Londonderry Estates
Reference: D/Lo/B Catalogue Title: Londonderry Estates Area: Catalogue Category: Estate and Family Records Description: Business Records (part 1)
Covering Dates: 1799-1953
Catalogue Index
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- Londonderry Estates
- BUSINESS (Ref: D/Lo/B)
- COAL TRADE (Ref: D/Lo/B 1-30)
- Coal Trade organisation (Ref: D/Lo/B 1-25)
- Printed and miscellaneous, 1855 - 1943 (Ref: D/Lo/B 26-30)
- LONDONDERRY COLLIERIES: GENERAL (Ref: D/Lo/B 31-228)
- The colliery administration during the wardship of Lady Frances Anne Vane, 1814 - 1819 (Ref: D/Lo/B 31-54)
- Collieries (Ref: D/Lo/B 55-133)
- Reports and memoranda, 1839 - 1869 (Ref: D/Lo/B 55-72)
- Coal sales, 1853 - 1870 (Ref: D/Lo/B 73-80)
- Accounts and other financial papers, 1819 - 1887 (Ref: D/Lo/B 81-108)
- Coal Statistics, 1852 - 1881 (Ref: D/Lo/B 109-124)
- Agreements and miscellaneous papers, 1812 - 1885 (Ref: D/Lo/B 125-129)
- Colliery horses and ponies, 1857 - 1885 (Ref: D/Lo/B 130-133)
- Londonderry Colliery Co. Ltd., 1864 - 1953 (Ref: D/Lo/B 134-228)
- Minutes (Ref: D/Lo/B 134-176)
- Accounts (Ref: D/Lo/B 177-221)
- Miscellaneous (Ref: D/Lo/B 222-228)
- LONDONDERRY COLLIERIES: VARIOUS (Ref: D/Lo/B 229-285)
- Dawdon, 1909 (Ref: D/Lo/B 229)
- Framwellgate, 1870 - 1871 (Ref: D/Lo/B 230)
- Old Durham, 1859 - 1870 (Ref: D/Lo/B 231-232)
- Penshaw, 1823 - 1864 (Ref: D/Lo/B 233-237)
- Rainton and Pittington, 1819 - 1892 (Ref: D/Lo/B 238-264)
- The leases, 1819 - 1841 (Ref: D/Lo/B 238-243)
- Reports (Ref: D/Lo/B 244-248)
- Accounts (Ref: D/Lo/B 249-252)
- Valuations (Ref: D/Lo/B 253-254)
- Miscellanea (Ref: D/Lo/B 255-264)
- Seaham, 1869 - 1887 (Ref: D/Lo/B 265-277)
- Seaton, 1837 - 1863 (Ref: D/Lo/B 278-282)
- Silksworth, 1874 - 1876 (Ref: D/Lo/B 283-285)
- OTHER COLLIERY COMPANIES (Ref: D/Lo/B 286-300)
- Haswell Coal Company, 1868 - 1882 (Ref: D/Lo/B 286-287)
- North Hetton Coal Company, 1824 - 1874 (Ref: D/Lo/B 288-295)
- South Hetton Coal Company, 1853 - 1875 (Ref: D/Lo/B 296)
- Horden Colliery Company, 1899, 1941 (Ref: D/Lo/B 297-298)
- Trimdon Grange Colliery, 1863, 1880 (Ref: D/Lo/B 299-300)
- PAPERS OF JOHN BUDDLE (Ref: D/Lo/B 301-311)
- Hetton, Rainton, Pittington (Ref: D/Lo/B 301-305)
- Wagonways (Ref: D/Lo/B 306)
- Accounts and statistics (Ref: D/Lo/B 307-308)
- Miscellaneous (Ref: D/Lo/B 309-311)
- COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES: GENERAL (Ref: D/Lo/B 312-326)
- Reports and memoranda, 1849 - 1880 (Ref: D/Lo/B 312-314)
- Accounts and financial papers, 1855 - 1907 (Ref: D/Lo/B 315-326)
- SEAHAM HARBOUR (Ref: D/Lo/B 327-364)
- Papers relating to the early development of the Harbour, 1822 - 1824 (Ref: D/Lo/B 327-329)
- Trade statistics, 1849 - 1876 (Ref: D/Lo/B 330-336)
- Harbour Management, 1856 - 1880 (Ref: D/Lo/B 337-341)
