Whickham Colliery

Overview

James Snowball's colliery at Whickham, west of Newcastle, raising household coal and fireclay from the 1850s; its Stone Coal was abandoned in 1887 and in the 1890s it was absorbed into Axwell Park Colliery.

History

Whickham Colliery, also called Whickhambanks Colliery, lay at Whickham, about three and a half miles west-south-west of Newcastle. It was working by 1855, and James Snowball owned it in the 1860s, with J. Snowball as manager in 1882-83; by the 1880s the firm was James Snowball and Sons. It raised household coal and fireclay.

Its shaft passed the Beaumont seam, three feet eight inches thick, at 134 feet, and the Stone Coal, two feet thick, at 198 feet; a boring carried the section on to about 373 feet. Working in the Stone Coal was suspended in March 1887 and the seam was abandoned; the royalty was re-let in 1889.

In the 1890s Hannington and Co. took it over and it was absorbed into Axwell Park Colliery, under whose returns it appears in 1894 and 1896, with William Rutherford and then Robert Rutherford as manager.

Geology

The Beaumont seam, three feet eight inches thick, at 134 feet and the Stone Coal, two feet thick, at 198 feet, with fireclay.

Workings

A shaft to the Stone Coal, with a boring below it; from the 1890s worked as part of Axwell Park Colliery.

Closure

Working in the Stone Coal was suspended in March 1887 and the seam abandoned; the royalty was re-let in 1889 and the colliery was absorbed into Axwell Park in the 1890s.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Axwell Park Colliery — Whickham was absorbed into Axwell Park Colliery in the 1890s; both owned by Hannington and Co.

Recorded claims

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

• Owned by James Snowball, later Hannington and Co. ^1,2
• Its output was fireclay and household coal. ^1,2
• The shaft reached the Stone Coal, two feet thick, at 198 feet. ³
• Working in the Stone Coal was suspended in March 1887 and the seam abandoned; the royalty was re-let in 1889. ^4,5
• Absorbed into Axwell Park Colliery in the 1890s. ^1,2
• William Rutherford was manager in 1894 and Robert Rutherford in 1896. ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Whickham Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Whickhambanks Colliery (HER 3639) — Tyne and Wear Historic Environment Record
3. (primary) Strata sunk and bored through at Whickham Colliery (An Account of the strata of Northumberland & Durham as proved by Borings & Sinkings, Vol. U-Z, 1897) — North of England Institute of Mining & Mechanical Engineers, via the Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) Catalogue of Plans of Abandoned Mines: Whickham Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
5. (primary) Whickham Mine Plans (Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plan 2351, Stone seam, 1887) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
6. (primary) Whickham Colliery: Colliery Management (prior to 1970) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 9 October 2026 · Last researched: 9 October 2026