Sherburn House Colliery

Overview

A Lambton colliery at Sherburn House, east of Durham, sunk in 1844 by the Earl of Durham to the Hutton at 61 fathoms; it employed nearly a thousand in 1929 and closed in May 1935.

History

Sherburn House Colliery was sunk in 1844 at Sherburn House, three miles east-south-east of Durham. The Earl of Durham worked the royalty in the 1850s, and Lambton Collieries Ltd held it from 1896. Its North Pit passed the Five Quarter at 122 ft, the Low Main at 261 ft and the Brass Thill at 313 ft before reaching the Hutton, 4 ft 1 in thick, at 351 ft 8 in.

In 1894 the Hutton was being worked at 61 fathoms, 4 ft 9 in thick, for 500 tons a day with 350 men and boys, and the colliery had one of the finest pumping installations in the county. That year the Hutton was abandoned as exhausted, and the Main Coal followed in 1913. Employment ran from 158 in 1883 to 492 in 1902, dropped to 157 in 1910 and climbed again to 984 in 1929, by then working the Busty and Low Main for manufacturing coal.

In 1930 the workforce was cut to 333, and by 1935 to 16. The colliery closed in May 1935, and the Low Main and Busty were abandoned on 7 October 1935, the whole mine in 1936. The museum's list of those killed holds 43 names; a boiler explosion on 16 June 1869 killed two firemen and a brakesman.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the North Pit passes the Five Quarter (1 ft 3 in at 122 ft 9 in), the Low Main (2 ft 10 in at 261 ft 3 in) and the Brass Thill (3 ft 2 in at 312 ft 11 in) to the Hutton, 4 ft 1 in thick at 351 ft 8 in; in 1894 the Hutton was worked at 61 fathoms, 4 ft 9 in thick. The Main Coal, Low Main and Busty were worked later.

Workings

The North Pit, sunk in 1844, with a notable pumping installation in 1894.

Closure

The Hutton was abandoned as exhausted in 1894 and the Main Coal in 1913; the colliery closed in May 1935 and the Low Main and Busty were abandoned that October, the whole mine in 1936.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• The pit was sunk in 1844. ^1,2,3
• The Earl of Durham worked it in the 1850s, and Lambton Collieries Ltd from 1896. ¹
• In 1894 the Hutton was worked at 61 fathoms for 500 tons a day with 350 men and boys. ¹
• It employed 984 in 1929. ^1,3
• The colliery closed in 1935. ^4,1,3
• The Low Main and Busty were abandoned in 1935. ^5,6

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Sherburn House Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Sherburn House Colliery: account of the North Pit — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Sherburn House Colliery (1844 - 1935) — Co-Curate (Newcastle University)
4. (secondary) The North East 1920-1938 (England's North East) — England's North East (David Simpson)
5. (primary) Sherburn House Colliery: catalogue of plans of abandoned mines — Durham Mining Museum
6. (primary) BGS mine plan: Sherburn House, Low Main, abandoned 1935 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 6 October 2026