Blackhall Colliery

Blackhall Colliery is a village on the North Sea coast of County Durham, in England. It is situated on the A1086 between Horden and Hartlepool. To the south of the Blackhall Colliery's Catholic church is Blackhall Rocks. Built around the once extensive mining industry, Blackhall's colliery closed in 1981. Daniel Hall was one of the founding fathers of the colliery and invested heavily in the establishment of the mining infrastructure in the area. It is believed but unconfirmed that the name Black-Hall was established as a result of Daniels alias 'Black' due to his association with the mining of coal and his surname Hall. In 1991 a local campaign to erect a statue of Mr Hall was unsuccessful due to a lack of available funding from the local Authority. There is now an industrial estate built over part of the old colliery buildings, the colliery itself was pulled down in the 1980s. Blackhall Colliery is on the edge of Castle Eden Dene, and Castle Eden Dene Mouth. Over the past couple of decades, there have been many changes. Following the closure of the colliery, the once busy village has economically gone downhill. As time has passed since the closure, other industries have now begun to emerge to once again create employment in the region. With both Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks being on the main road to Peterlee and Hartlepool. This has meant that these villages have become commuter villages, supplying workers for the now busy and expanding call centres in the nearby towns of Hartlepool and Peterlee.

1. Blackhall beach

Blackhall beach made a notable appearance in the 1971 film Get Carter; in the climactic scenes the main character is involved in a chase across a coal-strewn beach. The film shows the beach black with coal spoilings, dumped there by mine's conveyor system. Since the mine closed, £10 million has been spent removing the conveyor and its massive concrete tower and cleaning tons of coal waste from the beach, which is now pristine. Neighbouring beaches of Blackhall Colliery is a narrow strip of Peterlee then Horden beach (North) and Crimdon beach (South), both are within 30 minutes of walking distance each way from the beach. The continuation of the improving regenerative beach can be seen via the coastline.

1. Photo gallery


1. See also

Blackhall Colliery Welfare F.C. Blackhall Colliery railway station

1. References


1. External links

Blackhall Colliery from the Durham Mining Museum

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Blackhall Colliery railway station

Blackhall Colliery railway station served the village of Blackhall Colliery in County Durham, North East England. It was located on the Durham Coast Line, north of Blackhall Rocks and south of Horden.

Train

Blackhall Rocks railway station

Blackhall Rocks was one of two railway stations to have served the Blackhalls in County Durham, North East England, and was a stop on the Durham Coast Line. The station was poorly sited for the village that grew around Blackhall Colliery in the years following its opening and, after the opening of the more conveniently sited Blackhall Colliery station in 1936, it came to primarily serve the more southerly village of Blackhall Rocks.

Train

Blackhall Rocks

Blackhall Rocks is a village on the North Sea coast of County Durham, North East England. It is situated on the A1086 between Horden and Hartlepool, and just south of Blackhall Colliery which it adjoins. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as "The Rocks". One of the earliest testaments to Blackhall Rocks is an Ordnance Survey taken of the Durham area from 1855-1857, where it is referred to as "Black Halls Rocks". The area was the site of the eponymously named Blackhall Rocks Hotel, a Temperance Hotel. The Hotel was converted into temporary accommodation by Easington (district) Council the 1940's, and was eventually demolished in the 1960's. In 1907, Blackhall Rocks railway station opened, primarily serving tourists wishing to visit the cave formations present along the coast of Blackhall Rocks. Adjacent to the station, a siding and coal depot supplied coal from Blackhall Colliery 1 mile north to the surrounding area. On 4 January 1960, the station was closed to passengers, and on 7 December 1964, closed indefinitely. Beginning in the 1920's, the population of Blackhall Rocks began to rise as nearby coal mining operations grew. In the late 1930s, the local council built a large council estate to the west of the coast road, around the road to High Hesleden. In the 1960s and 1970s, a series of new council houses were built to the east, between the coast road and the railway line.

Hotel Neighbourhood

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High Hesleden

High Hesleden is a village in Monk Hesleden parish, County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles north of Hartlepool, between Blackhall Rocks and Hesleden. High Hesleden is located mostly along one street, on one side of which lies the village green; there is a turn off (although difficult to recognise), for Monk Hesleden and there is a small country lane which takes you down to Crimdon.

Neighbourhood