Woodifield Colliery

Location:

Crook
8½ miles [14 km] WSW of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 92) NZ159351, 54° 42' 38" N, 1° 45' 11" W

Maps:

1898 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

Opened:

Closed:

Pits:

A Pit

B Pit, locn: (Sheet 92) NZ159352, sinking: 11 Sep 1843

Shaft details for B Pit

Owners:

1840's - T. C. Gibson

1850's - Bolckow & Vaughan

1890's - Bolckow, Vaughan & Co. Ltd.

1910's - Woodifield Coal Co. Ltd.

1930's - Steels House Colliery Co. Ltd.

Output:

1873 - Coal.

1888 - Coal.

1896 - Coal: Manufacturing.

1902 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1927 - Coal: Household, Manufacturing.

1929 - Coal: Coking.

1930 - Coal: Coking.

1934 - Coal: Coking, Household, Steam.

1940 - Coal: Coking, Household, Manufacturing. (30,000 tons)

Employment:

Year	Total	Below	Above
1854	Working
1884	Standing
1896	231	161	70
1902	411	265	146
1927	13	10	3
1929	80	60	20
1930	81	65	16
1930	Fir Tree & Woodifield combined
1934	82	64	18
1940	126	100	26

Colliery Management (prior to 1955)

Seams Worked:

1894 - Ballarat, Constantine, Little, Two Foot

1927 - Main Coal

1929 - Top Main

1930 - Top Main

1934 - Top Main

1940 - Main Coal

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Woodifield Colliery

Notes:

1843, Sep 11 - Commenced to sink the B Pit, Woodifield Colliery; finished sinking operations on 8 November, 1843.

1847 - A boring was put down out of the Main Coal Seam (Brockwell) workings to prove the thickness of the ironstone bands lying below, in the B Pit, Woodifield Colliery.

1909 - Little or Busty seam abandoned

1911 - Ballarat, Constantine, Five Quarter, Little, Main, Victoria seams abandoned

1944, Mar - Top Main seam abandoned

Description

Coal is very extensively worked in this township [Crook and Billy Row], principally by Messrs. Pease & Partners, who have in addition to five pits a large number of coke ovens and a large fire brick works situated at Bank Foot. Here is produced the well known "Pease's West" coke. Amongst the ovens are a number of the Simon Carves type, the gases from which produce large quantities of sulphate of ammonia, benzol oil, and coal tar, as bye products. The collieries at present worked by this firm in this parish [Crook] are Roddymoor, sunk in 1844, where five seams are met, the "Main Coal" seam being 3 feet 9 inches thick, and 34 fathoms deep ; the "B" Seam, 2 feet 4 inches, 25 fathoms deep ; "Five Quarter," 3 feet 6 inches, 16½ fathoms ; "Ballarat," 1 foot 10 inches, 12½ fathoms ; and the "Yard," 3 feet, at a depth of 11 fathoms. These thicknesses and depths are a fair average of those seams met with in the Stanley Pit, the Sunniside Pit, and White Lea. At Sunniside and Stanley the "Harvey" seam is found ; in each place it is 2 feet thick. Stanley Pit was opened in 1850, White Lea in 1855, by Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., and acquired by Messrs. Pease and Partners in 1889 ; Sunniside was opened in 1867. At these collieries, and at their very extensive brick works, coke ovens, and shops situated at Bank Foot, a large number of men are employed, giving a total of over 2000 men alone over 16 years of age. In addition to the above mentioned collieries, there are collieries at Woodifield and Low Bitchburn, the former worked by Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., and the latter by the Low Bitchburn Coal Co. At Low Bitchburn there are four seams, the "Main Coal," 4 feet 6 inches ; "Top Main," 2 feet ; "Little Busty," 1 foot 8 inches ; and "Big Busty," 3 feet, all wrought by drifts. The Five Quarter, Ballarat, Hutton, and Harvey are also met here. The output is entirely converted into coke, which with the brick manufactory in connection with the pit gives employment to nearly 200 men and boys.

Woodifield is another colliery, the property of Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., who are working the Constantine, Ballarat, Little Seam, and the Two Foot. The two former are worked by drifts, and the latter two by shafts, at a depth of 15 fathoms. The output is about 200 tons per day, and the number of men and boys employed is nearly 200. Low Bitchburn Colliery, a little to the south west of Crook, gives employment to about 180, and is working the "Main Coal", 4 feet 6 inches ; "Top Main," 2 feet ; "Little Busty," 1 foot 8 inches ; and the "Big "Busty," 3 feet, by drifts, making and output of about 200 tons daily. This is entirely converted into coke.

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!

