	North Bitchburn Colliery	Index	North Bitchburn Colliery

North Bitchburn Colliery

also known as North Beechburn Colliery

Location:

Howden-le-Wear
9 miles [14 km] SW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 92) NZ171326, 54° 41' 19" N, 1° 44' 0" W

Maps:

1898 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

1928 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

1951 map from the Guide to the Coalfields (Colliery Guardian)

Opened:

1845

Closed:

1966

Sinking Started:

27 Aug 1845

Pits:

Shaft details for North Bitchburn Colliery

Owners:

1850s - H. Stobart & Co.

1880s - North Beechburn Coal Co.

1910s - North Bitchburn Coal Co. Ltd.

Output:

1860 - Coal.

1865 - Coal.

1873 - Coal.

1902 - Constantine - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1902 - Five Quarter - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1902 - Shafto - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1905 - Constantine - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1905 - Five Quarter - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1905 - Shafto - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1910 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1915 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1921 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1925 - Coal: Coking. Fireclay.

1930 - Coal: Coking, Household, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1935 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1950 - Coal: Household. Mainly fireclay. Fireclay.

1955 - Coal: Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1960 - Coal: Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1961 - Coal: Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1964 - Coal: Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1965 - Coal: Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1967 - Coal: Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1968 - Coal: Manufacturing. Fireclay.

Employment:

Year	Pit	Total	Below	Above
1854		Working
1883		438	438
1902	Constantine	395	183	212
1902	Constantine	Above is Constantibe and 5/4 combined
1902	Five Quarter	255	255
1902	Shafto	289	289
	Total	939	727	212
1905		14	10	4
1910		373	288	85
1915		236	186	50
1921		90	69	21
1925		162	141	21
1930		204	172	32
1935		155	129	26
1940		150	125	25
1945		85	68	17
1950		52	38	14
1955		41	27	14
1960		54	43	11
1961		44	38	6
1964		44	38	6
1965		44	38	6
1967		40	36	4

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - Constantine, Harvey

1905 - Constantine - Constantine, Harvey

1905 - Five Quarter - Ballarat, Five Quarter

1905 - Shafto - Brockwell, Top Main

1910 - Ballarat, Brockwell, Constantine, Five Quarter, Harvey, Top Main

1915 - Ballarat, Brockwell, Constantine, Five Quarter, Harvey, Top Main, Victoria

1921 - Ballarat, Brockwell, Constantine, Five Quarter, Harvey, Main Coal, Top Main, Victoria

1925 - Ballarat, Main, Top Main

1930 - Ballarat, Constantine, Five Quarter

1935 - Ballarat

1950 - Ballarat, Constantine, Top Main

1955 - Constantine

1960 - Top Main Constantine

1961 - Harvey, Three Quarter

1964 - Harvey, Three Quarter

1965 - Harvey, Three Quarter

1967 - Busty, Three Quarter

1968 - Bottom Busty, Top Three Quarter

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for North Bitchburn Colliery

Notes:

1845, Aug 27 - North Bitchburn Colliery commenced to sink and was put down to the Brockwell Seam.

1908, 29 Jan - Victoria, Marshall Green seams abandoned

1936, 15 Jan - Five Quarter or Busty seam abandoned

1938, 13 Aug - Brockwell seam abandoned

1938, 16 Jul - Top Main seam abandoned

Description

In this township [Witton-le-Wear] coal is and has for may years been extensively worked, and stone is also quarried at Harperley. The principal colliery is that worked by the North Bitchburn Coal Co., which was sunk in 1845, and now working the following seams : "the Harvey," 2 ft. 4 in. ; "Constantine," 2 ft. ; "Ballarat," 1 ft. 8 in. ; the "Five Quarter," 2 ft. 8 in. ; and the Brockwell, 4 ft. 3 in. These seams are marked by drifts. The output, 700 tons per day, is principally converted into coke here. There are also fire brick and sanitary pipe works in conjunction with this colliery, which are provided with clay from this pit ; and in all there are 700 men and boys employed.

The inhabitants of the villages of High Grange, North Bitchburn, Quarryburn, and Valley Terrace, are employed by this company. Howden colliery, also in this township, is worked by the same company, and comprises the same seams, excepting the "Brockwell." Here 250 tons per day are drawn, employing 250 men. A Hargill Hill the Brockwell seam, 6 feet, is being worked as a landsale pit by Mr. J. Proud.

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!

