Early Coal Mining 1100- 1500
Coal has been mined in the region since ancient times but became more widespread in the 13th and 14th centuries. Among those to profit from coal were the Bishops of Durham and merchants of Newcastle.

Coal & Industry 1500 - 1800
Seventeenth century mining was concentrated around Tyneside and the Washington area of Wearside. It spread to the Hetton area after 1800 but was not significant in south-west Durham until after 1825.

The Northern Coalfield 1800 - 1900
Tyneside coal ports grew significantly in the nineteenth century and many new docks opened in the 1850s like the North Eastern Railway's Tyne Dock at Jarrow of 1859.

Colliery Closures
East Durham Coal lay deep below the Magnesian Limestone which dominates the east of the county. Coal was first proved to exist here by the sinking of a pit at Haswell in 1811 but the first great deep pit in the region was sunk at Hetton in 1821.

Colliery Disasters
There were around 30 major colliery disasters in Durham and Northumberland in the period 1800-1899 claiming the lives of more than 1,500 men and boys. Gas explosions were the major danger, although some incidents were caused by collapsing mines.