	West Pelton Colliery	Index	West Pelton Colliery

West Pelton Colliery

(See also Alma Drift)

Location:

Pelton
6 miles [10 km] NNW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ232515, 54° 51' 28" N, 1° 38' 19" W

Maps:

1860s map detailed map from the Ordnance Survey

1898 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

Opened:

1858

Closed:

1921

Pits:

Alma Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ233516

Engine Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ231517

Shaft details for Engine Pit

Whitehall Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ228509

Owners:

1860s - James Joicey & Co.

1890s - James Joicey & Co. Ltd.

Output:

1860 - Coal.

1865 - Coal.

1882 - Coal.

1883 - Coal.

1888 - Coal.

1890 - Coal.

1894 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1896 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1896 - Whitehall Pit - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1900 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1902 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1905 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

1910 - Coal: Coking, Gas. Fireclay.

1915 - Coal: Coking, Gas. Fireclay.

1921 - Coal: Coking, Gas.

Employment:

Year	Pit	Total	Below	Above
1894		327	273	54
1894		Included in Pelton
	Total	327	273	54
1896		328	274	54
1896	Whitehall Pit	Inc. in West Pelton
	Total	328	274	54
1900		303	256	47
1902		304	251	53
1905		318	258	60
1910		345	281	64
1915		326	266	60
1921		390	313	77
1921		Abandoned

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - Five Quarter, Low Main, Maudlin

1910 - Five Quarter, Hutton, Low Main, Main Coal, Maudlin

1915 - Five Quarter, Low Main, Shield Row

1921 - Five Quarter, Low Main, Main, Shield Row

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for West Pelton Colliery

Notes:

1857 - A 6 ft. staple was put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam at Handen Hold, West Pelton Colliery.

1913 - Beaumont seam abandoned

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!

						Bell, William, 20 Dec 1887, aged 39, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Best, Matthew, 02 Jul 1906, aged 28, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone [More information ...]
						Bowden, Robert, 08 Aug 1878, aged 57, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Brown, Samuel, 10 Jul 1867, aged 14, Driver, run over by a set of tubs
						Curry, Joseph, 27 Feb 1885, aged 32, Hewer, fall of stone in the Low Main seam
						Garnham, Phillip, 06 Jan 1911, 3 a.m., aged 62, Shifter, explosion of firedamp from naked light
						Garnham, Robert, 01 Oct 1875, aged 64, Screenman, crushed by a tub falling from small coal cage, Chester Ward Coroner's Inquest, place: West Pelton Coll., cause: crushed, Alma Pit, West Pelton (DRO Ref: COR/C/2/413)
						Harrison, John, 07 Apr 1868, aged 14, Driver, crushed by tubs
						Hunter, John, 09 Jul 1868, aged 13, Wailer, injured on head by a stone thrown off screens
						Johnson, William, 21 Mar 1921, aged 23, Banksman, fell down shaft
						Knowles, John William, 07 Nov 1913, (accident: 06 Nov 1913), aged 34, Hewer, deceased was working single in a jud 6 feet wide; there were no witnesses of the accident, which occurred at the end of the shift; it was supposed that he was setting a prop underneath the fan plank and that it sprung back, striking him on the right temple; he died in the colliery ambulance whilst being removed to the infirmary on the following day
						Pinkney, George Shield, 26 Sep 1905, aged 59, Deputy, killed by a fall of stone [More information ...]
						Roseby, Thomas, 25 Jan 1866, aged 49, Deputy, fall of stone while drawing timber
						Ryan, Joseph, 07 Sep 1912, (accident: 30 Aug 1912), aged 14, Rope Boy, deceased's duties were to change the rope over from the full to the empty road in a self-acting incline, and to assist the landing man; he was knocking out a chock at the top of the incline when he was caught by some full tubs which were amain, causing fractured skull, from which he died on 7th September, 1912
						Smith, William Henry, 13 Feb 1911, aged 18, Onsetter, prop fell down pit, Buried: St. Paul's Churchyard, West Pelton
						Summerson, Thomas, 27 May 1871, (accident: 18 Apr 1871), aged 29, Deputy, fall of stone ; accident developed latent organic disease of abdomen [More information ...]
						Taylor, Thomas William, 11 Nov 1910, aged 15, Weigh boy, Fell from gangway
						Thompson, Robert Edward, 04 Jun 1912, aged 23, Hand Putter, caught by a fall of stone from a hitch leader while putting an empty tub
						Walton, William, 26 May 1869, aged 14, Driver, run over by a timber tram
						Willis, Joseph, 15 Apr 1904, (accident: 08 Jul 1903), aged 19, Driver, Deceased, who was only occasionally employed as a driver, was coming to the shaft with a horse and four full tubs. The road is too narrow to sit on the limbers, and he was sitting on the top of the front tub; he had to pass under a steel girder supporting the roof, and only 13 inches clear of the tub. In accordance with instructions, the drivers usually got off and led their horses past this point, but deceased either forgot or thought he could clear it; he escaped so far as his head was concerned, but his back was caught and he was crushed and his spine and bladder injured, and he lingered nine months. The road since the accident has been made higher

						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.

more information on some of the fatalities shown above

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of West Pelton Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to West Pelton Colliery

Gallery Images:

Credits

Sources:

1866 Mines Inspectors Report
1867 Mines Inspectors Report
1868 Mines Inspectors Report, Northumberland, North Durham and Cumberland District by George William Southern, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1868 Mines Inspectors Report, South Durham District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1869 Mines Inspectors Report (C 124), South Durham District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines 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
1875 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1499), Newcastle-on-Tyne District by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1878 Mines Inspectors Report (C 2321), Newcastle 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)
1885 Mines Inspectors Report (C 4760) Where to find this report
1887 Mines Inspectors Report (C 5450) Where to find this report
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
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
1904 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 2506), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. B. Atkinson, 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), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. B. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1906 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 3449), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. B. Atkinson, 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
1910 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 5676), Newcastle District (No. 2) by J. B. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1911 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6237), Newcastle District (No. 2) by J. B. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1912 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6983), Newcastle District (No. 2) by J. B. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
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
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
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
Headstone(s) in St. Paul's Churchyard, West Pelton
Industrial Locomotives of Durham by The Industrial Railway Society, compiled by Colin E. Mountford and L. G. Charlton, published in 1977
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
Victoria History of the Counties of England – Durham. Published in three volumes in 1907.

Further Research:

Research Notes for West Pelton Colliery

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