Rising Sun Colliery

Coal reserves from the lower seams in the area were mined from Walker Colliery until 1918 and later from the Rising Sun Colliery which was sunk in 1906. A second shaft was sunk between 1912 and 1915 and in 1934, the shaft was deepened to reach the Brockwell seam. The Rising Sun was selected by the NCB for a major refit costing £2.9million. A third shaft to the Beaumont seam, was opened in 1960 to improce access and ventilation. The rebuilding was complete by 1961 and production rose from 1800 to 3000 tons per day. In 1964 1750 men were employed. However, for every ton of coal raised, seven tons of water was pumped from the mine. The colliery closed in April 1969 ending the history of mining in Wallsend and Heaton. Now the Rising Sun Country Park.