Chopwell Colliery

Chopwell Colliery was a coal mine situated at Chopwell, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. The pit was first sunk in 1781, and was closed on 25 November 1966. The colliery was bought by the Consett Iron Company in 1896, before being handed over to the National Coal Board in 1947, when the British coal industry was nationalised. The colliery's highest employment numbers were in 1921, when 2,185 people worked there.[1]

Chopwell Colliery
CountryEngland
LocationChopwell
Coordinates54°55′16″N 1°49′23″W
StatusDemolished, portion of site is a nature reserve
Construction began1781 (1781)
Decommission dateNovember 25, 1966 (1966-11-25)
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal

A coal-fired power station was situated at the colliery, which as well as generating its own electricity, received surplus electricity from the generating equipment at Derwenthaugh Coke Works.[2]

Nature reserve

After the closing of the colliery, part of the site was turned into the Chopwell Meadows Nature Reserve. In June 2014,[3] Durham Wildlife Trust took over the management of this reserve from Gateshead Council and will continue the work to develop the area for wildlife.[4]

References
  1. "Chopwell Colliery". www.dmm.org.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  2. Simon, Siney A. (15 April 2009). "Modern coke works". Mining Electrical Engineer. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  3. Henderson, Tony (2 June 2014). "Durham Wildlife Trust celebrates the hand-over of urban meadows". The Journal. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. "Chopwell Meadows". Durham Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 24 August 2020.

Grid reference NZ114586


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