						Bell, John, 22 Jan 1896, aged 14, [Not Employed], Jumped on to engine set as it was passing between the drift mouth and heapstead and fell between the tubs and was killed. He was trespassing at the time
						Bogan, Peter, 29 Oct 1901, aged 26, Hewer, died from erysipelas followed by gangrene alleged to have been caused by injury in mine, but there is no evidence of his having met with any accident
						Bowman, Jackson, 26 May 1904, (accident: 17 Nov 1903), aged 32, Hewer, alleged to have died from effects of injury by fall of stone on November 17th, 1903, but doctor gave a certificate that death was due to natural causes, and no inquest was held
						Davies, George, 04 Apr 1882, aged 72, Labourer, died from natural causes while sitting in a cabin after his day's work at Woodifield Colliery
						Davison, John, 29 Mar 1904, (accident: 28 Mar 1904), aged 52, Hewer, at the end of his shift he was bringing two full tubs from his working place to the flat when a full tub, which a hewer left standing on a turn without a sprag until he put an empty tub into the face, followed away down slight gradient and caught him, causing such severe injury that he died on 29th [More information ...]
						Davison, Joseph, 27 Mar 1895, 3:30 p.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 34, Hewer, returned to what he supposed to be a missed shot, when it exploded and killed him [More information ...]
						Diamon, John, 21 Jul 1864, aged 36, Mason, killed by a fall of stone
						Dowson, Thomas, 07 Apr 1881, Brakesman, After drawing a loaded cage up the shaft at about 10 pm, he went to examine the boilers and took ill. He died before help arrived. Dowson was a member of the Order of Shepherds. About 500 people attended his funeral
						Edwards, George, 05 Sep 1904, (accident: 29 Aug 1904), aged 38, Deputy, when examining part of his flat on a tram he moved a stone, 1 ft. x 1 ft. x 1½ ft, from the way; about 4½ hours afterwards he complained of great pain, and it was afterwards found he was ruptured, and had to be operated on at Newcastle Infirmary, died from peritonitis on September 5th
						Fawell, Nathan, 19 Sep 1884, aged 77, Mason, run over by trucks on North Eastern Railway siding while taking down a chimney at coke ovens [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a colliery accident]
						Gilboy, Patrick, 04 Jun 1869, aged 27, Labourer, fell down pit from surface
						Johnson, Edward, 02 Dec 1861, aged 49, Waggonwayman, killed by a fall of stone
						Jones, Ellis, 24 Jan 1901, (accident: 08 Jan 1901), aged 23, Hewer, Sitting kirving when a stone fell from roof, tapering to sharp edges at both ends, and broke his back
						Jordan, Francis, 02 Feb 1859, aged 17, Coupler, at bottom of shaft [More information ...]
						Key, William John, 16 Jul 1907, aged 44, Hewer, he neglected, and the deputy neglected, to timber his place; a fall of roof occurred and killed him, Buried: Crook Churchyard [More information ...]
						Lee, Henry, 02 Apr 1863, aged 47, Hewer, fall of top coal
						Maddison, George, 04 Dec 1866, aged 18, Putter, injured by bridge rail
						Martin, James, 29 Jul 1873, aged 13, Putter, tub of coals fell over him
						Nelson, James, 18 Apr 1891, aged 10, [Not Employed], while trespassing on the pit bank after the pit ceased working he was caught in a wheel and killed
						Nicholson, Matthew, 25 Jul 1903, (accident: 13 Jul 1903), aged 29, Labourer, when lowering a truck by a side brake he was seriously crushed between the truck and coke bench
						Robinson, John Robert, 05 Jun 1908, (accident: 30 Oct 1907), aged 35, Hewer, He was levering a piece of stone down with a 4 feet plate when the stone fell suddenly, and either it or the plate struck his chest. He died on 5th June, 1908, from a clot of blood in the windpipe
						Rowley, Jason, 09 Jul 1881, (accident: 01 Jul 1881), aged 24, Hewer, burnt by exploding his powder can while filling a straw [More information ...]
						Siddle, George, 25 Mar 1899, aged 38, Hewer, Travelling on the engine plane to his work, when the empty set caught, ran over, and killed him., Buried: Crook Churchyard
						Spence, John, 19 Feb 1848, he was hewing coal and had just started nicking the sides so as to bring it down, when "a great mass of nearly a ton weight fell upon him"
						Stephenson, William, 10 Apr 1880, aged 15, Driver, while riding inbye on limbers, the cotter pin slipped out, the limbers came off and he fell before the set of tubs and was run over and killed
						Taylor, James, 04 Dec 1867, aged 17, Water Leader, suffered a fit, he was found by a lad called Wilson lying on his face under one of the tubs in about 3 inches of water — he had drowned
						Williams, William, 18 Aug 1903, (accident: 28 May 1903), aged 44, Hewer, a stone, measuring 3 ft. 6 ins, by 6 ins, thick, fell upon his shoulders from the roof of his working place, crushed him down, and broke his back

						27 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.

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
04 Nov 1856	1	–	–	–	–	1	fell down staple, More information ...
26 Jun 1857	–	–	–	–	1	1	crushed by tubs

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Woodifield Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Woodifield Colliery

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
1859 Mines Inspectors Report
1861 Mines Inspectors Report
1863 Mines Inspectors Report
1864 Mines Inspectors Report
1866 Mines Inspectors Report
1869 List of Mines
1869 Mines Inspectors Report
1873 Mines Inspectors Report (C 1056)
1873-4 List of Mines
1880 List of Mines
1880 Mines Inspectors Report (C 2903)
1881 Mines Inspectors Annual Report
1881 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3241)
1882 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3621)
1884 List of Mines
1884 Mines Inspectors Report (C 4429)
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
1891 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6625), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, 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
1899 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 134), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines, from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1901 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1062), 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
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
1904 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 2506)
1907 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4045), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1908 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4672)
1909 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
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
1940 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory published by Louis Cassier Co. Ltd.
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
Contributions by members of the Public
History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham by Francis Whellan. Second edition published in 1894.
Industrial Locomotives of Durham by The Industrial Railway Society, compiled by Colin E. Mountford and L. G. Charlton, published in 1977
Victoria History of the Counties of England – Durham. Published in three volumes in 1907.

Further Research:

Research Notes for Woodifield Colliery



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