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	Butterknowle Colliery	Index	Butterknowle Colliery

Location:	Butterknowle 14½ miles [24 km] SW of Durham
Map Ref:	(Sheet 92) NZ108257, 54° 37' 34" N, 1° 49' 58" W
Opened:
Closed:	1950
Pits:	Gordon Pit, locn: (Sheet 92) NZ112253, sinking: 1885
	Shaft details for Gordon Pit
	Quarry West Pit, locn: (Sheet 92, OL42) NZ098256, sinking: 1876
	Shaft details for Quarry West Pit
	William Pit, locn: (Sheet 92) NZ109253
	Shaft details for William Pit
Owners:	1850s - Prattman's Trustees
	1860s - Trustees of W. Luke Pratman (deceased)
	1880s - Butterknowle Coal Co.
	1900s - New Butterknowle Colliery Co.
	1920s - J. H. Robinson
Output:	1855 - Coal.
	1860 - Coal.
	1865 - Coal.
	1873 - Coal.
	1927 - Coal: Gas, Household.
	1929 - Coal: Household.
	1930 - Coal: Household.
	1934 - Coal: Household.
Employment:	1854 - 0 [Working]
	1883 - 408 [inc. Marsfield Drift and Quarry Pit]
	1927 - 2
	1929 - 2
	1930 - 2
	1934 - 0 [Abandoned 1/34]
	Colliery Management (prior to 1970)
Seams Worked:	1927 - Hutton
	1929 - Hutton
	1930 - Hutton
	1934 - Hutton [Abandoned 1/34]
	Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Butterknowle Colliery
Notes:	1934, 01 Jan - Hutton seam abandoned

Description

Here [Lynesack and Softley township] are the Butterknowle and Copley Collieries, Craik Scar and West Pits, which, with Land's Collieries, occupy the south western angle of the Durham coalfield, and give employment to the greater portion of the inhabitants. The seams are the "Hutton," four feet thick; the "Harvey," two feet to three feet eight inches ; the "Busty," five feet to six feet, containing a band of sagger of ten inches. The "Brockwell" is the thickest, being six feet. These seams are wrought by both shaft and drifts, which, owing to the great Butterknowle fault, are thrown down a depth of eighty fathoms on the south. In the Butterknowle pits there are nearly 700 men and boys employed.

Butterknowle is the largest village in the parish, and comprises the principal places of business, as well as the colliery. It is about a mile north from Cockfield Railway Station, eight miles west by south from Bishop Auckland, and eight north by east from Barnard Castle. The Bishop Auckland Co-operative Society have erected large stores here, being established since 1885. Copley Lane, Southside, and Wham are hamlets in this township.

The British School at Quarry Lane was originally built by public subscription, but is now supported by the colliery owners. Here accomodation is provided for 80 children.

Miners' Hall – at Butterknowle the miners have a large and well built stone hall, with large room for public entertainments. This hall will seat 450, and is the largest public hall in the district. There is also a reading and a recreation room for the use of the members.

Institute and Library. – The colliery owners have provided their workpeople with a building in which to establish an institute and library. This is now kept up by the members' fees.

Whellan's 1894 Directory of County Durham

Disasters (5 or more killed)

None Found

Names of those killed at this colliery

Please note that this collection of names is by no means complete!

						Andrews, Henry, 10 May 1898, aged 64, Labourer, when kirving clay on the surface to mix with other clay for "daub" for coke ovens and brick making, a piece fell over upon and killed him
						Burrell, Jonathan, 31 Oct 1901, (accident: 19 Sep 1901), aged 28, Hewer, spine dislocated by a fall of stone from some slips at face
						Clinton, Charles, 03 Feb 1925, aged 50, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Dart, Thomas, 19 Dec 1866, aged 21, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Gargett, William, 04 Oct 1887, aged 15, Wailer, crushed between coal truck and screens
						Hope, George, 21 May 1848, Banksman, fell down shaft [More information ...]
						Kellett, Thomas A., 15 Feb 1882, aged 13, Driver, head crushed between tubs while uncoupling them
						Maughan, Joseph, 29 Sep 1840, accidentally fell down the shaft
						Parkin, William, 02 Feb 1890, aged 16, Driver, thrown violently off a tub which got off the way while he was riding out-bye on it, Buried: St. John's Churchyard, Lynesack
						Pinkney, John, 23 Nov 1892, 2:30 p.m., 8th hour of shift, aged 25, Putter, while passing a bord end a tub ran amain and drew some props, which caused a large fall of stone
						Readman, Matthew, 11 Aug 1881, aged 14, Driver, crushed between tubs and side of way while opening a door
						Shaw, William, 01 Aug 1868, aged 24, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Tarn, Joseph, 10 Jul 1893, (accident: 30 Jun 1893, 9:00 a.m., 3rd hour of shift), aged 22, Hewer, Hands and face burnt by explosion of gas. He passed two caution boards and a fence with a naked light. Died 10th July. [More information ...]
						13 names found

If you know of any fatalities missing from the above list then please contact us with the details and we will add them to our database.

Those names marked with , have a web page providing individual details of the accident, the page may also include a photograph of the deceased. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the web page.

Some of the names of mining fatalities on this web site have been kindly provided by Jim Grainger from his research into early newspapers (primarily the Durham Advertiser and Durham Chronicle) and are marked with .

  more information on some of the fatalities shown above

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

  a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Butterknowle Colliery

  list of collieries/pits etc. near to Butterknowle Colliery

Credits

Sources:

Related Links:

	On this site
	Newspaper articles
	External sites
	Gaunless Valley History Trust

Further Reading:

• Banners of the Durham Coalfield, Norman Emery, 1998, Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7509-1708-3, provides a brief history of the colliery along with the history of the associated Miners Lodge Banner

Further Research:

  Research Notes for Butterknowle Colliery