Hi to everyone. I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am researching
my family history and just found out my 3xgreatgrandfather,
Robert Stephenson(Probably not THE RS) was a coal miner at
Spital Tongues Colliery at Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1840's.
Can anyone give me any info about this colliery and their
working and living conditions. Or photos of the mine and area at
that time. Regards, Barbara.

Hello there, I don't know anything more than google can tell you about the history of the place, but I do know that this tunnel was built to service the Colliery and still survives under the city...

http://www.victoriatunnel.info/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Tunnel_%28Newcastle%29 

I very much doubt there'd be photos of the place dating back to the 1840s, photography was still in its infancy then. As for living/working conditions, the reports made in the early 1840s on the employment of children in mines go into some detail on underground conditions. Have you looked at the Durham Mining Museum website?

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Thanks for this. I had looked on the net but hadn't seen this
Regards, Barbara

Thanks for the info I will have a look at the Durham Mining
site. Having only visited Tyneside twice in my teen years and
been in Australia over 40 years I forget that NBL and Durham
are so closely intertwined. Regards Barbara

Barbara.

This link should get you to the Durham Mining Museum web - Spital Tongues Colliery - www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/s068.htm

This mine sent its coal to the River Tyne down a specially built tunnel under the streets of the city, which made it rather unique. Part of the tunnel open to the public and can be visted (see the mine index on Aditnow and look for Victoria - Unknown - NZ ). There are a few pictures taken a couple of years ago showing the tunnel. During the last War it was used as a Air Raid Bunker, hence the the concrete floor.

A good book to get hold of is "Views of the Collieries in the Counties of Northumberland and Durham" - T.H.Hair - First published 1844. This gives a very good idea of the state of play in the North East mining industry with some very good prints of various collieries.

Another book is the "The Art of Mining Thomas Hair's Watercolours of the Great Northern Coalfield"by Douglas Glendinning.

Another book is "The Miners of Northumberland and Durham" - by Richard Fynnes, first published in the 1870's, these books have been reprinted over the years and turn up on www.abebooks.co.uk or mining type book shops such as Moore books

Never mind Northumberland and Durham we got split into another county named "Tyne & Wear" back in the 70's, and we are still working why and what is it supposed to be!!!!!

Best of Luck

John_L

Thanks for the info John L. I've seen references to Tyne and Wear and wondered what it was about. Regards Barbara