Newbottle Colliery, Dorothea Pit

Newbottle Colliery, Dorothea Pit. Newbottle Colliery was opened in 1816 and closed in 1956. There were several other pits - Dolly Pit (sunk in 1811), Elizabeth Pit (HER 3136), Margaret Pit (HER 3126) and Success Pit (HER 3127). The colliery was opened by the Nesham family, then taken over in 1819 by the Earl of Durham, and in 1896 by Lambton Collieries Ltd, then Lambton, Hetton and Joicey Collieries Ltd and from 1947 by the National Coal Board. The collieries were linked by 18 miles of private railways. There were several disasters - an explosion on 2 June 1815 killed 57, a boiler burst on 7 August 1815, killing 11. There were explosions on 19 October 1821 (killed 6 miners), 19 November 1824 (killed 11) and 15 June 1832 (killed 12). There is a plaque on a stone wall marking the location of the shaft.