This colliery was developed by the Londonderry Colliery Company between 1923 and 1928. The mine stretched out underneath the North Sea intersecting a large fault stretching down 600 ft. Most of the pits found hugging the coastline south from the Tyne were extremely deep and therefore came about a little later than some. The same can be said of those at South Shields and Sunderland. Monkwearmouth Colliery was the deepest in the world at its inception.

It was connected to the Sunderland to Hartlepool railway line via a north westerly curve. The complex was substantial, with at least a dozen sidings and a pit reservoir.

The pit was closed in 1992 and demolished in 1994. A residential development has taken its place.