- Railway and Engine Works, 1878, 1911 (Ref: D/Lo/B 342-343)
- Seaham Brick Works (Ref: D/Lo/B 344-345)
- Seaham Glass Works (Robert Candlish & Son), 1882 (Ref: D/Lo/B 346)
- Seaham Harbour Water Company, 1871 (Ref: D/Lo/B 347)
- Vane and Seaham Iron Works (Ref: D/Lo/B 348-363)
- Reports and agreements etc. (Ref: D/Lo/B 348-359)
- Accounts and estimates (Ref: D/Lo/B 360-363)
- Other enterprises (Ref: D/Lo/B 364)
- TRANSPORT (Ref: D/Lo/B 365-429)
- Railways (Ref: D/Lo/B 365-387)
- Seaham Railway, 1822 - 1876 (Ref: D/Lo/B 365-370)
- Londonderry Railway, 1852 - 1899 (Ref: D/Lo/B 371-384)
- Miscellaneous (Ref: D/Lo/B 385-387)
- Steamships (Ref: D/Lo/B 388-416)
- General, 1858 - 1881 (Ref: D/Lo/B 388-395)
- Steamers, 1857 - 1903 (Ref: D/Lo/B 396-416)
- S.S. Cautious (Ref: D/Lo/B 396)
- S.S. Cornelia, 1868 - 1881 (Ref: D/Lo/B 397-403)
- S.S. J.B. Eminson, 1875 - 1877 (Ref: D/Lo/B 404-405)
- S.S. Garron Tower, 1876 (Ref: D/Lo/B 406)
- S.S. Harvest Queen, 1902 - 1903 (Ref: D/Lo/B 407)
- S.S. Kronos, 1881 (Ref: D/Lo/B 408)
- S.S. Linden, 1882 - 1886 (Ref: D/Lo/B 409)
- S.S. Londonderry, 1873 - 1874 (Ref: D/Lo/B 410)
- S.S. Meredith, 1881 - 1887 (Ref: D/Lo/B 411)
- S.S. Murton, 1869 (Ref: D/Lo/B 412)
- S.S. Mountstewart, 1873 (Ref: D/Lo/B 413)
- S.S. Silksworth, 1877 (Ref: D/Lo/B 414)
- Miscellaneous (Ref: D/Lo/B 415-416)
- Sunderland Docks (Ref: D/Lo/B 417-429)
- Sunderland Dock Company, 1855 - 1860 (Ref: D/Lo/B 417-428)
- Jonassohn and Wiener (Ref: D/Lo/B 429)
- MISCELLANEOUS (Ref: D/Lo/B 430-438)
Catalogue Description
Accepted by HM Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to Durham County Record Office, 2016The scheme of arrangement which produced this section is outlined in the introduction to the Estate papers.
The primary commercial enterprise in which the Londonderrys took part was, of course, the coal trade and from this developed all their other industrial concerns. The Tempests had mined at Pittington, Rainton, Old Durham and Penshaw in the 18th century and these collieries all passed to the 3rd Marquess in 1819. The coal won at these pits was transported by wagonway to the staiths at Penshaw and shipped in keels down the River Wear to Sunderland. The colliery undertakings were not being used to the fullest advantage in 1819 and were therefore placed in charge of John Buddle, a well known colliery viewer at that time employed at the Wallsend Collieries. In order to improve the transport of coal and at the same time avoid the dock fees at Sunderland Lord Londonderry founded, in 1828, the new harbour at Seaham with which he is especially associated. In the same year the construction of a railway from Rainton to Seaham was begun in order to transport the coal produced in the Rainton and Pittington Collieries.
