Dean & Chapter Colliery In 1902, the first technological shafts at Dean & Chapter Colliery, Ferryhill, were sunk with the mines going into commodity two years later by Bolchow Vaughan & Co. Ltd., a popular company at that time. The colliery had a remarkable impact on the village, both physically and economically. In fact, the conditions of the industry had outlived the colliery, which closed in 1966. The location of this colliery was at 250 feet north of Ferryhill, beside on the left of the Great North Road (A167), and was immediately north of of the magnesium limestone outcrop known as the Butterknowle Fault (see first illustration). The colliery used to lie on the eastern edge of the exposed part of the Durham Coalfield, the very rich layers out cropping at the surface of the soil. The 19th Century village lies to the southeast, 700 yards from the site of the old colliery miners homes. There were three shafts of the colliery. No 1 Shaft winded down to the Brockwell. No 2 Shaft, from the Busty and Harvey. No 3 Shaft, from the Main Coal and Five Quarter.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 21:44:25 +0000