Washington Colliery

Overview

The multi-pit colliery at Washington, its shafts lettered A to I, worked by the 1730s and held by the Russells and then the Washington Coal Company. It lost 34 men and boys in an explosion in 1851 and ten in an overwind in 1867, was the first British pit to sink through quicksand by freezing, in 1901, and ended with the F Pit in 1968.

History

Washington Colliery worked the coal beneath Washington, five and a half miles south-east of Newcastle, from a scatter of pits lettered A to I. Five were killed there on 14 June 1736, or 1776 by another account; borings proved the Main Coal around Washington in 1760, and the C Pit was sunk from July 1769. In the 1780s the colliery belonged to William Russell, and it is described as William Russell and Partners' colliery of eight pits. The F Pit, probably sunk in 1777, was abandoned after an explosion in 1796, the year six were killed at the colliery in February, and a new F Pit was sunk nearby in 1820; seven died in February 1798. On 1 October 1818 sinking began on the I Pit, the No. 1 Pit of 'Washington New Colliery', in Spennymoor Close. Coal went down a wagonway to Washington Staith on the Wear, where it was dropped into keels for Sunderland.

The I Pit exploded on 20 November 1828 with fifteen in it, eleven boys and four men; only Michael Hall came out alive. On 19 August 1851 gas fired at a naked light on McNara's board after weeks of poor ventilation, when gas had been seen at the candles and some men had left their work in fear; thirty-four died by the museum's count, twenty-eight by another, and the jury said safety lamps should have been used. On 31 May 1867 a cage was overwound into the headgear, the rope broke, and eight men and two boys fell 250 yards down the shaft.

The Washington Coal Company held the colliery by the 1850s, William Stobart in the 1880s and the Washington Coal Company Ltd from the 1890s. In 1894 it worked the Main Coal, Maudlin, Low Main and Hutton at 80 to 113 fathoms and employed between 800 and 900, after five years of improvements and new offices opened in 1893; numbers passed a thousand in 1896. In 1901 sinking began at Washington to reach the Harvey seam at 720 feet, and the first 120 feet of troublesome quicksand were passed by the Poetsch freezing method, the first time it was used in Great Britain. The F Pit was the last of the colliery's pits in production, working the Maudlin, Hutton, Low Main and Busty; it raised 468,000 tons in 1964-65 with more than 1,500 men and drew its last coal on 21 June 1968. Some 150 people are recorded as killed at the colliery over its life.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the Main Coal, Maudlin, Low Main, Hutton, Busty and Harvey seams, beneath about 120 feet of water-bearing quicksand.

Workings

Pits lettered A to I, among them the C Pit (1769), the F Pit (1777, resunk 1820) and the I Pit (1818); a 1901 sinking to the Harvey frozen through the quicksand; a wagonway to Washington Staith on the Wear.

Closure

The F Pit, the last of the colliery's pits in production, drew its last coal on 21 June 1968. Its winding house and headgear were kept as a memorial and opened as a museum in 1976.

What remains

The F Pit's winding house and headgear survive as a museum.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Follonsby Colliery — Both were held by the Washington Coal Company.
• Usworth Colliery — Both were held by the Washington Coal Company.
• Wardley Colliery — Both were held by the Washington Coal Company.
• Washington F Pit — Washington F Pit was one of Washington Colliery's lettered pits, and its last in production.
• Washington Glebe Colliery — Both were held by the Washington Coal Company.

Disasters & major incidents

• Washington Colliery I Pit explosion, 1828
  20 November 1828 · Explosion · 14 fatalities
  At about 3 p.m. on 20 November 1828 an explosion in the I or Eye Pit of Washington Colliery killed all but one of the fifteen in the pit, eleven of them boys. The onsetter, Michael Hall, survived badly burnt. The pit had been examined that morning and judged perfectly ventilated.
• Washington Colliery explosion, 1851
  19 August 1851 · Explosion · 34 fatalities
  On 19 August 1851 gas fired at a light in Washington Colliery, County Durham, and the explosion killed 34 men and boys, two of them furnacemen who died trying to rescue others. Gas had been showing at the candles for weeks and some men had left their work in fear.
• Washington Colliery overwinding accident, 1867
  31 May 1867 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 10 fatalities
  On the evening of 31 May 1867 the cage at Washington Colliery was wound up into the headgear, the rope broke, and eight men and two boys fell 250 yards to the bottom of the shaft.

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 colliery's earliest recorded disaster killed five on 14 June 1736. (disputed) ¹
• Five were killed on 14 June 1776. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Washington Colliery was made up of pits lettered A to I; the C Pit was begun in July 1769 and the I Pit, the No. 1 Pit of Washington New Colliery, on 1 October 1818. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to William Russell in the 1780s and is described as William Russell and Partners' colliery of eight pits. ^1,2
• The F Pit, probably sunk in 1777, was abandoned after an explosion in 1796, and a new F Pit was sunk nearby in 1820. ²
• The colliery's earliest recorded disaster killed five on 14 June 1736. (disputed) ¹
• Five were killed on 14 June 1776. (disputed) ²
• On 20 November 1828 an explosion in the I Pit killed all but one of the fifteen in it, eleven boys and four men; Michael Hall survived, badly burnt. ³
• On 19 August 1851 gas fired at a naked light on McNara's board after weeks of poor ventilation; the jury held that safety lamps should have been used instead of candles. ^4,1
• On 31 May 1867 a cage was overwound against the chocks by the pulleys, the rope broke and ten men and boys fell 250 yards down the shaft. ^5,6,2
• In 1894 the Washington Coal Company worked the Main Coal, Maudlin, Low Main and Hutton at 80, 90, 101 and 113 fathoms, employing between 800 and 900 men and boys. ¹
• In 1901 a sinking at Washington to the Harvey seam at 720 feet passed 120 feet of quicksand by the Poetsch freezing method, the first use of it in Great Britain. ¹
• The F Pit was the last of the colliery's pits in production; it sold 468,000 tons in 1964-65 with more than 1,500 men and drew its last coal on 21 June 1968. ²
• A wagonway ran from the Washington collieries to Washington Staith on the Wear, where coal was dropped into keels for Sunderland. ⁷

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Washington Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Collieries — Washington History Society
3. (primary) Local Records; or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events, vol. 2 (J. Sykes, 1866 edition) — Internet Archive
4. (secondary) Washington Colliery Explosion - Washington - 1851 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) Local Records; or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events, vol. 3 (T. Fordyce, 1867) — Internet Archive
6. (primary) Colliery Disaster 1867: Washington, 31 May 1867 — Durham Mining Museum
7. (secondary) Washingtondocs - Washington Colliery — Washingtondocs

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026