Witton Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Sacriston, County Durham, sunk in 1859 as the Witton Pit of Charlaw Colliery and worked with Sacriston Colliery until it closed in January 1966.

History

The Witton Pit was sunk at Sacriston in 1859 as a pit of Charlaw Colliery, reaching the Hutton seam at about 310 feet in 1860; in 1872 it was deepened from the Hutton to the Busty, at 612 feet. For seventy-six years it was wound by a vertical single-cylinder steam engine of the Crowther type built by Thomas Murray of Chester-le-Street. In 1936 its enginemen were three brothers, Jack, Tom and Bob Laidler, and that year the engine gave way to an electric clutch-winder drawing from the Low Main, Hutton and Busty.

Opened as Witton Colliery in 1860, it had R. Oliver as agent and manager in the early 1880s and Thomas G. Noble as manager in the 1890s, by when the Charlaw and Sacriston Collieries Company held it. It employed 420 in 1883 and 418 in 1896, raising gas and manufacturing coal.

By the 1940s Witton was run together with Sacriston under one manager, R. M. Scott, with an under-manager at each; the returns of 1945 and of 1948 to 1954 count the two together, at about 950 men. The National Coal Board took it over in 1947, when it raised 85,000 tons, and worked the Brass Thill, Brockwell and Busty through the 1950s. The Brass Thill was abandoned in 1965, and the colliery closed on 8 January 1966.

Geology

Durham coalfield. From a shaft top about 498 feet above sea level, the 1859-60 sinking passed the Five-Quarter at about 42 feet, the Main Coal at 93 feet, the Low Main at 240 feet and the Brass Thill at 269 feet before reaching the Hutton at 310 feet; the 1872 deepening reached the Busty at 612 feet. The Brockwell and Victoria seams were also worked later.

Workings

One shaft, the Witton Pit, sunk 1859-60 to the Hutton and deepened in 1872 to the Busty; steam-wound until 1936, then by an electric clutch-winder. Worked with Sacriston Colliery from the 1940s.

Closure

Closed by the National Coal Board on 8 January 1966; the Brass Thill seam had been abandoned in 1965.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Charlaw Colliery — The Witton Pit was sunk in 1859 as a pit of Charlaw Colliery.
• Sacriston Colliery — Worked with Sacriston under one manager from the 1940s, by the same company and then the NCB.

Recorded claims

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

• The Witton Pit was sunk from the surface to the Hutton seam in 1859 as a pit of Charlaw Colliery. ^1,2
• Deepened from the Hutton to the Busty seam in 1872. ¹
• A Crowther-type vertical single-cylinder steam winding engine by Thomas Murray of Chester-le-Street served Witton Pit from 1860 to 1936. ³
• Employed 420 in 1883 and 418 in 1896. ¹
• Closed on 8 January 1966. ¹
• The Brass Thill seam at Witton was abandoned in 1965. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Witton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Witton Colliery shaft details — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Sacriston Colliery, Witton Pit, winding engine (DR04675) — The Durham Record, Durham County Council
4. (primary) BGS mine plans: Witton, Brass Thill 'K', D1089 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
5. (primary) BGS mine plans: Witton and Sacriston, Hutton — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
6. (primary) Witton Colliery: colliery management — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 7 October 2026