Witton Park Ironworks
| Location | |
|---|---|
 Witton Park Colliery
|
|
| Location | Witton-le-Wear |
| County | Durham |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 54°40′16″N 1°44′22″W / 54.67111°N 1.73944°WCoordinates: 54°40′16″N 1°44′22″W / 54.67111°N 1.73944°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Coal |
| History | |
| Opened | June 1819 |
| Closed | April 1925 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Sir William Chaytor |
Witton Park Colliery was a coal mine in Witton Park, Witton-le-Wear near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, Northern England.
Part of the Durham Coalfield, coal stocks were known throughout the area to be close to the surface, allowing coal to be extracted through shallow mining methods. From 1756, exploratory bore holes were drilled to find commercial coal seams on the Witton Castle estate of the Stobart family. However, early results showed no commercially viable coal seams.
In 1816 William Chaytor of Croft Hall, Yorkshire purchased the Witton Castle estate for £78,000. He immediately increased the number of trial borings, but it was not until the development of the Jane Pit in 1819 that commercial extraction began. This then brought about the redevelopment of the Mary Ann drift mine as a deep colliery, and the later development of the George Pit, Corving Pit and finally the William Pit.
The commercial development of Witton Park brought about the development of other coal mines in the area, with nearly 100 pits developed within 5 miles (8.0 km) over the following 150 years.
After the closure of the Witton Park Iron Works, the coal mines lost their local market, and were totally reliant on transport via the North Eastern Railway for distribution of their product. Having been worked for nearly 100 years, the accessible reserves were also in steep decline. After the start of World War I and the loss of a large number of skilled miners, George Pit closed in 1917, followed by Jane Pit in April 1925 which directly caused the loss of 255 jobs.
Many left the village for other coal mining and steel making districts, and then in the 1930s to build either the new British Army base at Catterick, or latterly to work at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Aycliffe.
...
Wikipedia