Urpeth Colliery

Overview

A colliery south of Newcastle whose ground was being bored as early as 1742 and whose new pit was sunk in 1831 by William Coulson, 700 yards north of the Engine Pit and down to the Hutton seam. Whellan's directory of 1894 found the Birtley Iron Company working the Five Quarter, Low Main and Busty seams at the Busty pit, 470 tons a day, 300 men and boys, and much of the coal turned into coke. The colliery closed on 30 March 1957.

History

Boring for coal at Urpeth began in 1742, and a new pit was sunk in 1831 by William Coulson about 700 yards north of the Engine Pit, put down to the Hutton seam; the Durham Mining Museum dates the colliery from 1835. Its pits included the B and D pits and the Busty pit. Whellan's Directory of County Durham described the township's royalties in 1894 as worked by the Birtley Iron Company, then getting the Five Quarter, Low Main and Busty seams at the Busty pit: the Five Quarter 27 fathoms deep and three feet thick, with the others below. The colliery then employed 300 men and boys and raised 470 tons a day, much of it converted into coke on the spot. The National Coal Board took the colliery over in 1947 and closed it on 30 March 1957. The Durham Mining Museum names 47 men and boys killed at Urpeth and records no disaster of five or more.

Geology

Durham coalfield seams at the Busty pit as Whellan recorded them in 1894: the Five Quarter at 27 fathoms and three feet thick, with the Low Main and Busty below.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Several pits over the colliery's life, including the Engine Pit, the pit sunk 700 yards north of it by William Coulson in 1831, the B and D pits and the Busty pit; coke ovens on the site took much of the output.

Closure

The National Coal Board closed Urpeth Colliery on 30 March 1957. Co-Curate gives the colliery's span as 1835 to 1957, matching the museum's dating rather than the 1831 sinking.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown; the ground at High Urpeth and Urpeth Grange is now farmland and housing.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Kibblesworth Colliery — 1.7 km N
• Pelton Colliery — 3.0 km S
• Beamish Colliery — 3.3 km W
• Team Colliery — 4.0 km NE, Tyne and Wear
• Harraton Colliery — 4.8 km E, Tyne and Wear

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

People

• William Coulson · contractor, from 1831 — Sank the new Urpeth pit in 1831, about 700 yards north of the Engine Pit and down to the Hutton seam.

What's uncertain

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

• Boring for coal at Urpeth began in 1742, and a new pit was sunk in 1831 by William Coulson about 700 yards north of the Engine Pit, down to the Hutton seam; the museum dates the colliery from 1835. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• Boring for coal at Urpeth began in 1742, and a new pit was sunk in 1831 by William Coulson about 700 yards north of the Engine Pit, down to the Hutton seam; the museum dates the colliery from 1835. (disputed) ^1,2
• Whellan's directory of 1894 records the Birtley Iron Company working the Five Quarter, Low Main and Busty seams at the Busty pit, the Five Quarter 27 fathoms deep and three feet thick. ¹
• The colliery employed 300 men and boys and raised 470 tons a day in 1894, much of the coal being converted into coke on the spot. ¹
• Urpeth Colliery closed on 30 March 1957 under the National Coal Board; the museum names 47 men and boys killed there and records no disaster of five or more. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Urpeth Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Urpeth Colliery (1835 - 1957) — Co-Curate, Newcastle University

Record created: 20 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026