Shilbottle Pithead. Co-operative Press Photographic Collection CPR/1/54

Back in late 2025, our article ‘Winter Warmers: Co-ops and Coal’ in the Evergreen magazine drew a lot of attention and encouraged us to take another look at our collections. Particularly with the 1926 General Strike anniversary coming up this year, we wanted to highlight Shilbottle Colliery.

In 1916, the Co-operative Wholesale Society purchased the Longdyke Mine at the northern end of the Northumberland coalfield for a sum of £50. Most of its infrastructure was outdated and would’ve been costly to update, so the CWS planned to build a new colliery altogether. By 1925, the Shilbottle-Grange Mine was producing high quality coal for households across Britain.

“Co-operators are not traders for money; they never have been, nor ever will. They are working out a new system of business designed to benefit humanity. There you have it; and their own employees naturally are not forgotten.”

The Wheatsheaf, January 1928, p.8

Signalling for cage to ascend. Co-operative Press Photographic Collection CPR/1/54 

As always, the co-operative movement was at the forefront of progress and ensured that the working conditions for staff were above the norm at the time. Shilbottle Colliery was the only pit in the area where miners received wages above the county rate and one week’s paid holiday – a rare privilege in 1920s mining where mine owners were pushing for wage reductions and longer working hours – and houses were even built for workers to live onsite with free coal.

These houses are still in use today, including the impressive Dene House, which was lived in by the colliery managers. The locals unofficially deemed the row of managers’ houses ‘Balloon Street’ after the Co-operative Headquarters in Manchester, just around the corner from where our archive is based.

The Wheatsheaf, January 1926, p.7, Periodical Collection

The Wheatsheaf, January 1928, p.7. Periodical Collection

gen

“Therr’s ne better coal in the coonty than Shilbottle, for they’ll torn for hoors efter the fire’s oot!”

The Wheatsheaf, June 1917, p.7

Shilbottle – A Frieze of Labour in the CWS Coal Mine. Co-operative Press Photographic Collection. CPR/1/53 

In the 1920s, when fuel shortages gripped parts of the country, Shilbottle's coal became all the more valuable. Rail transport could carry it economically as far as York; by sea, it could reach London at competitive prices, even with dock charges added.

Co-operative News, 8^th May 1926, insert, Co-operative Press Collection

And yet, these years were not without turmoil. The 1926 General Strike, which brought much of the nation to a standstill in support of miners facing wage reductions and longer hours, sent shockwaves throughout the coal industry. Although Shilbottle had comparatively better conditions under CWS than those across the country, they continued to stand in support of the strike and the harsh conditions that miners were under.

Co-op News Shilbottle Colliery goes to NCB State, 11^th January 1947. Co-operative Press Photographic Collection. CPR/1/54 

Though nationalisation in 1947 ended the CWS’s direct involvement and the colliery later closed in 1981, memories of their stewardship remained strong. Former workers continued to speak of Shilbottle with affection. One retired engineer, Jim Lillico, who began his apprenticeship at Shilbottle Colliery in 1974, recalled how well the staff were treated there, with a CWS pension scheme and those holiday entitlements not offered to other collieries.

 

Thank you to Jim Lillico for providing us with information about Shilbottle Colliery. Jim is a member of the Amble Living History Group and often gives talks on the Shilbottle seams and mines, including the CWS era, and shows off some of his own mining memorabilia.

 

Banner Image- CWS Colliery at Shilbottle. Co-operative Press Photographic Collection. CPR/1/57