Shotton Colliery
Encyclopedia
Shotton Colliery is a village in County Durham
, England
. It is situated to the west of Peterlee
.
There are two villages in the parish of Shotton. Old Shotton is a small village to the southeast of the main village and is now merged into the town of Peterlee.
In 1756 the Brandlings
built Shotton Hall
but through marriage this eventually passed to the Burdon family.
The village of Shotton Colliery soon started to develop.
The pit was prosperous at first, but on the 3rd of November 1877 the pit was closed and stayed closed until 1900. People left the village in search of work at other pits in the area. When the pit reopened it grew rapidly. More housing was built and the village grew with the pit. Other industries in the village included the Coke Works and the Brick Works.
By 1947 the original houses to the east of the railway line were at the end of their useful life and in the end most of the bottom end of Front Street was knocked down.
In 1972 the final blow to the village came. The NCB
announced that it was closing the colliery with the loss of 800 jobs. Easington District Council
built new housing in the '70s, pulling down most of the remaining pit houses in an attempt to tidy up the village. Throughout most of the '70s work was done to remove the pit heap, which was at one time the largest pit heap in the country. The Brick Works and Coke Works went with the pit.
The only pit building left now is used a kitchen factory. The remains of the pit baths are left semi derelict.
To view photographs of Shotton Colliery and the coal mine go to the Shotton Colliery website.
s which have sprung up to the east of the village, cutting Shotton Colliery and Old Shotton in half.
Various pubs and clubs have closed over the last 15 years, and two petrol filling stations have gone with the least prominent now a car sales office.
Shotton also had Three cinemas, and a railway station. A small number of shops are left, the cinemas demolished and the railway line has been turned into a country walk way.
The only thing left in the village now to remind one of the time before the colliery is Grange Farm. Some of its buildings remain and now overlook fields once more as they did in the 1840s... except now the field has a small air-strip in it with a parachuting
club.
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated to the west of Peterlee
Peterlee
Peterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners and their families.Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.-Peterlee:...
.
There are two villages in the parish of Shotton. Old Shotton is a small village to the southeast of the main village and is now merged into the town of Peterlee.
History
Old Shotton can be traced back as far as 900 AD when it was known as Scitton. By the 16th century it had become Shotton and was part of Easington, and under the control of the Prince Bishops.In 1756 the Brandlings
Brandling of Newcastle
The Brandlings of Newcastle were a wealthy family of merchants and land and coal owners in Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumberland.-Early Brandlings:...
built Shotton Hall
Shotton Hall
Shotton Hall is a Grade II listed building, formerly a mansion house, now operated by Peterlee Town Council as offices and a conference centre.The Manor of Shotton, near Peterlee, Durham, was owned by the Thompson family...
but through marriage this eventually passed to the Burdon family.
The colliery
In 1840 the Haswell Coal Company began to sink a colliery to the west of Old Shotton near to Shotton Grange Farm and this pit was "won" the following year.The village of Shotton Colliery soon started to develop.
The pit was prosperous at first, but on the 3rd of November 1877 the pit was closed and stayed closed until 1900. People left the village in search of work at other pits in the area. When the pit reopened it grew rapidly. More housing was built and the village grew with the pit. Other industries in the village included the Coke Works and the Brick Works.
By 1947 the original houses to the east of the railway line were at the end of their useful life and in the end most of the bottom end of Front Street was knocked down.
In 1972 the final blow to the village came. The NCB
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
announced that it was closing the colliery with the loss of 800 jobs. Easington District Council
Easington (district)
Easington was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in eastern County Durham, England. It contained the settlements of Easington, Seaham, Peterlee, Murton, Horden, Blackhall, Wingate and Castle Eden...
built new housing in the '70s, pulling down most of the remaining pit houses in an attempt to tidy up the village. Throughout most of the '70s work was done to remove the pit heap, which was at one time the largest pit heap in the country. The Brick Works and Coke Works went with the pit.
The only pit building left now is used a kitchen factory. The remains of the pit baths are left semi derelict.
To view photographs of Shotton Colliery and the coal mine go to the Shotton Colliery website.
Present-day Shotton Colliery
There is almost no work in the village now. On the site of the colliery there are a few small industrial units but the main source of employment in the area now seems to be call centreCall centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
s which have sprung up to the east of the village, cutting Shotton Colliery and Old Shotton in half.
Various pubs and clubs have closed over the last 15 years, and two petrol filling stations have gone with the least prominent now a car sales office.
List of former pubs in Shotton Colliery
- The Central (AKA The Buffs, Prince Bishops and the Goldmine)
- The Red Brick (bottom of Front Street, towards Peterlee. Now demolished)
- The Station Hotel (opposite the War Memorial, now demolished)
- The Fleming Hotel (Now demolished)
- The Throstles Nest (Now demolished)
- The Gordon House (AKA The Melrose)
- The Albert Hotel (Now a home)
- The Commercial (Stood empty for 30 years plus)
Shotton also had Three cinemas, and a railway station. A small number of shops are left, the cinemas demolished and the railway line has been turned into a country walk way.
The only thing left in the village now to remind one of the time before the colliery is Grange Farm. Some of its buildings remain and now overlook fields once more as they did in the 1840s... except now the field has a small air-strip in it with a parachuting
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
club.