COAL. 
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of fomeufe to eftimate what number of acres are wrought 
yearly in the counties of Northumberland and Durham, 
to {’apply the prefent demand; in order to accompliih 
this objeft, the thicknefs and number of workable teams 
ot coal mud be fir ft afcertained; for which purpofe we 
have been favoured with feftions exhibiting the thicknefs 
and depth of the various ftrata, in fome of the deepeft 
pits in the county; which will not only be ufeful for the 
prefent purpofe, but we hope will be acceptable to-many 
of our readers, who are curious in refearches of fubterra- 
neous geography. At St. Anthon’s colliery (three miles 
ealt of Newcaftle) tlie different {earns of coal are as follow: 
Thicknefs of 
Depth to each 
Seams. 
each Seam. 
Seam. 
Ft, 
In. 
Yds. 
Ft. 
In. 
1. Coal - 
- 
- - 
O 
6 
— 
34 
O 
6 
7" Ditto 
- 
- - 
O 
S 
— 
44 
I 
2 
3. Ditto 
- 
- - 
O 
6 
-, 
66 
I 
8 
4. Ditto 
- 
- _ 
I 
O 
— 
82 
2 
2 
5. Ditto 
- 
- - 
O 
6 
• _ 
'94 
O 
8 
6. Ditto 
- 
- - 
O 
8 
.-, 
IOI 
2 
4 
7. Ditto 
- 
- - 
O 
8 
108 
I 
O 
8. Ditto 
- 
- - 
I 
O 
— 
128 
O 
O 
9. High main coal 
6 
O 
— 
153 
O 
O 
10. Coal - 
- 
- - 
3 
O 
— 
193 
O 
5 
11. Ditto 
- 
- - 
O 
6 
_ 
200 
2 
2 
12. Ditto 
- 
- - 
I 
6 
219 
2 
5 
13. Ditto 
- 
- - 
3 
3 
— 
247 
O 
2 
14. Ditto 
- 
- - 
3 
2 
— 
256 
2 
8 
15. Ditto 
- 
- - 
O 
9 
■- 
258 
I 
5 
16. Low main 
coal 
6 
6 
— 
27O 
I 
8 
In the above pit, or {haft, which is nearly the deepeft in 
the kingdom, there are no leis than fixteen feams of coal. 
Hat many of thefe, from their thinnefs, are not workable. 
The 9th, called the high main coal , and the 16th, the low 
main coal , are the two principal feams for affording quan¬ 
tities of coal, being together twelve feet and a half thick, 
and are thofe molt generally wrought. But the 10th, 13th, 
and 14th, are all workable feams, and will afford con- 
fiderable quantities of, coal, the aggregate of the three 
making nearly nine feet and a half "thick; fo that the to¬ 
tal thicknefs of the workable feams in this colliery amount 
to twenty-two feet. In Montague main colliery (three 
miles welt of Newcaitle) the different feams of coal are as 
follow: 
Thicknefs of 
each Seam. 
Seams; 
Depth to each 
Seam. 
Ft. In. 
1. Coal - - - o 
2. Ditto - - - o 
3. Ditto - - - o 
4. Benwell main - 5 
5. Coal - - - 1 
6. Ditto - - - o 
7. Ditto - - - 3 
2 . Ditto - - - x 
9. Ditto - - - 1 
10. Ditto - - - o 
ar. Low main coal 2 11 
12. I.ower main coal 2 10 
13, Coal - - - 0 6 
34. Ditto ---05 
15. Ditto ---03 
Yds, Ft. In. 
— 520 
— 44 1 o 
— 63 2 9 
— 69 j 10 
- 79 2 10 
— 133 id 
— 137 I IO 
— 143 I 3 
- 147 2 2 
— 162 2 6 
— 176 O 4 
— I99 2 IO 
- 226 O IO 
— *35 1 5 
— 241 1 10 
In this ..{haft there are fifteen feams of coal, of which 
only four are workable, viz. the 4th, 7th, 11th, and 12th, 
making together four yards, one foot, and feven inches, 
of workable coal. If the medium be taken betwixt this 
and St. Anthon’s, it will be nearly fix yards thick of 
workable coal; from which may be formed a calculation 
of the quantity of Coal in an acre of ground, fuppofing 
the aggregate thicknefs of the various feams amount to 
fix yards. 1 
An acre of ground contains - 4,840 fquare yards, 
which, multiplied by the thicknefs, 6 yards, 
gives 
- - ----- 29,040 cubic yards in. 
an acre. 
