Benwell Colliery

Location:

Benwell
2½ miles [4 km] W of Newcastle

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ215636, 54° 57' 59" N, 1° 39' 51" W

Maps:

1860s map detailed map from the Ordnance Survey

1928 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

Opened:

1766

Closed:

Pits:

Beaumont Pit, sinking: 1809

Shaft details for Beaumont Pit

Charlotte Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ217643, sinking: 08 Apr 1766

Shaft details for Charlotte Pit

Edward Pit, locn: (Sheet 88) NZ212650, sinking: 1809

Shaft details for Edward Pit

Owners:

1880's - W. Cochrane Carr

1910's - W. Cochrane Carr Ltd.

1930's - Elswick Coal Co. Ltd.

Output:

1888 - Coal. Fireclay.

1890 - Coal. Fireclay.

1896 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1902 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1914 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1921 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing. Fireclay.

1923 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household. Fireclay.

1924 - Coal: Gas, Household. Fireclay.

1925 - Coal: Gas, Household. Fireclay.

1927 - Coal: Gas, Household. Fireclay.

1929 - Coal: Gas, Household. Fireclay.

1930 - Coal: Gas, Household. Fireclay.

1934 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing, Steam. Fireclay. Clay.

Employment:

Year	Total	Below	Above
1896	307	243	64
1902	432	328	104
1914	395	314	81
1921	541	445	96
1923	584	479	105
1924	619	501	118
1925	588	467	121
1927	323	253	70
1929	442	355	87
1930	437	343	94
1934	478	380	98

Colliery Management (prior to 1955)

Seams Worked:

1914 - Brockwell, Five Quarter, Main, Stone Coal

1921 - Beaumont, Brockwell, Five Quarter

1923 - Beaumont, Benwell, Brockwell, Five Quarter

1924 - Beaumont, Benwell, Brockwell, Five Quarter

1925 - Beaumont, Benwell, Brockwell, Five Quarter, Tilley

1927 - Beaumont, Benwell Five Quarter, Brockwell, Three Quarter

1929 - Beaumont, Brockwell, Three Quarter

1930 - Benwell Main, Brockwell, Three Quarter

1934 - Beaumont, Brockwell, Five Quarter, Three Quarter

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Benwell Colliery

Notes:

Miscellaneous Notes and Incidents for Benwell Colliery

Description

This colliery is situated nearly 3 miles west from Newcastle, and is one of the most ancient on the Tyne. It contains the whole series of the coal seams in a workable state, except the Three-quarter coal. All the seams, from the High Main to the Bensham, crop out in the north bank of the river, between the Roman station of Condercum, on the top of the hill, and the staith. The seams above the level of the river were mostly worked out in former times; and the uppermost, or Main Coal, was accidentally set fire to about 160 years ago, and continued to burn for 30 years. It is said that a man offered to go down, at the commencement of the conflagration, and extinguish the fire for a small sum; but so little danger was apprehended, that his offer was declined, The fire "at last extended itself northward into the grounds of Fenham, nearly a mile from where it first appeared. There were eruptions at Fenham in nearly twenty places, sulphur and sal-ammoniac being sublimed from the apertures, but no stones of magnitude ejected. Red ashes and burnt clay, the relics of this pseudo volcano, are still to be seen on the western declivity of Benwell Hill; and it is credibly reported, that the soil, in some parts of the Fenham estate, has been rendered unproductive by the action of the fire."

During the 17th century, the colliery was won to the Low Main seam, and worked till near the close of that century, when it lay dormant till the year 1789. The present winning was then made to the Beaumont seam, at the depth of 60 fathoms, and is still working it. While the former workings of the Low Main seam were in operation, they were carried under the haugh at the west of the manufactury at the village of Paradise; and being near the surface, the water broke in during a great flood of the river, and drowned up the colliery. Vestiges of the crater which the water formed on this occasion, and the dam or dyke which was subsequently built round it, are still visible. This catastrophe happened about the middle of the 17th century; and some years afterwards, the water was drawn out, and the working of the coal in this seam was completed.

On January 19, 1830, a paper by John Buddle, Esq., was read at a meeting of the Natural History Society, Newcastle, describing a whin dyke which passes through the Beaumont seam here. Contrary to the generally received opinion that such dykes have been thrown up from below by the action of heat, this dyke rests on the seam of coal, which it has pressed downward to an extreme thinness. The inferences drawn by Mr. Buddle on this subject, are, that this dyke vertically undulates in a north-west and southeast direction; that it passes under the Main or Ninety-fathom dyke; and that in the opposite direction it re-appears at the Ouseburn, and again at Simonside near Jarrow, being found in the intervening collieries of Byker, Lawson's Main, and Walker.

An extensive shot manufactory was carried on some years ago at one of the pits of this colliery. The melted lead was poured from the top to the bottom of the shaft, which answered the same purpose as throwing it from the top of a high tower.

Views of the Collieries (1844)

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!

