	Waldridge Colliery	Index	Waldridge Colliery

Waldridge Colliery

Location:

Waldridge
5 miles [8 km] NNW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ251500, 54° 50' 40" N, 1° 36' 32" 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

Opened:

1831

Closed:

Apr 1926

Pits:

Busty Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ256488, opened: 1875, sinking: 1875

Shaft details for Busty Pit

Shaft details for Waldridge Colliery

Owners:

1780s - H. Jolliffe, Esq.

1850s - Sowerby & Co.

1860s - Sowerby, Phillips & Co.

1880s - Thiedemann & Wallis.

1910s - Priestman Collieries Ltd.

Output:

1855 - Coal.

1860 - Coal.

1865 - Coal.

1873 - Coal.

1888 - A Pit - Coal.

1888 - Busty Pit - Coal.

1894 - A Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1894 - Busty Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1896 - A Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1896 - Busty Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1900 - A Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1900 - Busty Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1902 - A Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1902 - Busty Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1905 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1910 - A Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1910 - Busty - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1910 - Shield Row Drift - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1915 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1915 - Shield Row Drift - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1921 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1923 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1923 - Shield Row Drift - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1924 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1925 - Shield Row Drift - Coal: Gas, Steam.

1927 - Coal: Gas, Steam.

Employment:

Year	Pit	Total	Below	Above
1854		Working
1883		377	377
1894	A Pit	184	159	25
1894	Busty Pit	305	222	83
	Total	489	381	108
1896	A Pit	179	151	28
1896	Busty Pit	323	232	91
	Total	502	383	119
1900	A Pit	159	133	26
1900	Busty Pit	352	230	122
	Total	511	363	148
1902	A Pit	134	124	10
1902	Busty Pit	354	230	124
	Total	488	354	134
1905		502	359	143
1910		522	372	150
1910	A Pit	Suspended Dec. 31, 1910
	Total	522	372	150
1915		408	284	124
1921		431	306	125
1923		342	262	80
1923	Shield Row Drift	114	85	29
	Total	456	347	109
1924		500	387	113
1925	Shield Row Drift	194	133	61
1927		Abandoned 3/27

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - A Pit - Hutton, Low Main, Main Coal

1905 - Busty - Busty

1910 - A Pit - Five Quarter, Hutton, Low Main, Main Coal, Shield Row [Suspended Dec. 31, 1910]

1910 - Busty - Busty

1910 - Shield Row Drift - Shield Row

1915 - Busty, Hutton, Low Main, Main Coal, Shield Row

1915 - Shield Row Drift - Low Main, Shield Row

1921 - Brass Thill, Busty, Hutton, Low Main, Main Coal, Shield Row

1921 - Shield Row Drift - Low Main, Shield Row

1923 - Brass Thill, Busty, Low Main, Shield Row

1923 - Shield Row Drift - Brass Thill, Busty, Low Main, Shield Row

1924 - Brass Thill, Busty, Low Main, Shield Row

1925 - Shield Row Drift - Brass Thill, Busty, Low Main, Shield Row

1927 - Brass Thill, Busty, Low Main, Shield Row [Abandoned 3/27]

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Waldridge Colliery

Notes:

1776 - Boring operations from the surface were in progress on the southern extremity of Waldridge Common, proving the Hutton Seam.

1875 - Sunk the Busty Pit, Waldridge Colliery, from the surface to the Busty Seam.

1878 - Five Quarter and Main Coal seam abandoned

1899 - Boring operations were in progress from the surface in the vicinity of Plawsworth for the owners of Waldridge Colliery.

1911 - Hutton seam abandoned

1934 - Hutton seam abandoned

Description

This colliery is situated about 1½ miles south-west from Chester-le-Street, and was opened on August 1, 1831. It is held under lease of Colonel Jolliffe and Lady Byron by George Sowerby, Esq., and Partners. There are two coal pits and one engine pit.

The pumping engine is a high pressure of 80 horse power. The winding engine is also a high pressure of about 40 horse power. The coals are transmitted by the Stanhope and Tyne Railway to the drops at South Shields, a distance of about 14 miles.

