Looking west, with the upcast (North pit) shaft on the right and the downcast shaft on the left (south pit), which in this picture shows a Vertical type Winder similar to the one at Beamish Museum, in the future it will receive a new headstock facing the opposite direction and a new winder House. Whilst the upcast shaft looks similar to pictures just before it closed but will more likely be modified or even a new Headstock? The winding wheel for instance looks huge in this picture but will be tiny in later ones. The majority of the main buildings in the lower half of this scene lasted until the 1980s but were mostly cleared away when the mine closed. note the row of housing that backed onto the pit yard, like most Collieries of this age the shafts were situated close to a main road (Houghton to Newbottle A182) but its buildings will eventually spill out over the main road. The buildings lower left is now occupied by Houghton Comrades club and Houghton car sales, whilst to the right below the north shaft is now Tyrespot.
This photograph is by lyons and was uploaded October 31st 2015. © lyons please do not copy or distribute without prior express permission.
You can close this window to return to the main site.