Wearmouth Colliery Staithes

Between 1826 and 1834 Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland was sunk, and by the time coal was being extracted in 1835, it was the deepest mine in the world at a depth of 1587 feet (around 481 metres). It was one challenge to get the coal out of the ground, but another to then get it to the River Wear and off to where it was needed.

At first a wagonway was built to transport the coal in tubs to the Wearmouth Drops, where it was literally dropped off the waggons into the ships. Over time, staithes were built to make this drop easier. The Wearmouth Colliery Staithes were built in around 1900 and comprised brick piers and platform facings, which can still be seen, along with a large wooden superstructure that supported the rails of the waggonway, that has sadly been lost. The structure allowed the coal tubs to get right to the river's edge where they could easily tip their contents into the hold of the ships docked alongside.

The Wearmouth Colliery Staithes or Wearmouth Drops were actually 5 drop staithes and were one of a series along both sides of the River Wear, the others being Lambton Drops, with 12 drops, and Hetton Drops with 7 drops, both on the southern bank of the river. The brick structure you can see today is the last remaining coal staithe on the River Wear.

The Wearmouth Colliery employed many thousands of men during its lifetime of over 150 years and was the very last deep mine of the Durham Coalfield to close down. The last shift was on the 10th December 1993. The coolliery was then demolished and used as the site to build the Stadium of Light, which was opened in 1997. As a memorial to the colliery and its workers the colliery wheel and a statue of miners stands outside the stadium.