Witton Park Colliery

Overview

A County Durham colliery opened in 1819 on the Witton Castle estate, whose commercial success set off the development of nearly a hundred pits within five miles over the next century and a half. Its coal was coked for the Witton Park Ironworks that Bolckow and Vaughan built alongside it in 1845 — the first ironworks in the north-east of England. The colliery outlived the ironworks and closed in April 1925.

History

Coal in the Witton Park area was known to lie close to the surface and could be reached by shallow working. Exploratory boreholes were drilled on the Witton Castle estate from 1756, when it belonged to the Stobart family, but found nothing commercially worthwhile. In 1816 William Chaytor of Croft Hall in Yorkshire bought the estate for £78,000 and put down more trial bores; it was the development of the Jane Pit in 1819 that finally began commercial extraction. That success led to the Mary Ann drift being redeveloped as a deep colliery, and then to the George Pit, the Corving Pit and finally the William Pit. The colliery's importance was not only its own output. Its commercial success spurred the sinking of pit after pit nearby, and nearly a hundred were established within a five-mile radius over the next 150 years. In 1845 the partnership of Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan, having secured suitable leases, began building the Witton Park Ironworks — the first in the north-east of England — and erected four blast furnaces there in 1846. The works used coal from the colliery to make coke, with ironstone brought from Whitby on the coast and from Weardale, and limestone from Stanhope; in 1846 Bolckow Vaughan consumed 62,400 tons of ironstone, 104,000 tons of coke and coal and 20,800 tons of limestone. Ownership of the colliery changed hands repeatedly: Bolckow and Vaughan are recorded as owners in 1855, Kirsopp & Co. from 1860 to 1869, and Henry Chaytor from 1875 to 1880. The colliery closed in April 1925, after almost 106 years.

Geology

Part of the Durham coalfield, and unusual in it for how shallow the coal lay: the deposits at Witton Park were known to be close enough to the surface to be reached by shallow methods, which is why a drift — the Mary Ann — was among the first workings and only later deepened. The coal was of coking quality, which is what made the ironworks beside it possible.

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

Workings

A succession of pits rather than a single shaft: the Jane Pit of 1819, the Mary Ann drift subsequently redeveloped as a deep colliery, and then the George, Corving and William pits. Coal was coked on site for the adjoining ironworks, which took ironstone from Whitby and Weardale and limestone from Stanhope.

Closure

The colliery closed in April 1925, having worked for almost 106 years.

What remains

The colliery and the ironworks are both gone and the site has been cleared and grassed. Witton Park survives as a village, its origins in the works that once stood there.

None recorded in the sources read.

Recorded claims

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

• Exploratory boreholes were drilled on the Witton Castle estate from 1756 without finding significant coal; William Chaytor bought the estate for £78,000 in 1816 and extended the trial boring. ¹
• Commercial extraction began with the development of the Jane Pit in 1819, which led to the Mary Ann drift being redeveloped as a deep colliery and then to the George, Corving and William pits. ¹
• The colliery's commercial success spurred the development of further mines nearby, with nearly a hundred pits established within a five-mile radius over the following 150 years. ¹
• Bolckow and Vaughan began building the Witton Park Ironworks in 1845 — the first ironworks in the north-east of England — and erected four blast furnaces there in 1846, using coal from the colliery to make coke. ^1,2
• In 1846 Bolckow Vaughan used 62,400 tons of ironstone, 104,000 tons of coke and coal and 20,800 tons of limestone, the ironstone coming mainly from Weardale and from Whitby and the limestone from Stanhope. ^1,2
• Ownership records show Bolckow & Vaughan in 1855, Kirsopp & Co. from 1860 to 1869, and Henry Chaytor from 1875 to 1880. ¹
• The colliery closed in April 1925, having operated since June 1819. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Witton Park Colliery — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Bolckow, Vaughan and Co — Grace's Guide

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 September 2026