Business rapidly increased after the opening of the Harbour in 1831 and the growth of the surrounding town necessitated the creation of other public and commercial enterprises. Seaham Colliery was won in 1846, an iron foundry, an engine works and a bottle works established, and in 1853 another railway, this time to carry passengers as well as coal, was begun between Seaham and Sunderland (The Londonderry Railway). This remained an independent line until the early years of the present century. Although the Harbour was never quite the success that had been hoped for in the early days, the expansion of the town was rapid and new collieries were purchased and sunk - Seaton (1860), Silksworth (1869, sold in 1920), Dawdon (1899) and Vane-Tempest (1926). At the same time some of the older Tempest collieries, e.g. Old Durham, went out of production in the late nineteenth century. In 1900 total production from the collieries of the Londonderry Co. was 1,200,000 tons and in 1939 1,800,000 tons with a labour force of 6,000 (D/Lo/B 226). In addition to the collieries themselves a fleet of colliers was maintained for shipping and the locomotives and carriages for the Londonderry Railway were built and maintained at Seaham.
All these activities required a large number of agents and a considerable organisation which centred on the Chief Agent at Seaham. Next in importance to him (and their duties were sometimes practically indistinguishable) was the Colliery Viewer who managed the colliery concerns in association with the Fitter who handled trading matters. As the enterprises grew larger and more numerous special offices were created: railway manager, quarry manager, land steward, architect, auditor, etc. The records of all these officers are contained in the collection and mention should be made especially of the papers of John Buddle (D/Lo/B 301-311) whose distinguished career as a colliery engineer is outlined below.
As is the case with all business records knowledge of the technical and financial background is indispensable to the researcher and the following are recommended as particularly useful for an introduction to work on the Londonderry business records:
W. Fordyce, History of Coal, Coke (and) Iron, 1860
Archives, (on business records) 1951, 17-30
There is as yet no detailed account of the foundation and development of Seaham Harbour.
These records include copies of information dating back to 1758.
Catalogue Contents
See also D/Lo/B 439-444
Ref: D/Lo/B 1see also D/Lo/B 447- 450
Ref: D/Lo/B 81See also D/Lo/B 451-454
Ref: D/Lo/B 109(1-4)(N.B. Items D/Lo/B 176-222) received from Peat, Marwick & Mitchell & Co., Newcastle)
Minutes (Ref: D/Lo/B 134-176)Ref: D/Lo/B 134-149See also D/Lo/B 456
Ref: D/Lo/B 230These collieries were held on lease from the Dean and Chapter both for terms of 21 years, Pittington renewable in 1825 and Rainton in 1831. The negotiations in connection with this resulted in the compiling of many reports and recommendations, etc., mainly by John Buddle on the working of the collieries.
Ref: D/Lo/B 238The Old Winning was part of the North Hetton Company's property
Ref: D/Lo/B 278The colliery was opened by the Londonderry Co. in 1873
See also D/Lo/B 457
The 3rd Marquess of Londonderry originally owned part of the royalty and had an interest in the company but he had disposed of this by the time of his death. For convenience all the papers relating to Hetton have been kept together
Ref: D/Lo/B 288See also D/Lo/B 458
Ref: D/Lo/B 296John Buddle, distinguished colliery viewer and manager of the Wallsend Colliery, was appointed viewer of the Londonderry coal concerns in 1819 in succession to Arthur Mowbray and remained in this position until his death in 1843. As a result many of the reports and memoranda listed in the sections above are either in his distinctive hand or bear his endorsements. There are, however, several bundles which appear to have been his own working papers, numbered and arranged by himself which have therefore been kept together in sorting and are listed here as a separate group. For Buddle's voluminous correspondence with the 3rd Marquess see D/Lo/C 142.
Hetton, Rainton, Pittington (Ref: D/Lo/B 301-305)Ref: D/Lo/B 301See also D/Lo/B 459
Papers relating to the early development of the Harbour, 1822 - 1824 (Ref: D/Lo/B 327-329)For the construction papers see D/Lo/E 592-610 and for the accounts see D/Lo/E 484-85; D/Lo/B 327-28 are papers of John Buddle
Ref: D/Lo/B 327(1-8)See also D/Lo/B 306
Ref: D/Lo/B 365See also D/Lo/B 460-465
General, 1858 - 1881 (Ref: D/Lo/B 388-395)Ref: D/Lo/B 388See also D/Lo/B 462-464
Ref: D/Lo/B 397Built by Short Bros. this was one of the first ships with self-trimming hatchways.
Ref: D/Lo/B 404Bundles of papers etc., concerning a dispute between the Marchioness of Londonderry and the Company over the construction and use of coal drops and other dock installations.
Ref: D/Lo/B 417