Hebburn, C Pit Wagonway

A shaft was sunk at Hebburn in 1792, initially to the High Main seam at 129 fathoms deep. Eventually, two more shafts were sunk at the colliery (B and C (HER 2228)) and by mid-century, workings went as deep as the Hutton Seam at 180 fathoms. The coal was transported from the pits to the riverside on an inclined plane by horses to the Black Staith. Certainly, the name Black Steath appears on Gardiner’s River of Tyne map of 1652, suggesting that there had been shallow workings at Hebburn from early times.

One shaft (A Pit) is shown on Casson’s map of 1801 along with a waggonway curving slightly eastwards from pit to staith. Bell’s map of 1843 shows all three pits and branch lines running to the main way from A Pit to the river. This line itself divides, the branches both running to Hebburn Staith (HER 2234 & 2238). The First Edition Ordnance Survey shows a similar picture.