	Westwood Colliery	Index	Westwood Colliery

Westwood Colliery

Location:

Whickham
10 miles [16 km] WSW of Newcastle

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ112567, 54° 54' 17" N, 1° 49' 31" W

Maps:

1928 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

1933 map from the Colliery Engineer magazine, shows the disposition of pits in the Consett Iron Co., Ltd. group and the railway links between them

Opened:

Closed:

Owners:

1880s - Consett Iron Co. Ltd.

Output:

1873 - Coal.

1888 - Coal.

1894 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1896 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1900 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1902 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1905 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1910 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1915 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1921 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

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

1930 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Steam.

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

Employment:

Year	Total	Below	Above
1883	377	377
1894	560	443	117
1896	541	427	114
1900	610	481	129
1902	28	19	9
1905	40	25	15
1910	764	657	107
1915	567	497	70
1921	584	507	77
1925	827	725	102
1925	Closed 07/25
1930	370	277	93
1935	327	270	57
1940	245	245

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - Bottom Busty, Brockwell, Three Quarter, Tilley, Top Busty, Towneley

1910 - Brockwell, Three Quarter, Tilley, Top, and Bottom Busty, Towneley

1915 - Brockwell, Three Quarter, Tilley, Top and Bottom Busty, Towneley

1921 - Brockwell, Three Quarter, Tilley, Top and Bottom Busty, Towneley

1925 - Brockwell, Busty, Hutton, Main, Three Quarter, Tilley, Towneley [Closed 07/25]

1930 - Brockwell, Hutton, Main, Three Quarter, Tilley

1935 - Brockwell, Busty, Hutton, Main, Three Quarter, Tilley, Towneley

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Westwood Colliery

Notes:

Miscellaneous Notes and Incidents for Westwood 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!

						Allen, A. G., 07 Jun 1888, aged 29, Hewer, died today from the effects of an accident caused by a fall of stone in the pit on the 18th April 1887 (over 12 months since accident took place)
						Barkess, George, 28 Jan 1921, (accident: 24 Jun 1920), aged 69, Shifter, sustained injuries to his side from a fall
						Campbell, Robert, 09 Feb 1921, (accident: 24 Jan 1921), aged 63, Waiter On, caught with lever
						Carr, William Kennedy, 30 Apr 1915, aged 16, Token boy, fell from the pit heap to the Screen Belt House floor [Inquest: 03 May 1915]
						Charlton, A. M., 07 Dec 1905, aged 16, Driver, trespassing in coke yard; fell down steps from bench and fractured his leg [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]
						Forster, Jopling, 07 Nov 1894, (accident: 20 Oct 1894, 10:20 a.m., 1st hour of shift), aged 42, Hewer, While walking in-bye he fell and hurt his knee; erysipelas set in and he died on the 7th November
						Jones, Owen, 11 Sep 1875, aged 68, Screener, fell off screens, Chester Ward Coroner's Inquest, place: Westwood, cause: Colliery injuries caused by fall (DRO Ref: COR/C/2/388)
						Kennedy, William, 22 Jul 1885, aged 16, Driver, died from brain fever; supposed cause: the ill-treatment of a fellow workman
						McOlvin, William, 19 Dec 1900, aged 66, Rolleywayman, Everything points to this man having sat down by side of engine plane, about mid-way between two refuge holes, with his legs over one rail, and gone to sleep, and while in this position the empty set came in, caught, dragged him some distance, and crushed him to death., Buried: St. Ebba's Churchyard, Ebchester [More information ...]
						Melia, Philip, 03 Jan 1912, aged 43, Hewer, he was going inbye to his work with two other men and, seeing the empty tubs standing at the bottom of an incline, thought it safe to pass, but he was caught by two full tubs which had run away down the incline, the breaker at the top having neglected to attach the rope to them
						Parker, Joseph, 29 Dec 1884, aged 38, Stoneman, fall of side stone while widening a station
						Pearson, William, 11 Oct 1872, aged 20, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Ross, J., 06 Oct 1935, (accident: 04 Oct 1935), aged 21, Putter, crushed
						Seed, William, 15 Nov 1929, (accident: 11 Nov 1929), aged 25, Putter, runover
						Wallace, Hall, 09 Jan 1883, aged 18, Putter, fall of stone while putting a tub outbye; it got off the rails and drew out a prop, causing the fall, Buried: St. Mary Magdalene Churchyard, Medomsley
						White, J. W., 1917, [approximate date]
						Whitefield, John R., 01 Apr 1904, (accident: 30 Mar 1904), aged 31, Blacksmith, While fixing a turntable on a gangway, a pinch he was using slipped from his hold and fell a distance of 8 feet, and stuck vertically. He fell after it, and landed with fleshy part of his thigh on the end of it. which penetrated and injured his thigh [More information ...]
						Wilkinson, John, 22 May 1896, (accident: 21 May 1896), aged 21, Stoneman, Injured about abdomen due to rupture caused while wedging. Died on the 22nd instant

						18 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

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Westwood Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Westwood Colliery

Gallery Images:

Credits

Sources:

NEEMARC - Ref: NUMDA/1/6/43, D.M.A. Minutes, Circulars etc. for 1918 (two volumes: covers Jan-Jun, Jul-Dec)
1872 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 840), Northumberland, North Durham, and Cumberland District by George William Southern, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1873-4 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1875 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1499), Durham by Thomas Bell, 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)
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
1885 Mines Inspectors Report (C 4760) Where to find this report
1888 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1888 Mines Inspectors Report (C 5779), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1890 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
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
1896 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, also available online at Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd
1896 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8450), 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
1900 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 536), Durham District (No. 4) by Ronald D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1902 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
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
1905 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 2910), Durham District (No. 4) by R. Donald Bain, 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
1912 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6983), 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.
Banners of the Durham Coalfield, Norman Emery, 1998, Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7509-1708-3
Headstone(s) in St. Ebba's Churchyard, Ebchester
Headstone(s) in St. Mary Magdalene Churchyard, Medomsley
History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham by Francis Whellan. Second edition published in 1894.
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

Pictures:

Picture from the Derwentdale Local History Society web site - used with permission.

Further Research:

Research Notes for Westwood Colliery

Mail:
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