Whitburn, Whitburn Colliery (Marsden Colliery)

The colliery was sunk in 1874 by Belgian miners for the Whitburn Coal Company. It opened in 1879 and in 1891 was absorbed by the parent Harton Coal Company. In 1877 it was the first successful shaft sunk by the "Kind Chauldron" method. This had to be adopted due to the large amount of water present during boring operations. The shaft was constructed of strong iron tubing 13 feet in diameter. It was completed in two years and 12000 gallons of water had been pumped out. Coal was worked a mile under the sea. Coal was transported from here by the South Shields, Marsden and Whitburn Colliery Railway, (HER 2466). The OS mapping up to 1951 shows expansion of spoil heaps and construction of a Bath House and Canteen between 1938 and 1942. In 1931 the pit had set a world record producing 18,000 tons of coal per week, with a work force of 1600. By 1956 the pit was the biggest producer of the four collieries owned by the Harton Coal Company and was producing 591,000 tons of coal per year. Production ceased on 1st June 1968 making a workforce of 819 redundant. By 1991 the whole colliery and accompanying Marsden pit village had been levelled and landscaped as a country park.