West Auckland Colliery

Overview

A colliery at West Auckland sunk in 1838 for Jonathan Backhouse, which brought the village its greatest growth and employed more than 600 by 1910; worked by Bolckow, Vaughan for most of its life, it closed in July 1967.

History

After the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825 the search for coal around West Auckland quickened, and the sinking of West Auckland Colliery in 1838, for Jonathan Backhouse, brought the village the greatest growth in its history. Borings had been made near West Auckland as early as 1765. Edmund Backhouse and Co. held the colliery in the 1850s, and then Bolckow and Vaughan, the Middlesbrough ironmasters.

In 1894 Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. Ltd worked it by two pits, one to the Harvey seam, three feet six inches thick at 16 fathoms, and one to the Brockwell, five to six and a half feet at 56 fathoms, from which the Busty was also worked; there were 116 coke ovens. Employment rose from 365 in 1883 to 636 in 1910, and the colliery had about 620 men at the turn of the century.

The workforce fell to 25 in 1930, when only the Harvey was worked, and the Ramshaw Coal Co. Ltd held it in the 1930s. The old workings were abandoned in October 1948, but under the National Coal Board West Auckland was at work again by 1960, employing about 250 to 280 until it closed in July 1967; West Auckland Drift was one of the last four collieries of the Bishop Auckland area to close. The museum's list of those killed holds 52 names.

Geology

Durham coalfield: the Harvey (3 ft 6 in at 16 fathoms), Brockwell (5 to 6½ ft at 56 fathoms), Busty, Five Quarter, Tilley and Bottom Busty.

Workings

Two pits in 1894, to the Harvey and the Brockwell; 116 coke ovens; West Auckland Drift in the 1960s.

Closure

Old workings abandoned in October 1948; reopened and closed in July 1967 under the National Coal Board.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Culture

• West Auckland's Lipton Trophy wins, 1909 and 1911 (Sports)
  The team that won in 1909 and 1911 was made up mostly of coal miners from West Auckland; the sources do not name their pit, and West Auckland Colliery, worked by Bolckow, Vaughan, was the village's colliery at the time.

Recorded claims

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

• Sunk in 1838 for Jonathan Backhouse. ^1,2
• The colliery employed about 620 men around 1900, and 636 in 1910. ^1,2
• In 1894 Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. Ltd worked it by two pits, to the Harvey at 16 fathoms and the Brockwell at 56, with 116 coke ovens. ¹
• Closed in July 1967. ^3,1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: West Auckland Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Wikipedia: West Auckland, County Durham — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Bishop Auckland Area — Northern Mine Research Society

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