Waterhouses Colliery

Location:

Waterhouses
5½ miles [9 km] W of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 88) NZ185411, 54° 45' 52" N, 1° 42' 45" W

Maps:

1898 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

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

Opened:

1859

Closed:

Aug 1966

Owners:

1859 - Joseph Pease & Partners

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

Output:

1888 - Coal.

1896 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1902 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1914 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1921 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1930 - Coal: Coking.

1947 - Coal: Coking. (100,000 tons)

1950 - Coal: Coking.

1955 - Coal: Coking.

1960 - Coal: Coking.

1961 - Coal: Coking.

1964 - Coal: Coking.

Employment:

Year	Total	Below	Above
1896	492	363	129
1902	506	374	132
1914	486	391	95
1921	445	375	70
1930	457	392	65
1940	514	443	71
1945	511	441	70
1947	495	425	70
1950	474	395	79
1955	502	407	95
1960	496	408	88
1961	470	374	96
1964	301	253	48

NCB Employment Figures

Colliery Management (prior to 1955)

Seams Worked:

1894 - Brockwell, Busty, Harvey, Yard

1914 - Ballarat, Five Quarter, Main Coal, Yard

1921 - Ballarat, Five Quarter, Main Coal, Yard

1930 - Ballarat, Five Quarter, Main

1950 - "B", Ballarat, Five Quarter, Harvey, Yard

1955 - Ballarat, Five Quarter, Harvey, Yard

1960 - Three Quarter, Tilley, Victoria

1961 - Three Quarter, Tilley, Victoria

1964 - Victoria

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Waterhouses Colliery

Notes:

1893, 25 Sep - Harvey seam abandoned

1914, 25 May - Yard seam abandoned

1928, 27 Oct - Victoria seam abandoned

1948 - Five Quarter seam discontinued

1950 - Five Quarter seam discontinued

Description

At the Waterhouses Colliery, which was sunk in 1856, are wrought the "Brockwell," 3 ft. thick, and the "Busty," 2 ft. 4 in. The "Yard" coal and the "Harvey" have recently been opened out. The output is all converted into coke, there being over 200 ovens here, and in all there are 600 men and boys employed. These seams are worked by four drifts.

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!

						Atkinson, Thomas, 26 Nov 1873, aged 16, Station Boy, crushed by tubs in attempting to jump into one from refuge hole, Buried: Esh Winning Cemetery
						Bonsfield, George, 08 Nov 1888, (accident: 30 Oct 1888), aged 53, Stoneman, serious injury to spine by a fall of stone
						Bowman, Robert James, 20 Feb 1911, aged 33, Labourer, he was sent to a small coal heap with open sides on the ground level to trim the coals, and before commencing he stepped on to the heap to hang his lamp on to an upright, as it was early in the morning and rather dark; at the same moment a slide underneath the coals was opened by another man from the road, which passed under the heap, in order to fill some tubs with small coal; it was not until he found he could not get the slide shut again after filling the third tub that he became aware that the deceased was covered up in the coals; when extricated he was found to be quite dead
						Butford, John, 09 Aug 1875, aged 34, Deputy, killed by a fall of stone
						Charissop, Thomas, 18 May 1896, aged 51, Blacksmith, Died from natural causes while at work
						Corrigan, Peter, 21 Jul 1927, aged 34, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone
						Davison, Robert, 12 Oct 1903, aged 20, Hewing Putter, when at work he complained of feeling ill; he was taken out of the pit at once, but died, from heart disease, before reaching the surface
						Dickinson, George, 25 Sep 1880, aged 48, Collier, died from natural causes in the pit after finishing his days work
						Dixon, John, 22 Jul 1915, died from injuries received by accidentally falling from the gangway
						Durrans, J. J., 13 Jul 1923, aged 41, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone
						Holmes, Benjamin, 13 Aug 1895, 8:30 a.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 44, Horse Driver, while engaged shifting a truck of coke he fell and was run over by the full waggon, Buried: Esh Winning Cemetery [More information ...]
						Johnson, Alfred, 13 Oct 1935, aged 32, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Ushaw Moor Cemetery
						Kelly, Michael, 11 May 1880, aged 46, Collier, died from natural causes while at work in the pit
						Linsley, William, 22 Jul 1881, aged 16, Landing Boy, fracture of skull from the winch handle at landing, another boy rapped set away before he got clear, Buried: Esh Winning Cemetery
						Maddison, Whitfield, 10 Oct 1885, (accident: 12 Aug 1885), aged 44, Deputy, back broken by the fall of a large stone while he was putting timber under it
						Morton, Thomas, 03 Jan 1868, aged 62, Shifter, fall of stone while setting heavy timber
						Palmer, T. J., 18 Nov 1942, aged 62, Shifter, killed by a fall of stone
						Robins, Edgar, 19 Jun 1896, aged 54, Hewer, Died from injuries alleged to have been received in pit, by lifting a tub, but post-mortem examination showed he died from natural causes
						Thompson, Thomas, 17 Jun 1887, aged 23, Stoneman, head crushed between the top of a tub and a fall of stone, Buried: Esh Winning Cemetery
						Trotter, William, 18 Oct 1902, aged 54, Shifter, he and another shifter, were riding out-bye on an engine plane on a tram without permission; they met the empty set going in, which caught and killed the deceased, and severely injured the other man [More information ...]
						Wanless, Catherine, 31 Aug 1882, [Not Employed], while trespassing on the railway she was knocked down by a truck and killed

						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 .

more information on some of the fatalities shown above

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Waterhouses Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Waterhouses Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1868 Mines Inspectors Report
1869 List of Mines
1873 Mines Inspectors Report (C 1056)
1875 Mines Inspectors Report (C 1499)
1880 Mines Inspectors Report (C 2903)
1881 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3241)
1882 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3621)
1884 List of Mines
1885 Mines Inspectors Report (C 4760)
1888 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1888 Mines Inspectors Report (C 5779), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, 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.
1895 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8074), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines
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, from a 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)
1903 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 2119), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1909 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1911 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6237), Durham District (No. 3) by A. D. Nicholson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1914 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1919 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1921 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.
1940 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory published by Louis Cassier Co. Ltd.
1945 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
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.
1950 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
1955 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1960 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
1961 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
History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham by Francis Whellan. Second edition published in 1894.
Tombstone(s) in Ushaw Moor Cemetery

Pictures:

Colliery picture from old postcard

Further Research:

Research Notes for Waterhouses Colliery



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