						Connoly, John, 19 Mar 1907, 5:40 p.m., aged 16, Timber Leader [More information ...]
						Cram, James, 22 Aug 1828, rope broke, fell down shaft [More information ...]
						Featherstone, William, 12 Feb 1900, aged 42, Hewer, The place was closely timbered, but a "cauldron bottom" fell, breaking a crowntree and prop. There was plenty of loose timber in the place. [Inspection made & inquest attended]
						Hailes, Robert, 01 Feb 1900, aged 45, Labourer, A full set of tubs had been hauled out of the mine, but failed to run clear of the "knock-off" apparatus. The deceased uncoupled the last few tubs, and was about to push them back, when the fore part of the set ran back owing to the greasy state of the rails and crushed him against the knock-off bar. [Inspection made & inquest attended]
						Halliday, William, 26 Oct 1902, aged 46, Hewer, on the 25th October deceased got his foot crushed by a full tub, and a small bone was broken ; the accident happened about 4 a.m., and he continued at work till 8.30 a.m., the end of his shift, and walked to his house near the pit and was attended by a doctor ; on Sunday, the next day, he died at 7.15 a.m. ; an inquest was held and a post mortem examination made, and the doctor who had attended him stated death was due to apoplexy, and not from any accident or violence, and the jury so found
						Hazon, Thomas, 08 Mar 1902, aged 36, Shaftman, while employed renewing and repairing the timber in a shaft which had been deepened from the Beaumont to the Brockwell seam, they were suddenly precipitated down the shaft owing to a side "bunton" giving way which was partly supporting the temporary scaffold upon which they were working ; an examination afterwards proved that this bunton was only secured to the deals by a nail, after the men had sawn through the wooden guide to which the bunton had been bolted ; they had been repeatedly warned to examine the buntons on which the scaffold was placed, and also to use a check scaffold six feet below, but they do not appear to have adopted the latter precaution in this case [More information ...]
						Heppell, Francis Thomas, 25 Aug 1899, aged 29, Hewer, He was working in a place nine feet wide when a "cauldron-bottom" fell and caught him. The working was considered to be well timbered, the deputy having set some three times within the previous five hours [Inspection made & inquest attended]
						Hepple, George, 1908, [approximate date]
						Jobling, William, 21 Jan 1898, aged 62, Boiler Fireman, He was found dead with his face in water in a small sump. It is supposed that the deceased had taken a fit [Inspection made & inquest attended]
						Johnson, George Thomas, 19 Mar 1907, 5:40 p.m., aged 17, Sheaves lad [More information ...]
						Kirk, Richard, 19 Mar 1907, 5:40 p.m., aged 55, Deputy [More information ...]
						Oliver, John Hunter, 08 Mar 1902, aged 35, Deputy, while employed renewing and repairing the timber in a shaft which had been deepened from the Beaumont to the Brockwell seam, they were suddenly precipitated down the shaft owing to a side "bunton" giving way which was partly supporting the temporary scaffold upon which they were working ; an examination afterwards proved that this bunton was only secured to the deals by a nail, after the men had sawn through the wooden guide to which the bunton had been bolted ; they had been repeatedly warned to examine the buntons on which the scaffold was placed, and also to use a check scaffold six feet below, but they do not appear to have adopted the latter precaution in this case [More information ...]
						Parker, Robert, 1930, [approximate date]
						Pearson, Wheatley, 29 Oct 1894, aged 45, Hewer, died suddenly at the pit bottom, on returning from his work, from heart disease
						Peel, William, 27 Oct 1826, explosion of gas [More information ...]
						Potts, William, 1929, [approximate date]
						Pyle, Ralph, 22 Aug 1828, rope broke, fell down shaft [More information ...]
						Richardson, William, 16 Feb 1906, aged 38, Deputy Overman, killed by a fall of roof [More information ...]
						Robson, Archibald, 19 Mar 1907, 5:40 p.m., aged 55, Deputy [More information ...]
						Scott, Adam, 1929, [approximate date]
						Smith, Francis, 1925, [approximate date]
						Strong, George, 24 May 1893, had just come up the Benwell Pit, after finishing his day's work, when he fell dead from "heart disease" as he was crossing the gangway to the lamp cabin
						Whitfield, Joseph, 27 Oct 1826, explosion of gas [More information ...]

						23 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.

For those names marked the text of the Mines Inspectors report into the incident is available online. Click on the icon to display the report.

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
07 Sep 1863	–	1	–	–	–	1	pit explosion

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Benwell Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Benwell Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1888 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1890 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1893 Mines Inspectors Report (C 7339), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1894 Mines Inspectors Report (C 7667)
1896 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, also available online at Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd
1898 Mines Inspectors Report (C 9264), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1899 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 134), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1900 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 536), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1902 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1902 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1590)
1906 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 3449), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. B. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1907 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4045), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. B. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1914 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1921 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1923 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1924 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1925 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1927 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1929 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1930 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1934 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
An Account of the strata of Northumberland & Durham as proved by Borings & Sinkings, Volume A-B, published by the North of England Institute of Mining & Mechanical Engineers, 1878
Views of the Collieries in the Counties of Northumberland and Durham by T. H. Hair. First published in 1844.

Further Research:

Research Notes for Benwell Colliery



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