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 found lots of sand and water. The work was very dangerous because the mine often caved in and flooded. Many people did not believe it was possible to have a pit there. There was 30 meters of sand and water flooded in at a rate of 1200 gallons per minute, but the Main coal seam was reached 270 metres underground on August 1st 1833.
             A second shaft, the Jane pit, was sunk in 1837 and reached the Busty coal seam. It was at this time that the terraced houses in Hetton Downs were built where the Eppleton miners and their families lived. A third shaft the Lindsay pit was sunk in 1874 to connect with the Hutton coal seam. Over time Eppleton Colliery changed ownership from the Hetton Coal Company to the Lambton & Hetton Coal Company and finally to the Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Collieries Ltd.
             By the end of the 19th century, Eppleton Colliery was one of the most modern in the Durham Coalfield. It employed 1100 men and boys underground and 300 on the surface. The coal seams were fairly thick and could be easily worked. The three shafts at Eppleton were ventilated by furnaces and coal fire boilers which pumped air to the underground coal faces. The daily production for coal was 3000 tons per day, making it a one of the most efficient in the country.
             The National Coal Board (NCB) took control of Eppleton Colliery when the pits were nationalised in 1947. Investment was increased and the latest cutting machinery was installed underground meaning that the coal no longer had to be removed by hand. In the 1950
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