MineArchiveStaindrop Field House Drift
| Location | Evenwood Gate, County Durham — 54.6194, -1.7297 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1953–July 1967 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | National Coal Board (1953–1967) |
Overview
A National Coal Board drift near Evenwood Gate, worked from 1953 to July 1967 in the Busty and Brockwell seams, where black damp killed two men in December 1958.
History
Staindrop Field House Drift was a drift mine near Evenwood Gate, in Evenwood and Barony, about twelve miles south-west of Durham. The Durham Mining Museum suggests, with a question mark, that the Staindrop Coal Co. was an early owner; the National Coal Board held it after nationalisation, and the Northern Mine Research Society dates it from 1953.
It worked the Busty seam through the 1950s and the Brockwell and Busty from 1965, for coking, gas, household and industrial coal. It employed 77 from 1956 to 1959, 69 of them underground, 87 in 1960 and 83 in 1967.
On 8 December 1958 two men were overcome by black damp and asphyxiated: George Clark, a 55-year-old stoneman from Toft Hill, and Charles G. Jones, a 40-year-old hewer from St Helen's Auckland.
The drift closed in July 1967, one of the last four collieries to close in the Bishop Auckland area, and was being salvaged in 1968. The abandonment plans of its Brockwell and Bottom Busty workings are dated 1967.
Geology
Worked the Busty seam, recorded as the Bottom Busty on the plans, and from 1965 the Brockwell.
Workings
A drift mine.
Closure
Closed in July 1967 and salvaged in 1968; plans of the Brockwell and Bottom Busty workings are dated 1967.
What remains
Unknown.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Nearby mines
- Randolph Colliery, Evenwood — 1.1 miles (1.8 km) W
- West Auckland Colliery — 1.2 miles (2.0 km) NE
- Bildershaw Colliery — 1.3 miles (2.1 km) E
- Ramshaw Colliery — 1.6 miles (2.6 km) N
- St. Helen's Colliery — 1.8 miles (3.0 km) NE
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Worked from 1953 and closed in July 1967. 1,2,3
- Worked the Busty seam, and from 1965 the Brockwell and Busty. 3,4
- Employed 77 from 1956 to 1959 and 83 in 1967. 3
- On 8 December 1958 two men were overcome by black damp and asphyxiated. 3
- Plans of the Brockwell workings were abandoned in 1967. 4
Photographs & further reading
Employment, output and seams 1954-1968, and the two deaths of 1958.
View sourceThe area list, with the drift's dates.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) NCB Collieries - England (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Bishop Auckland Area — Northern Mine Research Society
- (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Staindrop Field House Drift — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: STAINDROP FIELD HOUSE DRIFT, Brockwell 'S' seam, abandoned 1967 — British Geological Survey
Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026