Mainsforth Colliery

Mainsforth Colliery operated from 1872 to 1968, mining coal in the UK, deep underground.

23 years later, in 1900 the Carlton Iron Company re-excavated the abandoned shafts and de-watered the workings.

The demolition contractors for the colliery in the 1970s also demolished the residual station building structures.

The legacy lives on with the following: Mainsforth Colliery Welfare Institute, Ferryhill Station, County Durham is a venue for arts music and theatre.

It was in this period that Norman[7] painted the celebrated ‘Durham Miners' Gala Mural’.

The centre contains a carved laurel wreath surrounded by the inscription: MAINSFORTH COLLIERY AND FERRYHILL STATION, WAR MEMORIAL, 1914–1919.

The Bevin Boys were based at a camp established off Dean Road at the southern edge of Ferryhill, near the A167.

A pathway leads to the Durham County Council owned fishing pond which is leased to the Ferryhill and District Angling Club.

More details of the facility are available from [1] Light Industrial usage A number of small businesses operate from part of the site.

The nearby Thrislington Quarry[18] provides sand and dolomite (magnesian limestone).