Usworth Pit

An early photograph showing Usworth pit head & winding gear with colliery buildings in the background. Washington once had a full range of operational pits occupied in the production of coal.
The County Durham coalfield stretched from the banks of the River Tyne in the north to Bishop Auckland in the south.
The mining community each had their own banners - relating to the local pit in the area. These were carried at the 'Big Meeting' which occurred annually at Durham City. A tradition carried out to this day - the pits that gave the banners their names long gone.

(We also hear that there was a fine collection of carp in the hot settling tanks - this enabled them to grow to quite a size (!))