	Merrington Colliery	Index	Merrington Colliery

Merrington Colliery

also known as Spennymoor Pit

Location:

Spennymoor
5½ miles [9 km] SSW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 93) NZ250337, 54° 41' 51" N, 1° 36' 43" W

Maps:

1860s map detailed map from the Ordnance Survey

Opened:

1846

Closed:

03 Jun 1928

Owners:

1920s - Bolckow, Vaughan & Co. Ltd.

Output:

1855 - Coal.

1860 - Coal.

1865 - Coal.

1921 - Coal.

1923 - Coal: Coking, Household, Steam.

1924 - Coal: Coking, Household.

1925 - Coal: Coking, Household.

1927 - Coal: Coking, Household.

Employment:

Year	Total	Below	Above
1921	275	247	28
1923	348	303	45
1924	394	340	54
1925	328	278	50
1927	316	276	40
1927	Temporarily closed 30/7/27

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1921 - Brockwell, Harvey

1923 - Harvey

1924 - Busty, Harvey

1925 - Busty, Harvey

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Merrington Colliery

Notes:

1846 - Sunk the Merrington Colliery shafts, Whitworth estate, from the surface to the Brockwell Seam.

Description

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!

						Burnett, George, 10 Jul 1857, aged 22, Brakesman, boiler exploded, Buried: St. Helen's Parish Church/Cemetery, Kelloe [More information ...]
						Cockcroft, Thomas, 26 Apr 1858, aged 40, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Gills, John, 10 Jul 1857, aged 17, Tub Coupler, boiler exploded, Buried: Whitworth [More information ...]
						Gills, Thomas, 10 Jul 1857, aged 45, Waggonwayman, boiler exploded, Buried: Whitworth [More information ...]
						Heel, Richard, 19 Apr 1860, killed by a full tub of coals
						Hetherington, William, 21 Apr 1859, aged 14, Driver, crushed by a set of tubs in engine plane
						Lightly, William, 22 Feb 1855, Putter, explosion of gas [date of inquest] [More information ...]
						McMillan, James, 10 Jul 1857, Fireman, boiler exploded, Buried: Ferryhill [More information ...]
						Robson, Matthew, 06 Feb 1854, (accident: 17 Jan 1854), aged 35, explosion of gas [More information ...]
						Robson, Ridley, 21 Jul 1863, aged 25, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Sedgwick, Joseph, 20 Nov 1872, aged 35, Hewer, riding on a full set along engine plane either jumped off or fell off
						Simpson, William, 16 Jun 1869, (accident: 10 Jun 1869), aged 47, Hewer, was critically injured when a fall of stone came down and knocked his pick-shaft against the lower part of his bowels; he lingered until Wed. 16 June
						Spence, John, 10 Oct 1870, aged 43, killed by a fall of stone
						Ward, Thomas, 30 Jul 1870, aged 17, Putter, accidentally struck by a pick

						14 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

The following unnamed fatalities are listed in the Mines Inspectors Reports, once again this collection is not complete!

Date
03 Nov 1853	–	–	–	1	–	1
24 Dec 1853	–	–	–	1	–	1
22 Nov 1855	–	–	–	1	–	1

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Merrington Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Merrington Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1858 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1859 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1860 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1863 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1869 Mines Inspectors Report (C 124), South Durham District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1870 Mines Inspectors Report (C 456) Where to find this report
1872 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 840), South Durham, Westmoreland, and Cleveland District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1921 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1923 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1924 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1925 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1927 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
Banners of the Durham Coalfield, Norman Emery, 1998, Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7509-1708-3
Contributions by members of the Public
Headstone(s) and Memorial in St. Helen's Parish Church/Cemetery, Kelloe
History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham by Francis Whellan. Second edition published in 1894.
Mineral Statistics for 1855 (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and of the Museum of Practical Geology), compiled by Robert Hunt, F.R.S.
Mineral Statistics for 1860 (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and of the Museum of Practical Geology), compiled by Robert Hunt, F.R.S.
Mineral Statistics for 1865 (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and of the Museum of Practical Geology), compiled by Robert Hunt, F.R.S.
Text kindly provided by Jim Grainger from his research into early newspapers (primarily the Durham Advertiser and Durham Chronicle).
Victoria History of the Counties of England – Durham. Published in three volumes in 1907.

Further Research:

Research Notes for Merrington Colliery

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