	Ravensworth Shop Colliery	Index	Ravensworth Shop Colliery

Ravensworth Shop Colliery

also known as Allerdean Colliery

Location:

Lamesley
6½ miles [10 km] NNW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ257526, 54° 52' 3" N, 1° 35' 58" W

Maps:

1860s map detailed map from the Ordnance Survey

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:

1850

Closed:

23 Feb 1962

Owners:

1850s - W. W. Burdon, W. Barkus, jun. & Co.

1860s - W. W. Burdon

1900s - Charles Perkins & Partners

1910s - Birtley Iron Co.

1940s - Pelaw Main Collieries Ltd.

1947 - National Coal Board (N.C.B.)

Output:

1855 - Coal.

1894 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1896 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1900 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1902 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1905 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1910 - Shop - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1921 - Betty/Shop - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1930 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Manufacturing, Steam.

1935 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1947 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Industrial. (150,000 tons)

1950 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Industrial, Manufacturing, Steam.

1955 - Coal: Coking.

1960 - Coal: Coking.

1961 - Coal: Coking.

Employment:

Year	Pit	Total	Below	Above
1854		Working
1894		243	243
1896		246	246
1900		309	262	47
1902		322	273	49
1905		471	416	55
1910	Shop	704	579	125
1921	Betty/Shop	1,570	1,234	336
1921	Betty/Shop	inc. Betty
1930		574	447	127
1935		518	411	107
1940		658	529	129
1945		536	420	116
1947		511	402	109
1950		711	541	170
1955		593	469	124
1960		550	450	100
1961		550	450	100

NCB Employment Figures

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - Beaumont, Hutton, Low Main, Six Quarter

1910 - Shop - Beaumont, Hutton, Low Main, Six Quarter

1921 - Betty/Shop - Beaumont, High Main, Hutton, Low Main, Maudlin, Six Quarter, Tilley, Yard

1930 - Busty, Five Quarter, Low Main, Maudlin, Towneley

1935 - Busty, Low Main, Towneley

1950 - Beaumont, Top Busty, Towneley

1955 - Beaumont, Top Busty, Towneley

1960 - Top Busty, Towneley

1961 - Busty, Towneley

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Ravensworth Shop Colliery

Notes:

1930, 11 Jul - Yard seam abandoned

1933, 01 Jul - Maudlin seam abandoned

1938, 18 Jan - Low Main seam abandoned

1950 - Beaumont seam abandoned

Miscellaneous Notes and Incidents for Ravensworth Shop Colliery

Description

The coal mining industry, carried on at the Betty and Shop pits of the Team Colliery, gives employment to 860 hands, who are engaged in working five seams. The Yard seam, 6 feet thick, is met with at a depth of 42 fathoms ; the Maudlin, 4 feet 6 inches, is 54 fathoms ; the Low Main, 3 feet 2 inches, 64 fathoms ; the Hutton, 5 feet, is 71 fathoms ; and Beaumont, which is 4 feet thick, is 97 fathoms deep. From these seams is obtained an output of over 1100 tons per day. This industry has been carried on continuously from the year 1703, and is now worked by Messrs. Charles Perkins and Partners. The Bewick Main Colliery is worked by the same company, is about 36 fathoms to the Hutton seam, employing about 300 men and boys, having a daily output of 300 tons. The Hutton and Low Main are the only seams worked.

Colliery School, Bewick Main, was erected by the Birtley Iron Company, in 1873, for 120 children ; the average attendance is 100. The schoolroom is used by the Primitive Methodists on Sundays.

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!

						Armstrong, N., 30 Nov 1930, (accident: 25 Nov 1930), aged 17, Bank Hand, fell into machinert and died from injuries received
						Clark, Thomas, 20 Dec 1921, (accident: 09 Aug 1917), aged 30, Hewer, died from injuries received
						Cowen, Edward, 13 Aug 1936, aged 46, Coal Cutter, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Gateshead East Cemetery
						Cummings, Thomas, 16 Sep 1913, aged 26, Hewer, deceased was engaged at the face of a 4-yard heading and was instantly killed by a large fall of roof, which rolled out several props; there was a slippery parting in each side of the fall; the stone was probably loosened by a shot fired shortly before, and was liberated when a "back" was reached at the coal face
						Gowland, Thomas, 21 Jan 1918, aged 36, [approximate date]
						Harbin, W., 04 Mar 1931, aged 31, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone
						Hymers, John Kay, 26 Feb 1934, aged 55, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: St. Alban's Churchyard, Windy Nook
						Kennedy, J. G., 15 Jan 1940, aged 29, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Lowery, John Potts, 25 Jun 1923, aged 24, Hewer
						Monaghan, J. B., 22 Jun 1950, aged 54, Dataller, he was fatally crushed between the top of a tub and the underside of a cutter when an unled pony careered into him
						Newton, Edward, 31 Aug 1915, aged 23, Belt-Engineman, killed by being crushed between a connecting rod and a bed plate of the engine
						Peacock, W., 09 Apr 1937, (accident: 02 Apr 1937), aged 32, Stoneman, died from injuries received
						Reverley, John, 09 May 1914, (accident: 20 Mar 1914), aged 45, Deputy, Deceased was returning down a gateway in a seam 3 foot 6 inches thick, worked long wall, when at the junction of the gate with the crossgate a large stone, 12 foot long, 7 foot wide, and from 6 inches to 15 inches thick, fell from the roof, part of which caught him and injured his back. The stone came away from a smooth wavy parting between the blue and the post above. Side props were set, but no crossing plank. No timber was brought away by the fall. Deceased died on the 9th May.
						Smith, R., 28 Sep 1931, aged 41, Filler, killed by a fall of stone
						Welch, John Walter, 23 Jan 1924, 9.10 a.m., 1st hour of shift, aged 29, Back-overman [More information ...]

						15 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 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
11 May 1853	–	–	–	–	1	1	boiler explosion

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Ravensworth Shop Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Ravensworth Shop Colliery

Gallery Images:

Allerdean Pit, Ravensworth Shop Colliery

Credits

Sources:

NEEMARC - Ref: NUMDA/1/6/40, D.M.A. Minutes, Circulars etc. for 1915 (two volumes: covers Jan-Jun, Jul-Dec)
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
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
1902 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1909 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1910 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1913 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 7439), Northern Division (No. 2) by J. R. R. Wilson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1914 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 8023), Northern Division (No. 2) by J. R. R. Wilson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1919 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1921 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1924 Mines Inspectors Report, Northern Division (No. 2) by T. Greenland Davies, H.M. Inspector of Mines [DMM Ref: L-01624 - Tom Bainbridge Collection]
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
1947 The Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
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
Banners of the Durham Coalfield, Norman Emery, 1998, Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7509-1708-3
D.M.A. Durham, General Secretary's Annual Report for 1950 [DMM Ref: L-01605 - Tom Bainbridge Collection]
Headstone(s) in Gateshead East Cemetery
Headstone(s) in St. Alban's Churchyard, Windy Nook, Gateshead
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 1869 (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and of the Museum of Practical Geology), compiled by Robert Hunt, F.R.S.

Pictures:

Colliery picture supplied by Bob Bowerbank

Further Research:

Research Notes for Ravensworth Shop Colliery

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