Chopwell Colliery
Encyclopedia
Chopwell Colliery was a coal mine situated at Chopwell
, in Gateshead
, Tyne and Wear
. The pit was first sank 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.
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
.
Chopwell
Chopwell is a village in Tyne and Wear, located approximately three miles west of Rowlands Gill and one mile north of Hamsterley.Traditionally an area of coal mining, Chopwell was nicknamed "Little Moscow" because of the strong support for the Communist Party...
, in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
. The pit was first sank in 1781, and was closed on 25 November 1966. The colliery was bought by the Consett Iron Company
Consett Iron Company
The Consett Iron Company Ltd was a major United Kingdom industrial undertaking based in the Consett area of County Durham. The company traded as colliery and limestone quarry owners and iron and steel manufacturers. The company was registered on 4 April 1864 as successor to the Derwent & Consett...
in 1896, before being handed over to the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
in 1947 when the British coal industry was nationalised. The colliery's highest employment numbers were in 1921 when 2,185 people worked there.
A coal-fired power station
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
was situated at the colliery, which as well as generating its own electricity, received surplus electricity from the generating equipment at Derwenthaugh Coke Works
Derwenthaugh Coke Works
Derwenthaugh Coke Works was a coking plant on the River Derwent near Swalwell. The works were built in 1928 on the site of the Crowley's Iron Works, which had at one time been the largest iron works in Europe...
.