Views of the Collieries (1844)

The coal in this township [Waldridge] is being wrought by Messrs. Thiedemann & Wallis here and at South Moor. The seams working are the Busty, 4 feet thick, and the Main coal, 3 feet 6 inches ; the former is reached by a shaft 100 fathoms deep, the latter being 40 fathoms deep. There are about 320 men and boys employed, and the daily output is over 700 tons, a third of which is converted into coke on the premises.

The Colliery School, built by the colliery owners in 1834, has several times been enlarged, the latest being the addition of an infant school in 1893, which increased the accommodation to 360. It is at present attended by about 300 children.

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!

						Bewick, Thomas, 07 Dec 1870, aged 20, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Burdis, John, 25 Dec 1846, fell down staple [More information ...]
						Dixon, John, 19 Apr 1859, aged 19, Hewer, fall of coal while kirving
						Fenwick, John, 07 Jun 1895, 1:45 a.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 29, Shifter, died on rolley-way from heart disease, for which complaint he had been previously medically treated [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]
						Halliday, John, 17 Feb 1843, aged 29, Halliday and another man had got in the loop to descend Waldrige Pit, but he did not wait for the engineman to draw them up and lower them into the shaft. This caused the rope to drop about three feet into the staple, causing him to be jerked off, and he fell to the bottom of the shaft. He was recovered, but only lived about 15 minutes
						Heywood, Henry, 04 Jun 1858, Hand putter, fell down a staple [More information ...]
						Johnson, William, 03 Nov 1867, aged 45, Engineman, killed by a boiler explosion
						Lavery, Hugh, 08 Mar 1880, aged 61, Collier, fall of stone from roof while working in a jud, Buried: Ropery Lane Cemetery, Chester-le-Street
						Mason, Edward, 27 Apr 1894, 6:45 a.m., 1st hour of shift, aged 15, Driver, Died suddenly on the rolleyway while walking in-bye to his work [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]
						Oliver, Christopher, 23 Nov 1844, Driver, An inquest was held on 23 November into the death of waggon driver Christopher Oliver, who "as he was proceeding with a train of empty waggons on the railroad from Waldridge Colliery to Sacriston Engine, fell from the front of the first waggons, and was so severely injured that he died soon afterwards." [date of inquest]
						Oxley, Benjamin, 27 May 1854, fall of stone [Sunderland News reports: accident - 27 May 1854 pg 5 col 1]
						Parson, Charles, 02 Feb 1860, aged 28, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Toward, William, 24 Sep 1864, aged 24, Enginewright, fell part way down the shaft [More information ...]
						White, Ramsay, 08 Mar 1871, aged 25, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Wilson, John, 21 Jul 1920, aged 18, Driver, run over by tubs

						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 kindly provided by Jim Grainger from his research into early newspapers (primarily the Durham Advertiser and Durham Chronicle) 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
15 Jul 1854	–	1	–	–	–	1

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Waldridge Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Waldridge Colliery

Gallery Images:

Credits

Sources:

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
1858 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1859 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1860 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1864 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1867 Mines Inspectors Report
1870 Mines Inspectors Report (C 456) Where to find this report
1871 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 653), South Durham, Westmoreland, and Cleveland District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1873-4 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1880 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1880 Mines Inspectors Report (C 2903) Where to find this report
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
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
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
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
An Account of the strata of Northumberland & Durham as proved by Borings & Sinkings, Supplement, published by the North of England Institute of Mining & Mechanical Engineers, 1910
An Account of the strata of Northumberland & Durham as proved by Borings & Sinkings, Volume U-Z, published by the North of England Institute of Mining & Mechanical Engineers, 1897
Banners of the Durham Coalfield, Norman Emery, 1998, Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7509-1708-3
Contributions by members of the Public
Durham Miners' Association, Compensation Department, Minutes of Arbitration Committee - September 1920
Headstone(s) in Ropery Lane Cemetery, Chester-le-Street
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 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
Mineral Statistics for 1884 - Government report from the Mines Department (C 4430), published in 1885 — includes List of Mines and Openworks
Sunderland Daily News
Victoria History of the Counties of England – Durham. Published in three volumes in 1907.
Views of the Collieries in the Counties of Northumberland and Durham by T. H. Hair. First published in 1844.

Pictures:

Views of the Collieries in the Counties of Northumberland and Durham by T. H. Hair. First published in 1844.

Further Research:

Research Notes for Waldridge Colliery

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