Springwell
Electricity Sub Station

© Dave Hardy
Electricity sub station at Springwell

This 1920s building, was the colliery’s electrical substation, and still performs that function today. As well as providing the power distribution to the buildings within Springwell yard, it also provides power distribution for the Hauler Houses at Blackham’s Hill and Black Fell via a 10,000 volt underground cable. The Black Fell power supply has now been isolated at Blackham’s Hill.

The north end of the building houses the incoming supply via a high voltage electricity board transformer and the south end the distribution switches for the site. This building also at one time provided a power distribution point for the quarry via a now isolated switch marked “Harrison’s Quarry”. Since preservation began the North Eastern Electricity Board (NEEB), now Northern Electric and Gas, replaced the high voltage transformer. Under normal circumstances they would have removed the old, now redundant transformer, but because of the site status as an Ancient Monument they were prohibited from doing so.

This page last updated 30 November 2002