The present Ayle Colliery Was began 1932/3 by Mr & Mrs White of White Lea's
Farm who formed the Ayle Colliery CO Ltd. Coal had previously been worked by
the old man and from time to time these workings were broken into.

The First drift was started off behind White Lea's farm working towards the
dip. Stan Shepherd managed the colliery for the owners. A native of Prudhoe,
he had moved to Alston some years before to work at Barhaugh Colliery, which
he managed until it's closure in 1933.

The first drift at Ayle was not a great success, it ran to the dip and
eventually the water won the battle so a new drift was began in a different
county.

The pit was now under the ownership of Frank G Heads, still trading as the
Ayle Colliery CO Ltd, the second drift was commenced about 100 yards E of
Clargill Colliery and now in Cumbria. The main drift ran Parallel to
Clargill's and the two pits holed at regular intervals to form a ventilation
circuit. The day of the commencement of the new drift coincided with the
birth of a son for Stan, he wished to name the drift 'the John Pit' after the
new arrival but Frank would have non of it.

Haulage in the new pit was via wire rope with the hauler situated on the
opposite side of the Moscow/Lipsic road to the drift. Tradition has it that
the occupant of one of these farms was brought off his motorbike more than
once by the haulage running.

In conjunction with the pit, Limestone was quarried out of the new quarry at
Ayle. This was commenced from the banks of the Ayle burn by Stan and his wife
and the lime burnt on site in a new kiln.

The main roads within the colliery were only low, about 4' high and the men
had to walk all the way in with their gear then walk out again at night, the
coal was anthracite from the Little Limestone seam which averaged 18".

AS the drift was becoming worked out further drifts were driven in the field
to the North East but these kept hitting very old workings. Things were
getting crucial as reserves began to dwindle so the owners ventured back
across the Ayle Burn into Northumberland to drive the East Drift in the early
1950's. Anderson shelters were used to keep the roof up until the drivage got
inbye of the Ayle Burn vein and back into shale. By this time, Stan's middle
son John was actively running the pit and decided not to repeat the old ways
of low haulage roads, the new drift was driven high enough to incorporate
Locomotive haulage.

The east drift worked on until the mid 70's winning coal by phnumatic picks
(windy picks) and from time to time AB 12" cutters were installed to undercut
the stone beneath the coal. The coal was fired and loaded into tubs which
were then hauled to the surface in tubs. There they were tipped onto a
conveyor which crossed the Ayle burn and deposited Northumbrian coal into the
screens in Cumbria. The cutting and firing method was all right as long as
the coal was for industry, which at that time it was with the bulk going to
Newcastle Breweries but coal for the domestic markets had to be mined the
traditional way with the windy picks, so as to keep it in lumps.

1975 saw the collieries first fatal accident when John Heatherington was
killed by a roof fall. John was filling his last tub on the last day before
they broke up for New Year Holiday. Needless to say this had a profound
effect on a small colliery and a tight community; so much so that a new
district was opened out not long after the accident and the old one
abandoned.

During the working of the East drift the pit had hit financial difficulties,
so much so that Frank Heads told John Shepherd that if he could 'turn the pit
around' on his retirement he could have it. John did just so but Frank Heads
didn't appear to wasn't to retire. However after this unfortunate accident
Frank called it a day and the Ayle Colliery CO Ltd passed into the hands of
John and Sheila Shepherd.

This was a boom time for the coal industry as coal prices kept going up and
up, winter time would find between 15 and 20 picks employed, it was very hard
to get a job at Ayle Colliery as so many wanted to be there, indeed it was
also the only Alston pit to have pithead baths, even of the shower water
first of all cooled the generator.

Development underground was restricted to the East by a 30' fault whilst the
working to the West were getting to such a point that coal clearance was
getting difficult. To rectify this a new drift was driven above the now
closed limestone quarry and new surface installations built as the old east
drift now became a fan drift only. Production now was purely for the
household markets with only the slack coal going to Weardale Cement works.

Times change both in industry and society, not only in Alston but across the
country the private mines were finding it difficult to bring young lads into
the collieries. The work is very hard and attitudes change, now it is more
fashionable to 'do nowt' than to want to be the best hewer. The demise of the
nationalised industry also brought changes which usually meant the cost of
operating rose. In 1991 there were 5 collieries operating in Alston, one by
one they all closed. Clargill was reopened but like Ayle struggled to get men
and finaly closed when all the men cleared off to work on the foot & Mouth.
The waiting list at Ayle was no more and by 2000 there were just 5 hewers,
one got bad wrists and went on the loco then another handed in his notice.
The arithmetic was plain for all to see; the colliery couldn't pay with 3
hewers in it's present business structure.

John offered the pit to the men to take over the underground operations,
eventually 2 more packed in and Clive & Gina Seal formed C&G Mining Co Ltd to
lease the underground, selling all it's produce to Ayle Colliery Co Ltd. A
few more hewers were found in dribs and drabs, but after 12 months, 1 month
after Sept 11 it was insurance time again! All the claims put in throughout
the mining and construction industry (mining comes under construction for
insurance purposes) meant that insurance premiums doubled, even though there
had been no claims from Ayle, there was no way the pit could be now run at a
financial profit. No body was going to make a loss and the Govt certainly
wasn't going to help.

Several ulcers later I asked the men if they would like to become self
employed. Only one did! We said bye bye to the others and set up the first
mining Limited Liability Partnership in the UK C&G Mining Company Ltd joined
Brian Thompson to form Alston Mining Company LLP.  For many months just Brian
and myself worked underground (Gina not to good a hewer, finger nails ect.)
And did our best to keep as many merchants supplied as we could. We were
joined by Jez Cooper who ran a farm in summer and had worked for me the
previous winter. On Blenkinsopp's closure we inherited Keith Richardson and
now we are 4. All partners and as we employ nobody we don't need any
insurance, except what we can get personally. A sharp intake of breath? Well
as I said to the inspector, 'it's better than sitting on the market cross
taking drugs', which is about the only other occupation on offer in Alston
Moor.  Next battle is the picks as the only ones that will touch our coal are
deemed too dangerous by the powers that be........ Even though I've been
using one for over 20 years!!

That is the story of Ayle Colliery so far, now one of only 2 operating
collieries in Northumberland.

Clive Seal