"Thomas Martin, William Witty, John Berwick, and a boy named John Howe, were killed at Hartley Colliery, by the breaking of the rope in descending the shaft."

From: T Fordyce, J. Sykes. Local records; or, Historical register of remarkable events which have occurred in Northumberland and Durham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Berwick-upon-Tweed..., published 1867

On the 16th January, 1862, 204 men and boys were killed in a mining accident at Hester Pit of Hartley Colliery. The massive beam of the pit's pumping engine broke and half of it, weighing 20 tons, fell down the shaft, trapping the men below, with no other exit. With the pump out of action, the mine began filling up with water and gases. National newspapers reported each day on the miners trapped below ground, and for a few days there were hopes of a rescue. Sadly, by the time the miners were reached, they were dead. The tragedy prompted a new law, requiring all collieries to have at least 2 means of escape.

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159 of the 204 miners who died in the disaster at Hartley Colliery on the 16th January 1862, were later burried in the churchyard of the Parish Church in Earsdon. There is a memorial to the miners lost in the disaster in the churchyard: "ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF THE 204 MINERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN HARTLEY PIT, BY THE FATAL CATASTROPHE OF THE ENGINE BEAM BREAKING 16th JANUARY 1862"

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Note: exact date of the burriel unknown.

Nationalisation of the coal industry took effect on the 1st January 1947, enacting the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act of 1946. The National Coal Board (NCB) took over the operation of 958 collieries, which at that time employed nearly 800,000 workers (4% of Britain's total workforce). Many of the privately-owned collieries had been deemed small and inefficient, with about half were judged to be in need of immediate attention.

A notice was posted at every colliery: "This colliery is now managed by the National Coal Board on behalf of the people".