						Agar, Henry, 1919, aged 19
						Blenkinsopp, Robert, 02 Jul 1900, (accident: 15 Jun 1900), aged 62, Hewer, Died to-day from blood poisoning. He sprained his hand while at work on June 15th.
						Burn, Joseph, 15 May 1902, aged 27, Bricklayer, employed on buildings for new coal crasher, when he fell into the disintegrator hole a distance of about 20 feet, and severely injured his head, died same day
						Chambers, William, 25 Nov 1881, aged 21, Locomotive Fireman, he fell off and was killed while shunting some trucks into a coke yard [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]
						Emmerson, John, 09 Apr 1894, (accident: 07 Apr 1894, 7:30 a.m., 5th hour of shift), aged 35, Hewer, Severe injuries to body by fall of stone. Died on the 9th.
						Emmerson, Thomas, 12 Jul 1883, aged 21, Hewer, severe injury to back by fall of stone
						Friend, John Henry, 19 Jan 1870, aged 15, Screen Boy, improperly swinging on a rope attached to a beam of wood which fell upon him
						Frost, Jonathan, 21 Apr 1873, aged 28, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Gash, John, 14 Feb 1898, aged 57, Hewer, died while at work in his place from failure of the heart's action; ventilation satisfactory
						Gash, Jonathan, 21 Jan 1908, (accident: 06 Jan 1908), aged 26, Hewer, He scratched his finger whilst at work in the mine. He died on 21st January from septic pneumonia
						Hall, Ovington, 30 Apr 1894, 10:10 a.m., 5th hour of shift, aged 18, Putter, Severely injured by a fall of roof from a slip while engaged hewing coal, causing his death in a few hours.
						Heslop, Simon Taylor, 24 Dec 1901, aged 50, Horsekeeper, died from pneumonia alleged to have been brought on by glanders from ponies; the medical evidence was conflicting but did not bear out the allegation
						Hook, Robert, 05 May 1916, (accident: Dec 1914), aged 55, Deputy, He ruptured himself in December 1914 while shoving a tram in the pit. In April 1916 he was admitted to the County Hospital where he died on 5th May. A post mortem showed that death was due to double pneumonia, and that there was no direct evidence that his condition was due to the accident in the mine
						Horman, John, 23 Oct 1860, aged 16, Screener, crushed by coal truck
						Hutchinson, Joseph, 19 Apr 1889, (accident: 29 Nov 1888), aged 47, Hewer, died from the effects of injuries received to his back by a fall of stone while working in a thin seam
						Johnson, Thomas, 18 Dec 1904, aged 61, Horsekeeper, killed by a horse in a stable remote from the colliery and after the colliery had been laid in
						Longstaff, George, 21 Dec 1920, aged 16, Putter, crushed by tub, Buried: Escomb Old Cemetery
						Lynas, Ronald, 10 May 1943, aged 16, Landing Lad, runover by set, Buried: Witton Park Cemetery
						McVay, John, 24 Sep 1881, (accident: 20 Sep 1881), aged 64, Shifter, collar bone and ribs broken and severely crushed by a fall of stone while cleaning it away
						Metcalf, William, 16 Dec 1870, aged 32, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Mooney, John, 19 Sep 1888, aged 22, Hewer, fall of stone from a breaker while turning away a place from an old horse road
						Musgrave, Ralph, 27 Oct 1881, (accident: 25 Oct 1881), aged 16, Run Rider, severely injured by tubs through coupling breaking
						Naisbit, Richard, 24 Jun 1873, aged 61, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Nattras, Ralph, 03 Dec 1867, aged 23, Hewer, crushed by set of full tubs at landing of engine plane ; switch wrong, and empty set joined full one
						Nicholson, Joseph, 21 Feb 1868, aged 48, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Price, Patrick, 03 Aug 1907, aged 30, Labourer, he was putting some buckets into a cage when it was taken away suddenly and he fell into the sump
						Raine, Robert, 12 Jan 1859, aged 34, Deputy, fall of coal drawing a jud
						Richardson, Henry, 22 Dec 1893, 8:50 p.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 26, Hewer, Fall of top coal while engaged taking off side coal. He met with a breaker.
						Rowe, Thomas, 16 May 1895, (accident: 25 Sep 1894, 10:30 a.m., 1st hour of shift), aged 48, Hewer, received a slight injury to his shoulder by a fall of stone on 25th September 1894; he resumed work shortly after, and worked over three months, and eventually died from the effects of influenza [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]
						Rudd, Michael, 01 Dec 1887, aged 18, Putter, fall of stone while going into a working place
						Rutherford, George, 08 Aug 1871, aged 48, Hewer, killed by a fall of roof
						Smith, John Thomas, 13 Dec 1911, aged 24, Hewer, he was working with another hewer in a broken lift 5 yards wide, in a seam 2 feet thick, when a stone, the full width of the place and 14 inches thick, fell from between a slip close to the face, and another, 3 feet 6 inches from it; there was no neglect in the timbering of the place
						Stephenson, John, 24 Apr 1884, aged 52, Deputy, fall of stone while drawing timber in a broken jud
						Tarn, Stephen, 30 Mar 1909, (accident: 07 Feb 1909), aged 48, Hewer, Whilst kirving, a piece of stone fell on to his thumb. He died on 30th March. The verdict of the Coroner's jury was that death was due to exhaustion from neurasthenia caused by injury to his thumb whilst at work in the mine
						Tierney, John, 15 Jun 1898, aged 30, Hewer, he was finishing taking out part of a pillar of coal, when a fall of roof took place and killed him
						Tilburn, Charles, 11 Aug 1903, aged 52, Screener, he was letting down trucks under the screens, and in attempting to get on to the footstep of one of them, to put the brake down, he slipped under the wheels and was run over and killed
						Tyerman, John, 10 Feb 1871, (accident: 03 Feb 1871), Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Waggitt, Luke H., 25 Mar 1887, aged 15, Greaser, from some cause he neglected to get into a refuge and was caught by the engine set and run over
						Wilson, Robert, 02 Jan 1891, 10:20 a.m., 1st hour of shift, aged 45, Hewer, while going in-bye he was run over by the engine set, although warned to get into a refuge hole close by [More information ...]
						Woodrough, John, 26 Oct 1859, (accident: 24 Oct 1859), aged 13, Pony Driver, explosion of gas

