Shildon Colliery

Overview

A Shildon colliery whose West Pit was sunk in 1869-70 to the Busty and Brockwell seams, worked by the Shildon Coal Co. until 1924 and briefly for the Harvey seam until 1927.

History

Shildon Colliery stood at Shildon, south-east of Bishop Auckland, in East Thickley township. Its West Pit was sunk in 1869 and 1870 from a surface about 400 feet above sea level, through quicksand and gravel that gave 750 gallons of water an hour, and later through a grey post yielding 4,000 gallons an hour, to the Brockwell seam at about 293 feet; the sinking finished at 311 feet 6 inches.

The Shildon Coal Co., Limited worked it from the 1880s, with George Pears as agent and successively A. Mein and T. W. Kellett as manager. It employed 354 in 1883. Whellan's directory of 1894 describes the Busty seam, met at 26 fathoms and split in two by a band of bluestone, and the Brockwell at 49 fathoms, 5 feet 3 inches thick, with an output of about 450 tons a day from 240 men and boys.

Employment ran at about 250 from 1900 to 1905, under the manager Edward Johnson. Work was suspended for a time in January 1909, and by 1915, under J. H. Grieves, 142 were employed. The colliery was down to 30 men when it closed on 15 March 1924. It was briefly reopened to work the Harvey seam, employing 60 in 1927, and abandoned on 12 February 1927.

Geology

Coal Measures. The West Pit passed through quicksand and gravel, clays, freestone and grey and blue metals to the Busty seam, split by a band of bluestone into two leaves, and the Brockwell seam, about 5 feet 3 inches thick. The Harvey seam was worked in 1927.

Workings

One shaft, the West Pit, working the Busty and Brockwell seams, and in 1927 the Harvey.

Closure

Closed on 15 March 1924, when 30 were employed; the Brockwell and Busty were abandoned that year. A short reopening in the Harvey seam ended on 12 February 1927.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• New Shildon Colliery — The Durham Mining Museum records a New Shildon Colliery of the 1880s-90s (242 employed in 1894) alongside this one (240 in Whellan's 1894 directory); they may be the same pit.

What's uncertain

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

• The Harvey seam was abandoned on 14 February 1927. (disputed) ⁶

Recorded claims

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

• The West Pit was sunk in 1869 and 1870, to a depth of 311 feet 6 inches. ^1,2
• The Busty seam lay at 26 fathoms and the Brockwell, 5 feet 3 inches thick, at 49 fathoms. ^1,2
• In 1894 the colliery raised about 450 tons a day and employed 240 men and boys. ¹
• The colliery was owned by the Shildon Coal Co. Ltd. ^1,3,4
• It employed 354 in 1883 and 251 in 1902. ^1,5
• The colliery closed on 15 March 1924. ^1,5
• The Harvey seam was abandoned on 12 February 1927. ¹
• The Harvey seam was abandoned on 14 February 1927. (disputed) ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Shildon Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Shildon Colliery, West Pit shaft details (strata sunk through, 1869-70) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: George Askew, Shildon, 7 May 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John O'Hagan, Shildon, 7 May 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (secondary) Co-Curate: Shildon Colliery (c.1869 - 1927) — Newcastle University (Co-Curate)
6. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Shildon Colliery, catalogue of plans of abandoned mines — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026