In 1924 the then Sunderland & South Shields Water Company commissioned their 'New Winning Pumping Station' at Wellfield in County Durham. This was at the site of a former colliery - does any list member know which colliery it was? Was it a 'new winning' for Shotton Colliery perhaps or alternatively was it 'New Shotton Colliery' or 'Wellfield Colliery'?
The National Grid Reference for this pumping station is NZ 4074 3853 on the 6 inch map NZ43.
Wartime Pamphlet No 19 produced by the Geological Survey of Great Britain, by W Anderson, gives details of three shafts at the pumping station and quotes from the shaft section given in 'Boring & Sinkings, No 2519'.
I believe that the pumping station buiding was buily over one or possibly two of the shafts. This station was an important source for the water company, in 1952 for example it was pumping out almost 1.4 million gallons of water per day from the magnesian limestone and underlying yellow sands, so perhaps water problems may have resulted in the colliery's closure.
Alan Vickers.
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