	South Pontop Colliery	Index	South Pontop Colliery

South Pontop Colliery

Location:

Annfield Plain
9 miles [14 km] NW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ163514, 54° 51' 25" N, 1° 44' 46" W

Maps:

1928 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

Opened:

Closed:

22 Apr 1927

Pits:

Lizzie Pit, closed: 1927

Shaft details for Lizzie Pit

Owners:

1860s - H. Ritson & Bros.

1880s - U. A. Ritson

1910s - U. A. Ritson & Sons Ltd.

Output:

1865 - Coal.

1888 - Coal.

1894 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1896 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1900 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1902 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1905 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1910 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1915 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing, Steam.

1921 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1923 - Coal: Gas.

1924 - Coal: Gas.

1925 - Coal: Gas.

1927 - Coal: Gas.

Employment:

Year	Total	Below	Above
1883	160	160
1894	241	199	42
1896	235	192	43
1900	267	220	47
1902	325	282	43
1905	331	290	41
1910	263	225	38
1915	175	145	30
1921	204	166	38
1923	228	179	49
1924	237	183	54
1925	249	196	53
1927	140	106	34
1927	Abandoned 22/4/27

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Shield Row

1910 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Shield Row

1915 - Hutton

1921 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton

1923 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter

1924 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter

1925 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter

1927 - Brass Thill, Five Quarter, Hutton, Shield Row [Abandoned 22/4/27]

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for South Pontop Colliery

Description

South Pontop Colliery situated in Greencroft township, is worked by Utrick A. Ritson, Esq. There are five seams : Shield Row, 4 feet 8 inches, Five Quarter, 5 feet 6 inches ; Brass Thill, 5 feet 6 inches ; Hutton, 7 feet 6 inches ; Low Hutton, 2 feet thick, worked by two shafts of a depth of 60 fathoms. The annual output is about 100,000 tons, employing 256 men and boys. The coal is chiefly used for gas making.

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!

						Alderson, Charles, 19 Mar 1909, aged 17, Putter, The cause of this accident is problematical. He was found lying in a cross-heading between the rails in front of his tub, unconscious. His head was bleeding. It is probable that, when sitting on the limbers, his foot had slipped off the tub buffer and he had thus been caused to lurch forward; his head had then been caught between the corner of the tub and a prop at the side of the road. His skull was fractured
						Armstrong, William George, 29 May 1894, 10:30 a.m., 1st hour of shift, aged 19, Hewer, While passing a putter he slipped and fell and his head was crushed between a full tub and a prop
						Barker, George, Oct 1870, died in the pit from apoplexy
						Beckham, James, 27 Oct 1902, (accident: 23 Oct 1902), aged 47, Shifter, head crushed by being caught between tub and a packwall, in a gateway, where he was timbering, Buried: Harelaw Cemetery (old)
						Bergin, Michael, 26 Oct 1876, (accident: 21 Oct 1876), aged 41, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Britton, William, 15 Oct 1863, aged 28, Hewer, killed by a fall of coal
						Carroll, Henry, 05 Oct 1869, aged 13, Driver, crushed by tubs
						Cobbledick, John, 09 Nov 1891, 8:00 p.m., 4th hour of shift, aged 23, Stoneman, engaged in removing back timber when a large stone fell from a breaker in the roof
						Cross, James William, 04 Apr 1919, aged 28, Electric Hauler Attendant, killed through being caught by the haulage rope and drawn on to the drum of the electric hauler
						Cross, John W., 04 Apr 1919, caught by a rope and drawn onto the drum of the hauler in the Hutton Seam
						Dawson, Daniel, 30 Apr 1869, aged 16, Putter, fall of band
						Doran, Charles, 20 Jun 1895, 4:00 p.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 35, Hewer, received a severe sprain or rupture by slipping on a canch, and died after a surgical operation
						Errington, John, 14 Jun 1848, died in the pit from apoplexy
						Errington, John, 18 Sep 1897, (accident: 23 Apr 1897), aged 54, Hewer, Crushed between tubs and side, and cut about head and body, by being caught by driver's set. There was plenty of room by the side of the way. Died on September 18th [More information ...]
						Henry, Daniel, 09 Oct 1875, Screenman, fell of screens
						Platten, Rising, 23 Feb 1901, (accident: 12 Feb 1901), aged 52, Deputy, died on the 23rd from blood-poisoning, caused by one of his fingers being scratched when pulling up rails in the pit
						Robson, John William, 16 Nov 1897, aged 33, Hewer, While taking down the top coal of a thick seam a large piece of it fell at natural joints and killed him
						Smith, Edward Barnabas, 19 Aug 1841, aged 21, Viewer, On 19 August, Edward Barnabas Smith of Armfield, the viewer, fell down the shaft of Pontop South Pit. "He was a very estimable young man, and only 21 years of age." He was buried on Sunday, when a great number of workmen from Derwent, Medomsley and Pontop collieries attended uninvited "as a testimony of their regard for the deceased."
						Spark, John, 13 Aug 1869, aged 30, Hewer, explosion of gas [More information ...]
						Tucker, John, 04 Sep 1894, 2:30 p.m., 9th hour of shift, aged 13, Coupler, Fell from one of the shaft mouthings on to the top of a cage, a distance of 75 feet, receiving such injuries that he died in a few hours [More information ...]

						20 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

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of South Pontop Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to South Pontop Colliery

Credits

Sources:

NEEMARC - Ref: NUMDA/6/1/1/1, Reports of the Compensation Department, Vol I covering Sep 1918-Dec 1919
1863 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1869 Mines Inspectors Report (C 124), Northumberland, North Durham and Cumberland District by George William Southern, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1869 Mines Inspectors Report (C 124), South Durham District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1875 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1499), Newcastle-on-Tyne District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1876 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1734), Newcastle-on-Tyne 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)
1888 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1890 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1891 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6625), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1894 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
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
1896 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, also available online at Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd
1897 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8819), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1900 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
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
1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
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
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
Contributions by members of the Public
Headstone(s) in New Cemetery, Harelaw
History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham by Francis Whellan. Second edition published in 1894.
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

Further Research:

Research Notes for South Pontop Colliery

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