham Harbour.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Seaham Colliery — Adjoining colliery; Lord Londonderry bought Seaton in November 1864 and merged it with Seaham, whose No. 3 (Seaton) Pit it became.

Disasters & major incidents

• Seaton Colliery explosion, 1852
  16 June 1852 · Explosion · 6 fatalities
  On 16 June 1852 firedamp exploded at naked lights in Seaton Colliery, near Seaham Harbour, the third explosion there that year and the first to kill. All six working at the place died, the youngest a boy of ten.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Seaton Colliery was sunk by the Hetton and North Hetton Coal Company. (uncertain) ²
• The Seaham Weekly News of 25 August 1860 carried an item on the transfer of Seaton Colliery to the Marchioness of Londonderry. (uncertain) ⁶

Recorded claims

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

• The sinking of the Union Pit began on 31 July 1844 and Seaton Colliery opened in 1845. ^1,2
• The colliery was worked by Lord Durham and the Hetton Coal Company until 1864. ^1,3
• Seaton Colliery was sunk by the Hetton and North Hetton Coal Company. (uncertain) ²
• In 1852 it was known as the 'Nicky Nack Colliery', a short distance from Seaham Harbour. ⁴
• An explosion on 16 June 1852 killed six, the youngest a boy of ten. ^4,5
• In November 1864 Lord Londonderry acquired Seaton Colliery and merged it with Seaham Colliery. ^1,3,2
• The Seaham Weekly News of 25 August 1860 carried an item on the transfer of Seaton Colliery to the Marchioness of Londonderry. (uncertain) ⁶
• The Seaton shaft was Seaham Colliery's No. 3 (Seaton) Pit, at NZ411494, open from 1845 to 1864. ¹
• At their height the combined collieries employed over 1,500 men and produced over 2,500 tons of coal a day. ³
• The Londonderry family built a railway incline to carry coal from the Seaham and Seaton pits down to Seaham Harbour. ⁷

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Seaham Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Seaton, County Durham — Co-Curate, Newcastle University
3. (primary) Seaton (County Durham) — Keys to the Past (Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council)
4. (secondary) Seaton Colliery Explosion - Seaham - 1852 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) Colliery Disaster 1852: Seaton, 16 June 1852 — Durham Mining Museum
6. (secondary) Transfer of Seaton Colliery to Marchionesse of Londonderry (Aug 1860) — Seaham Past (Fred Cooper)
7. (observational) Former railway incline down to Seaham Harbour (photograph, 2017) — Geograph
8. (secondary) Seaham Colliery (also know as The Knack pit) — Seaham Past (Fred Cooper)

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026