	Witton Colliery	Index	Witton Colliery

Witton Colliery

(See also Charlaw Colliery)

Location:

Sacriston
3 miles [5 km] NW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ238461, 54° 48' 33" N, 1° 37' 47" W

Maps:

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

Opened:

1860

Closed:

08 Jan 1966

Sinking Started:

1859

Pits:

Shaft details for Witton Colliery

Owners:

1890s - Charlaw & Sacriston Collieries Co. Ltd.

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

Output:

1865 - Coal.

1894 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing.

1896 - Coal: Gas, Manufacturing.

1940 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household. (7,000 tons)

1947 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Manufacturing, Steam. (85,000 tons)

1948 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Manufacturing.

1949 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1950 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Manufacturing.

1951 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1952 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1953 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1954 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1955 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1956 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1957 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

1964 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Manufacturing, Steam.

Employment:

Year	Pit	Total	Below	Above
1883		420	420
1894		355	318	37
1896		418	348	70
1940		370	280	90
1940		30	20	10
	Total	400	300	100
1945		958	727	231
1945		inc. Sacriston Busty
1947		320	220	100
1948		963	680	283
1948		inc. Sacriston Busty
1949		946	680	266
1949		inc. Sacriston Busty
1950		685	498	187
1950		inc. Sacriston Busty
1951		946	680	266
1951		inc. Sacriston Busty
1952		946	680	266
1952		inc. Sacriston Busty
1953		946	680	266
1953		Inc. Sacriston
1954		946	680	266
1954		Inc. Sacriston
1955		814	585	229
1955		Inc. Sacriston
1956		518	422	96
1956		Inc. Sacriston
1957		566	422	144
1957		Inc. Sacriston
1964		467	376	91
1964		inc. Sacriston

NCB Employment Figures

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1940 - Hutton

1948 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1949 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1950 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty, Low Main

1951 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1952 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1953 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1954 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1955 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1956 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1957 - Brass Thill, Brockwell, Busty

1964 - Brass Thill, Low Main, Victoria

Notes:

1859 - Witton Pit, Charlaw Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam.

1872 - Witton Pit, Charlaw Colliery, was sunk from the Hutton to the Busty 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!

						Aynsley, H. W., 29 Jan 1953, aged 38, he was assistaing another workman to mark the position of a leak in the reservoir when the wall collapsed on him and he was fatally injured
						Bamford, Eli Wilfred, 17 Nov 1927, aged 25, Putter, killed by a fall of stone
						Blenkinsop, James Routledge, 1930, died after contracting gangrene in his leg because of a fall of stone [approximate date]
						Burlison, William, 19 Apr 1917, (accident: 03 Apr 1917), aged 61, Waggon Chocker, he was working at bank, riding on the step of a truck in order to hold the brake. While applying the brake he overbalanced and was caught between a pillar and the side of the truck. He died in hospital from septic poisoning following rupture
						Clark, John Henry, 26 Aug 1936, aged 42, Filler, killed by a fall of stone (his spine was fractured), he had suffered severe injuries in the same seam only a month before, Buried: Sacriston Cemetery
						Cockbain, John Rennison, 11 Feb 1929, aged 31, Cutter Man, killed by a fall of stone
						Cooper, James, 22 Jul 1928, aged 37, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Sacriston Cemetery
						Danby, Thomas, 31 Oct 1921, (accident: 09 Jun 1921), aged 24, Hewer, received a blow on the head from the pick
						Eltringham, W., 26 Jan 1933, aged 16, Bank Hand, caught by cage
						Fairless, William, 15 Nov 1936, aged 55, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Sacriston Cemetery
						Garforth, Abraham, 28 Feb 1944, aged 34, Filler
						Hall, George, 25 Sep 1920, aged 61, Timber Drawer
						Jaclson, J. M., 30 Aug 1954, aged 65, Driver's Mate, fatally injured when insecure load of material caused him to fall off lorry
						Jacobs, James K., 26 Jun 1914, (accident: 10 Jun 1914), aged 34, Hewer, died from septicaemia, alleged to have been caused by a fall of stone, when his head was cut
						Naisbitt, N., 11 Jan 1947, (accident: 03 Dec 1946), aged 37, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone
						Pearson, Joseph, 18 Dec 1942, aged 33, Cutter, killed by a fall of stone while working at the East Main face, he was buried by about a ton of stone
						Scott, John Thomas, 09 Apr 1941, aged 43, Filler, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Sacriston Cemetery
						Showler, J., 10 Aug 1933, aged 32, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Truelock, William, 27 Mar 1897, aged 30, Gatewayman, while stowing a pack wall a large stone fell from the roof and killed him ; address: Kelsies Buildings, Sacriston, Buried: 30 Mar 1897
						Watt, Joseph, 13 Mar 1942, (accident: 12 Mar 1942), aged 58, Filler, caught by tubs
						Wilkin, Herbert, 31 Jan 1922, aged 47, Onsetter, caught by cage

						21 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 .

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Witton Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Witton Colliery

Memorial Images:

Credits

Sources:

NEEMARC - Ref: NUMDA/1/6/39, D.M.A. Minutes, Circulars etc. for 1914 (two volumes: covers Jan-Jun, Jul-Dec)
1880 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1881 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3241)
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
1897 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8819), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
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
1948 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1949 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1950 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1951 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1952 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1953 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1954 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1955 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1956 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1957 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1964 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
Contributions by members of the Public
D.M.A. Durham, General Secretary's Annual Report for 1953 [DMM Ref: L-01608 - Tom Bainbridge Collection]
Headstone(s) in Sacriston Cemetery
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 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 Witton Colliery

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