						40 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							Inspectors Remarks
15 Dec 1854	–	–	–	1	–	1

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of North Bitchburn Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to North Bitchburn Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1854 List of mines by T. Y. Hall, published in Vol II (1853-4) of the Transactions of the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers
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
1867 Mines Inspectors Report
1868 Mines Inspectors Report, South Durham District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1870 Mines Inspectors Report (C 456) Where to find this report
1871 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 653), South Durham, Westmoreland, and Cleveland District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1873-4 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1873 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1056), South Durham, Westmoreland, and Cleveland District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1880 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1881 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3241)
1881 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3241), Durham District by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1883 Mines Inspectors Report (C 4078), Durham District by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1884 Mines Inspectors Report (C 4429), Durham District by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1887 Mines Inspectors Report (C 5450) Where to find this report
1888 Mines Inspectors Report (C 5779), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1889 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6015), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1891 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6625), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1893 Mines Inspectors Report (C 7339), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1894 Mines Inspectors Report (C 7667), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1895 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8074), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1898 Mines Inspectors Report (C 9264), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1900 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 536), Durham District (No. 4) by Ronald D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1901 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1062), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1902 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1902 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1590), Durham District (No. 4) by R. Donald Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1903 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 2119), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1904 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 2506), Durham District (No. 4) by R. Donald Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1907 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4045), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1908 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4672), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1909 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1909 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 5177), Durham District (No. 4) by R. Donald Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1910 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1911 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6237), Durham District (No. 3) by A. D. Nicholson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1915 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1919 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1921 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1925 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1930 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1935 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1940 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory published by Louis Cassier Co. Ltd.
1945 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1950 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1955 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1960 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1961 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1964 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1965 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1967 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1968 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
An Account of the strata of Northumberland & Durham as proved by Borings & Sinkings, Volume A-B, published by the North of England Institute of Mining & Mechanical Engineers, 1878
Banners of the Durham Coalfield, Norman Emery, 1998, Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7509-1708-3
Contributions by members of the Public
Headstone(s) in Old Cemetery, Escomb
Headstone(s) in Witton Park Cemetery
History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham by Francis Whellan. Second edition published in 1894.
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.
Mineral Statistics for 1869 (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 1883 - Government report from the Mines Department (C 4058), published in 1884 — includes List of Mines and Mineral Works
Mineral Statistics for 1884 - Government report from the Mines Department (C 4430), published in 1885 — includes List of Mines and Openworks
Victoria History of the Counties of England – Durham. Published in three volumes in 1907.

Further Research:

Research Notes for North Bitchburn Colliery

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