Miscellaneous documents
Reference: D/X 1567 Catalogue Title: Miscellaneous documents Area: Catalogue Category: Other Records Description: Mountford Collection: collieries
Covering Dates: 1886-1982
Access: Open
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- Miscellaneous documents
- D/X 1567 Miscellaneous documents (Ref: D/X 1567)
- Seaham and Vane Tempest Collieries (Ref: D/X 1567/1-25)
- Standard Mine Plans (Ref: D/X 1567/1-16)
- Master tracings (Ref: D/X 1567/17-19)
- Other plans (Ref: D/X 1567/20-25)
- Haswell Colliery (Ref: D/X 1567/26)
- Murton Colliery, Murton (Ref: D/X 1567/27-28)
- Records on the coke industry in County Durham (Ref: D/X 1567/29-41)
- Les Maving (Ref: D/X 1567/29-33)
- Hylton Colliery, Yard Seam (Ref: D/X 1567/29/1-2)
- Easington Colliery (Ref: D/X 1567/30)
- Undersea reserves (Ref: D/X 1567/31)
- Herrington Colliery (Ref: D/X 1567/32-33)
- Malcolm D. Eddington (Ref: D/X 1567/34-41)
- North East Coal Digest (Ref: D/X 1567/40/1-4)
- London and North Eastern Railway Company (Ref: D/X 1567/42)
Catalogue Description
For a description of this collection see the Collection Level DescriptionCatalogue Contents
New Seaham Colliery and Vane Tempest Colliery, Seaham, were both owned by The Londonderry Collieries Ltd. before nationalisation. Thereafter they were part of NCB Durham No. 2 Area. The two collieries were merged on 17 February 1982.
Standard Mine Plans (Ref: D/X 1567/1-16)These were the most important plans held at a colliery. Their preparation was carried out to a strict code of practice, backed by legislation. They were required to be updated immediately works had progressed 100 yards, and the position of all locations were updated at quarterly intervals.
The material on which they were drawn is specialised, an important feature being its resistance to dimensional variation.
When workings were finally abandoned and all known details added, the plans were countersigned by the colliery manager and the surveyor and submitted for permanent record and storage.
For many years, the mine grid plan was drafted in metric units, but levels, sections and other details were recorded in imperial units. Some surveyors drafted plans in metric units, in anticipation of this becoming a requirement. This particular set of plans was drawn in this way, for abandonment, but the final instruction was for submission of imperial unit plans. This particular set of plans was retained by the surveyor, Eric Birbeck.
Official Standard Mine Plans are held by the Coal Authority at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
Master tracings, hand drawn on linen, were constantly updated as the colliery developed.
The day to day operation of a colliery required working plans for a wide variety of specialised uses, such as ventilation, electricity, power control, signalling, communication, mechanical, rescue and fire fighting, ingress and egress, deputies' districts etc.
The master tracings eliminated the need to draw a completely new plan for each purpose, as it was only necessary to add details required to a print from the master tracing.
Eric Birbeck was Colliery Surveyor at Vane Tempest Colliery and was responsible for the final updating of these plans as Seaham Colliery was, by that time, merged with Vane Tempest.
Haswell Colliery, latterly owned by The Haswell, Shotton & Easington Coal & Coke Co. Ltd., closed on 25 September 1896. It is possible that The South Hetton Coal Co. Ltd. was intending to extend its Hutton seam workings into the old Haswell area, very probably from Murton Colliery; the latter extended its High Main 'E' seam workings under Haswell in N.C.B. days (CEM)
Ref: D/X 1567/26Murton Colliery, Murton, was owned by The South Hetton Coal Co. Ltd. before nationalisation. Thereafter it was part of NCB Durham No. 2 Area (CEM).
Ref: D/X 1567/27