From which deduft one-third for 
wafte, and the part or pillars ne- 
ceffary to be left! in working - 9,680 
there remains ------ 19,360 cubic yards to 
be wrought. 
And, as three cubic yards of coal, when wrought, afford 
a Newcaftle chaldron, 
th-mfore 1 S 7 gives 6,453 Newcaftle chaldrons per 
divided by 3 j acre ' 
The coals exported yearly from the rivers Tyne and 
Wear, with Hartley and Blythe, amount to about 825,000 
. chaldrons, which, with the home conlumption of the two 
counties of Northumberland and Durham, will make the 
quantity of coals railed yearly about 1,000,000 chaldrons. 
And the chaldrons raifed yearly i,ooo.oco('^* ve ? 1 ^^ acies 
J J _ _J neanyperyear, 
divided by the chaldrons per acre 6,4.53^ fix y'd^ thick 
And, by eftimating the breadth occupied by the caking 
coals to be on an average eight miles broad, and twenty- 
five long, in the two counties, we fliall find there will be 
about 200 fquare miles, or 128,000 acres, of coal proper 
for exportation. 
Then the whole area 128,000 ~) gives 825 years, the time 
divided by the yearly -> before this {pace will be 
confumption - 155 J wrought out. 
But there are fome reafons to think that a thicknefs of 
feam, equal to fix yards, will not be obtained over an ex¬ 
tent of two hundred fquare miles ; probably not more on 
an average than four yards ; in which cafe, the coal will 
be exhaufted in five hundred and fifty years ; and, if the 
a gg re g a ‘e thicknefs of the feams to be obtained lhould 
prove only three yards, then little more than four hun¬ 
dred years will be the term of continuance; but it is 
probable that, before the half of that time be elapfed, 
the price to the confumer will be confiderably increafed, 
from the increafed expence of obtaining, them, and the 
increafed length of carriage from the pits to the river. 
This laft, we prefume, may be reduced, in fome fixations, 
by adopting canals inftead of waggon-ways, which, we 
have often wondered, have never yet been attempted. 
From the above inveftigation, it appears that Mr. Wil¬ 
liams’s apprehenfions are not fo chimerical as have been 
reprefented; how far it may be right for the legiftature 
to interfere, we leave to the confideration of thofe more 
converfant in political fpecuiations. Of the coal found 
all through Bambro’ ward, Iftandftnre, and thole parts of 
Glendale ward ealt of the river Till, the feams are very 
thin, moftly from one to three feet thick, and of a very 
inferior quality, yielding a great quantity of afties, and 
neither caking in the fire, nor burning to a cinder: they 
are ufed only for home confumption, and for burning 
lime; for the latter purpofe they are well adapted, by 
their property of neither caking nor burning to a cinder ; 
and it luckily happens, that through all this diftrift, the 
coal and lime-ftone are generally found together; a cir- 
cumftance which greatly facilitates and lelfens the ex- 
pence of burning lime in that part of England. 
The prefent exifting laws for regulating the coal-trade, 
are as follow’: Maiicioufly fetting fire to coal-mines, or 
to any delph of coal, is felony,. 10 Geo. II. c. 32. By 
7 Edw. VI. c. 7. 16 and 17 Car. II. c. 2. made perpetual 
by 7 and 8 Will. III. c. 36 and 17 Geo. II. c. 35. the fack 
of coals is to contain four bufhels of clean coals ; and fea 
coals brought into the river Thames, and fold, {hall be 
after the rate of thirty-fix bufhels to the chaldron; and 
one hundred and twelve pounds the hundred, &c. The 
lord mayor and court of aldermen in London } and jultices 
of 
