A Mining Village

		Coal mining was a major part of industry in County Durham. Coal production in the county reached its peak in 1913 with 170,000 miners working in County Durham alone in 1923. After the Second World War however the coal industry started to decline and many mining villages saw their pits close down in the 1950s and 60s. Coal was being mined in Medomsley as far back as 1834 with Medomsley Colliery, or Busty Pit, as it was also known, sunk in 1839, and Derwent Colliery opened in 1856. Housing areas Derwent and Allendale Cottages were built between 1842 and 1871 to house the miners and their families. Medomsley Colliery Busty Colliery Derwent Colliery In February 1923, eight mine workers aged between sixteen and forty-nine were tragically killed when the cage they were ascending the shaft at Medomsley Colliery in made contact with a girder running across the shaft. They were thrown out of the cage and fell down the shaft to their deaths. Following the incident, the shaft was enlarged and bigger cages were installed.  Derwent Colliery was closed in 1966 with Medomsley Colliery closing in 1973. All photographs in this section courtesy of Colin Bell.