D16669B
Middridge Colliery
Middridge, nr Shildon
54.621868,-1.616662
Eden Pit
Opened:
Closed:
1872
by 1921
Entry Created:
9 Dec 2021
Last Updated:
9 Oct 2023
Reclaimed
Condition:
Owners:
Weardale Iron & Coal Co. (1880s), National Coal Board (1947), R. & A Young Mining Ltd. (1980s), Banks Group
Description (or HER record listing)
Sunk in 1972 by Weardale Iron & Coal Co. Closed in 1921. DMM indicates site lasted longer, though shows as disused on Ordnance Survey maps.
NEHL - The Eden Pit was located next to Middridge Quarry, and were probably connected to extract coal to burn the lime which was extracted. It was directly connected to the Middridge Colliery in the village by a tramway, which was double track and was likely operated by ropes up and down the harsh bank. At the bottom of the tramway was a loop, indicating a conveyor circuit type system to continuously haul coal to the sidings next to the pit.
A small pit village developed next to the shaft, including its own letter box. There were 4 terraces altogether to accomodate the pitmen and their families. There is no longer any trace. The neighbouring settlement of Riseburn developed at the same time and probably an extension to the village with its own chapel. There is also no trace of this settlement, though one dwelling was retained after the 30s demolition as a farmhands cottage.
It operated as a drift mine as Middridge Mine Co Ltd as part of Young Group's portfolio until Young folded and the assets sold to Banks. They cleared the site and opencast the surface deposits. Thanks for this info from Kevin Kennedy (@ShieldRover)

Ordnance Survey, 1897

Site of Eden Pit in 2023,. The line of the old tramway can be seen.
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Eden Pit and the adjacent pit village in the 1940s. Source: Google Earth
Historic Environment Records
Durham/Northumberland: Keys to the Past
Tyne and Wear: Sitelines
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