The Durham coalfield covered north, east and central Durham extending to Consett Bishop Auckland in the west to just north of Hartlepool.
Coal was a very rich mineral resource in County Durham being mined in substantial quantities even before The Industrial Revolution. Upon The Industrial Revolution, there was a huge expansion in the exploitation of the coal, colliery owners were able to reach deeper into more productive seams.
In the nineteenth century the growth of the mining industry transformed the landscape and the population of the county. Colliery villages sprang up everywhere and migrant workers from all parts of the UK swelled the workforce. The industry had a profound effect on trade unionism, public health and housing, and mines safety.
Coal production peaked in 1913; in 1923 there were 170,000 miners working in County Durham. The industry declined in the county after the Second World War and many pits closed in the 1950s and 1960s. The last colliery in the Durham coalfield closed in 1994.
