Bobgins Environs

In the seventeenth century, around the North East (and other areas of England) there were many small industrial sites using water as a power source - people understood the mechanics of mills driven by wind or water.   Coal was used as a portable power source for heating, smelting & forging, but Newcomen engines (for pumping water) would only be developed in the eighteenth century.   In general 'bobgins' refers to a 'bobbing (or beam) engine', commonly used for pumping water out of mines in NE England - such water-powered engines were also called 'coal mills'.   Bobgins near Causey is the site of one such water driven pumping mill, being scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 - please read https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1018225 before reading on .....

The photos below were taken two weeks ago.

The site of Bobgins pumping engine at Causey
- the shaft is marked by a post in the ground shown forward & to the right of the sign board 

The sign board shown in the previous photo
- I think the Newcomen steam engine may have replaced the original water driven coal mill

Bobgins engine shown top centre on OS 25" inch map of 1895, 170 years after the coal mill
(reproduced with permission of National Library of Scotland)

The remains of an engine house at Bobgins

An adjacent modern bridge deck (on older abutments) over Bobgins Burn
- the engine house remains shown in the previous photo are seen just over & left of the bridge

The Bobgins (or Beckley) Burn as it passes Bobgins engine house
- I've known this to be a trickle in dry times 

At Bobgins, the Bobgins Burn (lower left) is shown entering the larger Causey Burn

The Causey Burn flows into the 1717-built culvert, a listed structure, through Causey Embankment,
which necessitated diversion of the Causey Burn & likely its confluence with Bobgins Burn

The mouth of the 300-year-old culvert - extended under the 1930s A6076 Stanley road

A wall between Bobgins engine house & Causey Burn - perhaps the site of the coal mill

A few yards upstream from Bobgins engine is the later & better-preserved Causey Arch of 1727

The Arch and its waggonway represents new technology compared with Bobgins coal mill, which was likely replaced by a Newcomen Engine

Footnotes:
The shaft at Bobgins was in use at the closure of East Tanfield Colliery in 1962 - the late Tommy Shield was a blacksmith at that colliery, and in retirement as a volunteer at Tanfield Railway in the 1980s & 90s told stories of visiting the shaft for maintenance, but overstaying to play cards in preference to work.

The Causey Burn refers to a segment of a waterway which has various names - it's called the Houghwell Burn upstream at East Tanfield, and the Beamish Burn a short way downstream, & later is known as the River Team.

References:
Whickham Web Wanderers publish a photo of the hamlet at Bobgins, where the old Causey to Tanfield road crosses the burn about 400 yards north of the engine site.

The Sunniside History Society web has more history of the Causey area.

A 1725 travel log includes descriptions of pumping Durham coal mines, with volumes of coal & water stated.

Historic England - listing record of Bobgins.
Historic England - listing record of Causey Culvert.

Please feel free to comment on & question this post.