EPPLETON COLLIERY 1833-1986 When it closed in 1986 Eppleton Colliery was one of the oldest coal mines left in Europe. Work on a shaft at the site at Hetton Downs, in Hetton-le-Hole, was started in 1825. The mine was owned by the Hetton Coal Company, which also owned Elemore Colliery in Easington Lane. It took 8 years to finally finish this first shaft, called The Caroline pit. It took so long because soon after digging down, the miners …
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…became heated by gas and electricity. The number of jobs at Eppleton reduced, so by the time Eppleton closed in 1986 only 500 miners were working there. In the 1990s all the colliery buildings were demolished and the waste heaps were reclaimed to form part of the Hetton Lyons Country Park. The only sign left of the colliery is the old winding gear from the Jane shaft which has been erected as a memorial in the park.