Westoe Colliery

Sunk in 1909, Westoe was heavily modernised in the 1950s with the construction of two tower mounted friction winders and a modern coal preparation plant. The site has recently closed and awaits demolition. Westoe Colliery was begun in 1909 as a man-riding shaft for the nearby St Hilda's Colliery. It became a producing mine when the old colliery closed in 1940. A major reconstruction scheme commenced in 1957. The early 1960s tall enclosed winding tower of the Crown Shaft dominates the site. An unusual but sadly lost feature of the mine was the electrically operated railway which connected the colliery with staiths at Harton adjacent to Mill Dam. The railway had been installed by the original German owned Harton Coal Company. Site now cleared for a housing development [2001].