A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



Hutton Seam being discovered at a lower level, 

 such an impulse was given to the prospects 

 of the undertaking that it was transferred for a 

 sum close upon ^^90,000, followed up by an 

 expenditure of ^^20,000 more in the sinking and 

 fitting up of a consort pit as a winding shaft, and 

 in 1 846 the Hutton Seam was reached at a depth 

 of 1,722 ft. 



1836. — Boring operations were in progress on 

 Harton estate. 



A boring was commenced at Easington, but 

 was lost in the sand-bed. 



Engine Pit, Coxhoe Colliery, commenced to 

 sink on 4 April, and was put down below the 

 Beaumont or Harvey Seam ; borings were begun 

 at Coaly Field, near Thornley and Hedleyhope, 

 and were in progress in the Roddymoore royalty, 

 near Crook ; from the surface in the Old Park 

 royalty ; from the surface in the neighbourhood 

 of South Hetton Colliery ; on the Whitwell 

 Grange estate from the surface, proving the 

 Hutton Seam ; from the surface on the Thick- 

 ley estate, proving the Brockwell Seam ; and 

 at Cassop from the surface to the Main Coal 

 Seam. 



Sinking operations were commenced at North 

 Pit, Kelloe Colliery, and the shaft sunk to the 

 Harvey Seam. 



Commenced on 2 May to sink from the sur- 

 face the A Pit, Whitwell Colliery. Got the 

 Hutton Seam on 21 June, 1837. 



Belmont Colliery commenced shipping coal at 

 Sunderland, and West Hetton Colliery coals were 

 shipped on the Wear. 



In this year two large coal companies were 

 formed in the county of Durham, and to this 

 was due the sinking of a large number of new 

 collieries. The Durham County Coal Company, 

 the prospectus of which is dated 23 May, 1836, 

 was started with a capital of ;^500,000, and 

 leased royalties at Whitworth, Byers Green, 

 Gordon, Evenwood, and Coxhoe. 



In the following year (1837) the Northern 

 Coal Mining Company was formed, with a 

 capital also of ^^500,000, and commenced opera- 

 tions in 1838, leasing royalties at Framwellgate 

 Moor, Willington, &c. At first there was a 

 scramble for the shares in these two undertakings, 

 but within a very few years both failed, the first- 

 named company losing nearly the whole of its 

 subscribed capital, and the latter not only its 

 original capital, but an additional sum of an 

 equal amount. 



1837. — B lay don Main Colliery was won, 

 also Burnopside Colliery, Lanchester, and the 

 Main Coal was reached at South Tanfield 

 Colliery. 



Woodhouse Close Colliery, near Bishop Auck- 

 land, was sunk to the Low Main Seam at a depth 

 of 444 ft. At Crowtree Colliery, Wallsend, the 

 Five Quarter Seam was won ; Whitwell Colliery, 



Durham, was won to the Hutton Seam at a depth 

 of 354 ft. 



Boring operations were in progress from the 

 surface in the vicinity of Lobley Hill, Farnacres 

 Colliery, and found the Hutton Seam worked 

 out ; also by W. Coulson from the surface on 

 Tudhoe estate, proving the Brockwell Seam ; at 

 Farewell Hall, near Croxdale, from the surface ; 

 from the surface on the South Willington and 

 Hunwick royalties, proving the Main Coal or 

 Brockwell Seam ; at Burn Hall, near Durham ; 

 on the Framwellgate Moor Royalty, and at 

 Fishburn. 



Commenced on I February to sink Martin 

 Charlton's Pit, Whitworth estate. 



The westernmost of the shafts of the Skears 

 Mine, Middleton-in-Teesdale, was sunk down 

 from the surface to the Three Posts Limestone. 



South Tanfield Colliery, in Kyo estate, was 

 sunk from the surface to the Five Quarter Seam. 



Started to sink the ShinclifFe Colliery, 1 1 Sep- 

 tember ; shafts were put down from the surface 

 to the Hutton Seam ; a shaft was also sunk on 

 the Whitworth Royalty; and Garmondsway Moor 

 Colliery, near Ferryhill, was sunk. 



A sinking, 20 fathoms deep, was put down in 

 the Stella freehold, 500 yds. east of the Gate Pit. 



1838. — The sinking of the Murton Colliery 

 was commenced in the early part of the year, 

 under the supervision of Mr. Edward Potter, for 

 Colonel Bradyll and Partners, forming the South 

 Hetton Coal Company — two pits, each 14 ft. in 

 diameter, being carried forward simultaneously 

 at a spot where it had been ascertained by boring 

 that the limestone was 456 ft. thick, and the bed 

 of sand beneath 30 to 35 ft. thick. The water 

 encountered on piercing the limestone was tubbed 

 off, so that immediately previous to the sand 

 being reached the shaft was free from water. 

 On the first shaft approaching the quicksand on 

 26 June, 1839, the bottom of the pit blew up 

 like a blast, and a deluge of sand and water was 

 thrown up and rose to a height of 1 00 ft. 



On the other pit nearing the sand on 23 May, 



1840, the feeders broke away, the sinkers having 

 great difficulty in saving themselves, and the 

 column of water rose 1 20 ft. in the shaft in a 

 very short time. The water now amounted to 

 3,285 gallons per minute, and the engine power 

 being inadequate, operations were brought to a 

 standstill on 26 June. 



A third shaft, 18^ ft. in diameter, was started 

 in July, 1840, and reached the sand in January, 



1841, being pushed forward with all expedition. 

 Then the sinking of all the three shafts through 

 the sand was commenced, the total engine power 

 available being 1,604 h.-p., 27 sets of pumps and 

 39 boilers being employed, and this power draw- 

 ing 9,306 gallons of water per minute. The 

 scouring action of the sand and water on the 

 buckets and working parts greatly impeded the 



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