Washington Colliery, B Pit

Washington Colliery, B Pit. This was served by the Washington Wagonway, (HER 2624). Washington Colliery was opened before 1794. There were nine pits, A-I. Owners were W. Russel Esq., in 1850s Bell and others, then Bell, Kipster & Co, then William Stobart and lastly the Washington Coal Co Ltd. There were many colliery disasters - on 14 June 1736, 5 miners were killed in an explosion, on 12 February 1796, 6 were killed, 7 on 27 February 1797, 14 on 20 November 1828, 34 on 19 August 1851 and on 31 May 1867 10 miners were killed when a shaft fell down. New offices were opened in 1893. In 1894 900 people worked at the colliery.In 1901 sinking began to the Harvey seam at a depth of 720 feet. The first 120 feet were quicksands - the first British application of the Poetsch freezing method was used to sink through the sands.