Washington Colliery, F Pit

HER Number:
2617

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Washington Colliery, F Pit

Place:
Washington

Map Sheet:
NZ35NW

Class:
Industrial

Site Type: Broad:
Coal Mining Site

Site Type: Specific:
Colliery

General Period:
Post Medieval

Specific Period:
C18-C19

Form of Evidence:
Extant Building

Description:
‘F’ Pit (Coal), probably part of Washington Colliery, comprises a horizontal twin cylinder steam colliery winding engine built by the Grange Iron Company in 1888 set within its original brick built engine house. The attendant steel lattice headstock survives within the site although the rest of the colliery has been cleared. The site which is now a small museum run by Tyne and Wear Museums Service, represents the last vestige of mining in the Washington area. The original 'F' pit shaft was sunk to a depth of 283 metres in 1777 and is thought to have been one of the earliest working pits in the country. 'F' Pit was one of a dozen or so small shafts in the Washington area. Most of these pits were later abandoned and output concentrated at a few more highly modernised collieries such as 'F' Pit. The present building dates from 1903 when the colliery was extensively modernised. The colliery closed on 21st June 1968.SCHEDULED ANCIENT MONUMENT AND LISTED GRADE 2

Easting:
3021

Northing:
5741

Grid Reference:
NZ30215741

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 2617 >> 1st edition Ordnance Survey Map, c.1855, 6 inch scale, Durham, 7 I. Ayris & S. Linsley, 1994, A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Tyne and Wear,p 41 Washington 'F' Pit, Industrial Museum leaflet Tyne and Wear County Council, Washington 'F' Pit, Museum leaflet English Heritage, 1998, Colliery Engine House at Washington F Pit, Albany Schedule Entry Copy 30925; Durham Mining Museum www.dmm.org.uk; N. Emery, 1998, Banners of the Durham Coalfield; Department of National Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 2/71