	Middridge Colliery	Index	Middridge Colliery

Middridge Colliery

Location:

Middridge, nr. Shildon
10 miles [16 km] S of Durham

Map Ref:

(Sheet 93) NZ250263, 54° 37' 54" N, 1° 36' 44" W

Maps:

1928 map from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide

1951 map from the Guide to the Coalfields (Colliery Guardian), although closed Middridge Colliery is shown on the map on the right hand edge opposite the No. 1 Label

Opened:

Closed:

Sinking Started:

1872

Pits:

Charles Pit, sinking: 1874

Shaft details for Charles Pit

Eden Pit, locn: (Sheet 93) NZ248252

Owners:

1880s - Weardale Iron & Coal Co. Ltd.

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

1980s - R. & A. Young Mining Ltd.

Output:

1873 - Coal.

1888 - Coal.

1894 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1896 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1900 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1902 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1905 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1910 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1915 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

1921 - Coal: Coking, Manufacturing.

Employment:

Year	Pit	Total	Below	Above
1880		Standing
1882	Eden	Standing
1883	Charles	379	379
1883	Eden	Standing
	Total	379
1894		456	364	92
1896		432	321	111
1900		390	286	104
1902		304	231	73
1905		47	34	13
1910		139	104	35
1915		Suspended
1921		Suspended

Colliery Management (prior to 1970)

Seams Worked:

1905 - Brockwell, Busty, Four Foot, Harvey

1910 - Brockwell, Busty, Four Foot, Harvey

1915 - Brockwell, Busty, Four Foot, Harvey [Suspended]

1921 - Brockwell, Busty, Four Foot, Harvey [Suspended]

Catalogue of plans of abandoned mines for Middridge Colliery

Notes:

1915 - Brockwell seam abandoned

Description

Middridge: The Weardale Iron and Coal Company have two pits here — the "Eden" and the "Charles". The Eden has been idle for some time ; it was sunk to the Brockwell in 1872. The Charles was sunk in 1874 to the Busty, and in to the Brockwell a few years later. The seams met in this pit are the Harvey, 2 feet 4 inches thick, at a depth of 31 fathoms ; Brockwell, 5 feet 6 inches, at a depth of 65 fathoms ; and the Busty, which is divided by a seggar band of from 3 inches, till it forms two sections, having a thickness together of 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet. The number of men and boys employed is 420, and the output amounts to 600 tons per day. The coal is worked by the Bord and Pillar and Longwall systems.

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!

						Anderson, John, 12 Jul 1902, aged 57, Hewer, he got into a refuge hole to let the empty set pass him, on a self-acting incline, but stepped out before the full set passed, and was caught and killed [More information ...]
						Beadle, Joseph, 10 Apr 1897, (accident: 07 Apr 1897), aged 18, Landing Miner, He had got a full set out of the landing, and was putting the chocks on, when two full tubs came amain and broke his right leg. Died on the 10th
						Brice, John, 20 Sep 1907, aged 22, Onsetter, he fell from the Busty hanging-on into the shaft, when, as he thought, he was about to step into the cage [More information ...]
						Brown, James, 25 Oct 1901, aged 16, Landing Boy, Killed by a fall of stone in a hewer's place. He had no work to do where he was killed but had followed the putter in, and was sitting in the place when the stone fell and caught him.
						Hall, William, 07 Mar 1899, aged 24, Hewer, Died to-day from an alleged injury to his hand in the pit, but a post-mortem examination showed that the cause of death was cerebral apoplexy.
						Hays, Charles, 20 Mar 1902, aged 55, Hewer, when in the act of kirving some top coal fell and hit him on the head, forcing it between his legs; he threw himself back and must have fallen on a piece of coal, as his spine was fractured
						Joicey, Patrick, 29 Aug 1883, aged 13, Trapper, left his door and went where he had no business and was killed by a fall of stone
						Lax, William, 30 Jul 1889, aged 27, Hewer, fall of coal while preparing to sprag his jud
						Marshall, Alfred, 14 May 1874, aged 15, Water Leader, run over by a water tub
						Robinson, Jonathan, 05 Dec 1876, aged 30, Collier, killed by a fall of coal ; jud did not come down by shot and he commenced nicking it without first putting in sprags, and a large fall took place
						Stephenson, James, 25 Jun 1894, 10:15 a.m., 6th hour of shift, aged 40, Hewer, Returning from his day's work, he fell and died from heart disease on the main rolleyway [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]
						Stones, William, 01 Nov 1893, 10:00 a.m., 4th hour of shift, aged 36, Hewer, Fall of stone and coal at a breaker by the side of an old crosscut.
						Sunter, Nathan, 16 Feb 1897, aged 20, Hanger-on of tubs, Right leg and back bruised by tub elevator attachment. Died same day
						Williams, Enoch, 07 Jul 1881, aged 17, Screener, crushed between two trucks on branches while setting them down, which was no part of his duty, Buried: St. Andrew's Churchyard, Bishop Auckland
						Wilson, Ernest W., 23 Nov 1909, aged 29, Onsetter, This accident is almost similar to one which occurred on 20th September 1907 in this same shaft. In each case the signal given was not the one intended to be given. In the event of anyone at the Busty Seam hanging-on wishing to go down to the Brockwell Seam the signal given is five raps, answered by the banksmen with two, and then one from the onsetter. In this case the onsetter rapped one, which is the signal for coal work. The cage was at once raised, and he, about to step into the cage, was caught by it and dropped into the shaft and killed. His assistant was in the cage and saw the whole occur

						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.

more information on some of the fatalities shown above

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Middridge Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Middridge Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1873-4 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1874 Mines Inspectors Report (C 1216) Where to find this report
1876 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1734), Durham by Thomas Bell, 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)
1881 Mines Inspectors Report (C 3241), Durham District by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1883 Mines Inspectors Report (C 4078), Durham District by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1888 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1889 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6015), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1890 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1893 Mines Inspectors Report (C 7339), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
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
1896 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department, also available online at Peak District Mines Historical Society Ltd
1897 Mines Inspectors Report (C 8819), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1899 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 134), Durham District (No. 4) by Ronald D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1900 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1901 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1062), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1902 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1902 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1590), Durham District (No. 4) by R. Donald Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1907 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 4045), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1909 List of Mines - from Reid's Handy Colliery Guide
1909 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 5177), Durham District (No. 4) by R. Donald Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1910 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1915 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1921 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
An Account of the strata of Northumberland & Durham as proved by Borings & Sinkings, Volume L-R, published by the North of England Institute of Mining & Mechanical Engineers, 1887
Banners of the Durham Coalfield, Norman Emery, 1998, Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7509-1708-3
Headstone(s) in St. Andrew's Churchyard, Bishop Auckland
History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham by Francis Whellan. Second edition published in 1894.
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

Further Research:

Research Notes for Middridge Colliery

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