	Pontop Colliery	Index	Pontop Colliery

Pontop Colliery

Location:

Annfield Plain
9 miles [14 km] NW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ163517, 54° 51' 35" N, 1° 44' 46" W

Maps:

1807 map from "The Picture of Newcastle Upon Tyne…", published in 1807 by D. Akenhead

1928 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

Opened:

Closed:

Pits:

Creswell Pit

Shaft details for Creswell Pit

Harelaw Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ161512, opened: 1839, sinking: 23 Nov 1839

Shaft details for Harelaw Pit

South Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ162517, opened: 1839

Shaft details for South Pit

Owners:

1760s - Lady Windsor & John Simpson

1850s - John Bowes & Co. (Messrs. Bowes, Hutt, Wood, & Charles M. Palmer)

1860s - Marley Hill Coal Co.

1880s - John Bowes & Partners

Output:

1855 - Coal.

1860 - Coal.

1865 - Coal.

1882 - Coal.

1883 - Coal.

1888 - Coal.

1890 - Coal.

1894 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1896 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1900 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1902 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1905 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1910 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1915 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1921 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1923 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1924 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Steam.

1925 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Steam.

1927 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Steam.

1930 - Coal: Steam.

Employment:

Year	Total	Below	Above
1854	Working
1894	288	186	102
1896	347	229	118
1900	318	238	80
1902	337	235	102
1905	340	255	85
1910	517	426	91
1915	660	400	260
1921	463	373	90
1923	388	320	68
1924	320	251	69
1925	18	4	14
1925	Closed 11/24
1927	14	2	12
1927	Closed 11/24
1930	Ventilating shaft for Dipton

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Main Coal

1910 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Main Coal

1915 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Main Coal

1921 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Main Coal

1923 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Main Coal

1924 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Main Coal

1925 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Main [Closed 11/24]

1927 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter [Closed 11/24]

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Pontop Colliery

Notes:

1839, Nov 23 - Commenced to sink the Harelaw Pit, Pontop Colliery, from the surface to the Hutton Seam.

1929, 05 Jul - Five Quarter, Brass Thill, Top Hutton, Bottom Hutton, Main seams abandoned

Miscellaneous Notes and Incidents for Pontop Colliery

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!

						Bowes, Thomas, 24 Jan 1838, aged 36, Pitman, killed by a fall of stone from the roof [More information ...]
						Elliott, William, 05 Nov 1879, aged 47, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone
						Hodgson, Featherstone, 24 Jan 1838, aged 21, Pitman, killed by a fall of stone from the roof [More information ...]
						Jackson, Martin, 28 Mar 1900, aged 55, Deputy, Deceased had nearly finished drawing the timber out of a jud, when a stone fell from slips in the roof. [Inspection made & inquest attended]
						Jones, Owen, 1917, [approximate date]
						Lochearn, John, 26 Jan 1877, aged 19, Hewer, fall of stone in barrow way
						McGee, Thomas, 09 Nov 1864, (accident: 08 Oct 1864), aged 20, severe wound on the knee joint from a fall of stone, died in Newcastle Infirmary
						Pearson, John, 31 Oct 1890, aged 13, Driver, killed on an engine plane on leaving a refuge hole too soon
						Purvis, Edward, 02 Mar 1901, (accident: 25 Feb 1901), aged 63, Shifter, Supposed to have strained himself internally when at work, causing injuries from which he died on March 2nd, 1901 [Inquest attended]
						Robson, Robert, 15 Mar 1876, aged 15, Driver, killed by a fall of roof
						Scurfield, James, 10 Aug 1908, aged 42, Coke filler, crushed by truck at coke benches
						Standridge, Henry, 01 Sep 1890, 9:00 a.m., 5th hour of shift, aged 29, Hewer, fall of roof while working in a "broken" place
						Standridge, William, 12 Mar 1878, aged 15, Putter, killed by a fall of stone
						Stewart, Alexander, 05 Sep 1919, aged 15, Pony Driver, he was killed when his head was caught fast between a tub and a prop. [Inquest 08 Sep 1919]
						Thompson, William, 10 Feb 1878, aged 33, Deputy, explosion of firedamp
						Tweddle, Jonathan, 06 Dec 1901, aged 13, Driver, The deceased was sitting on the first of six full tubs driving a horse, when it is supposed the latter stumbled and knocked out some timber causing a fall of roof [Inspection made & inquest attended]
						Whitfield, John Robert, 17 May 1920, aged 28, Hewer, he was found dead due to a ruptured artery in his working place

						17 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 .

Some of the names of mining fatalities on this web site have been extracted from material deposited at the North East England Mining Archive and Research Centre (NEEMARC) — principally the records of the Durham Miners' Association 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
09 May 1852	–	1	–	–	–	1	- - This was a very unusual occurrence in this quarter ; as it is one of the collieries which produces little or no inflammable gas, it was quite inadvertent ; examined
04 Aug 1853	–	–	–	–	1	1	boiler explosion
26 Jul 1855	1	–	–	–	–	1	stranger fell down shaft
09 Feb 1859	–	–	–	–	1	1	fall off pit heap

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Pontop Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Pontop Colliery

Credits

Sources:

NEEMARC - Ref: NUMDA/1/6/43, D.M.A. Minutes, Circulars etc. for 1918 (two volumes: covers Jan-Jun, Jul-Dec)
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
1876 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1734), Newcastle-on-Tyne District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1877 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 2003), Newcastle District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1878 Mines Inspectors Report (C 2321), Newcastle District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1879 Mines Inspectors Report (C 2604) Where to find this report
1880 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1881 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3241)
1888 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1890 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1890 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6346), Newcastle District (No. 3) by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1894 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1896 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, also available online at Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd
1900 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1900 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 536), Newcastle District (No. 3) by John L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1901 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1062), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1902 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1908 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4672), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. B. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1909 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1910 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
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
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
1929 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1930 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
An Account of the strata of Northumberland & Durham as proved by Borings & Sinkings, Volume L-R, published by the North of England Institute of Mining & Mechanical Engineers, 1887
Contributions by members of the Public
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.
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
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 Pontop Colliery

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