Wallsend Colliery, Church Pit or G Pit

Wallsend Colliery, Church Pit. The 1st edition OS mapping shows a boiler within the site. The 2nd edition OS mapping, 1894/5 survey shows expansion of buildings and wagonways on site. Wallsend Colliery (or Russell's Wallsend Colliery) opened before 1782. There were several pits - Church Pit, A Pit (HER 2089), C or Gas Pit (HER 1139), Edward Pit, F Pit (HER 2196), George Pit (NZ 309 664) and Rising Sun Pit (NZ 298 683 - not opened until 1906). William Russell opened the colliery. Subsequent owners were Losh, Wilson and Bell & Co, then Wallsend and Hebburn Coal Company. There were many explosions at the colliery - one in 1767, another on 4 December 1785 which killed 6 miners, on 9 April 1786, 6 more miners were killed. On 4 October 1790, 7 were killed, on 25 September 1799, 13 were killed, and another 13 on 20 September 1803. An explosion on 23 October 1821 left 52 miners dead, and 102 were killed on 18 June 1835 (a memorial was erected to the dead in 1994). On 19 December 1838, 11 miners were killed, and 5 on 9 August 1925.