Eden Colliery Memories From Sixteen Year Old Boy

Memories of the “Eden Colliery” Leadgate.

The Eden Colliery by Ron Ellis was situated at Leadgate 10.5 miles South West of Newcastle.

“This was the Colliery I started my working life at, as an apprentice electrician at sixteen years of age in 1950.

At that time there were nearly one thousand men employed.The pit was opened in 1844 and had four owners prior to 1950, the latter one being The National Coal Board. There were two shafts; the main one was the Eden which was used for drawing coal and man riding, the other shaft situated at Stoney Heap, about one mile from the Eden was the up-cast shaft, this shaft was used for man-riding and materials.

The coal seems worked were the Townley, the Busty and the Brockwell, there was also a drift entrance between the Eden and Stoney Heap, they worked the Hutton and the Little coal seams; the coal from the drift was pulled out in tubs by means of a rope haulage system on the heap-stead at the Eden.

Looking back to 1844 after the pit opened the winding and haulage of coal from the mine was driven by steam power and the transport of coal by chaldren wagon.

Severn in the morning I turned up for work in my new boiler suit (overalls) which I had worn most of the day before; my first job was to keep the workshop fire going. This was an easy task working at a coal mine, also to keep the workshop clean and tidy.

Just starting work I was not allowed to go underground before doing underground training. An apprenticeship then lasted five years so at the age of twenty-one seemed a long way off. I would get an increase in my wage over the next five years after which I would be a competent electrician. My first wage packet was handed over to my Mother and she would hand me back pocket money.

After completing my underground training at the Morrison  Busty North Pit which lasted thirteen weeks, I could now work down the pit but only supervised by a qualified electrician. After another year I went to Sheffield for three months on an electrical course; having caught the train at Newcastle with a suitcase that was nearly bigger than me was an exciting time for me. I must say the training and opportunities to further your education given by the National Coal Board were first class.

Having reached twenty one I was sent on another course to Sheffield which was a mechanisation course for one month, after which I now had the responsibility of looking after the mine, above and below ground. I also had to start working three shifts which were 7.00am – 2.30pm, 4.00pm – 11.30pm and 11.00 – 7.00am. The thought of working the 4 pm till 11.30 pm shift did not please me as this interfered with my social life. However, a workmate came to the rescue as he hated the 11 pm to 7 am shift we agreed to swap; this swap lasted for four years until I married.

Looking back it was a backbreaking job in the mines as all the cables and machinery was so heavy, you could often walk for a mile with your back bent carrying a heavy tool bag and test instrument before you got to your place of work. As an example, I was called to a breakdown on a coal cutter on a coal face no higher than sixteen inches and one hundred yards long. To reach the cutter you had to crawl along on your stomach, pushing a heavy tool bag and test instrument in front of you, then you had to find the fault and repair it by yourself, lying flat out with a small light on your head was no easy task.

By 1980 the coal reserves were exhausted and the mine closed but I had left ten years earlier for pastures new”.

Here’s a video of memories of the “EDEN COLLIERY”

From A

Our thanks go to Arnold Parkin the (late) Bob Howard and “Leadgate and District Local History Association” for this Video presentation.

Fifty years into the working life of the “EDEN COLLIERY”

The Eden Colliery, by the Consett Iron Company, is now working the Hutton and the Main coal seams. This pit has been working for about fifty years. The first named seam is met at a depth of 30 feet, and has an average thickness of 7 feet 6 inches of workable coal, and contains a band of stone 7 to 9 inches thick, and about 1 foot of bad coal at the foot of the lower section. Six feet below the bad coal is met by the Low Hutton seam, which has not yet been worked. The Main coal is 30 feet below the Hutton, and averages 4 feet of clean coal. Besides the above seams, there exist the Townley, Hodge, Hand, and the Tilley, all more or less thin. The Busty, which has not yet been opened out, lies at a depth of 210 feet below the Main coal and gives a thickness of 5 feet. The output, which amounts to 5500 tons per fortnight, is almost entirely used for making gas for the steel furnaces, the remainder, about one-ninth, being disposed of by land sale. The number of men and boys employed is 261.

Some Interesting Dates In The Life Of The “Eden Colliery”

The most famous of the early mine Managers, Hedley, had a street of houses named after him when the two pit rows were built next to South Medomsley Colliery in 1906.
Probably the worst pit disaster happened at the Colliery on 7 November 1927 when John Davison 74, Andrew Dixon 49, and his son Robert 17, were killed by an explosion of firedamp about half a mile from the Eden shaft bottom. They were working in the Towneley seam which until that time had been recognised as free from firedamp. Allegedly, a degree of complacency had crept in and following an investigation by the Mines Inspectorate the Manager, Under Manager and a Deputy were ordered to pay £32-15s in fines and costs for their negligence. Not a lot to pay for 3 lives!

The railway link between the Eden Colliery and South Medomsley Colliery closed in 1964 and was dismantled in 1965.
The Eden Colliery closed on 18th July 1980 having mined under Billingside for 136 years. An Andy Goldsworthy earth maze sculpture now stands where the main buildings stood.