The Seaham Colliery was a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

in the North of England. The mine suffered an underground explosion in 1880 which resulted in the deaths of upwards of 160 people, including surface workers and rescuers. Among the dead were 36 non-commissioned officers (NCO)s and men of the

2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps The 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery raised in County Durham by the Marquess of Londonderry, Vane-Tempest family during an invasion crisis in 1860. It became a permanent part of the V ...

, a part-time unit of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

who were recruited from workers at the mine. They had been commanded by the mine's owner, the

Marquess of Londonderry Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...

. The mine opened in 1849 with the sinking of the first pit. In the late 19th century, the colliery was producing between 2,500 and 2,800 tons of coal per day, which were shipped at Seaham Harbour and Sunderland Dock. In 1914, at it height, the colliery employed more than 2,500 people below ground and 500 above ground. It was nationalised in 1947, merged with Vane Tempest colliery in 1988, and closed by 1993.

Notes

{{coord, 54.8401, -1.3607, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Coal mines in County Durham 1880 mining disasters 1880 in England Coal mining disasters in England Seaham