Philadelphia Power Station is a defunct coal-fired power station situated between the villages of Philadelphia and Newbottle, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) north of Houghton-le-Spring in Tyne and Wear, North East England.

Philadelphia Power Station
Philadelphia power station in September 2009
Official name	Philadelphia power station
Country	England
Location	Tyne and Wear, North East England
Coordinates	54.861676°N 1.481196°W / 54.861676; -1.481196
Commission date	1905
Operator(s)	Durham Collieries Power Company
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata] grid reference NZ334520

History

The station was built by the Sunderland District Electric Tramways Ltd and the Durham Collieries Power Company.[1][2] It was built to provide electricity for the local district tramway and collieries, and it was planned for the station to open in May 1905, but its opening was delayed slightly, also delaying the electrification of the tramway, and it didn't begin providing electricity for the tramway until 10 June 1905.[1][3] The station was provided with coal from the nearby Dorothea Pit.[4] By 1911, the station was part of the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company's system.[2]

After closing, the station was used as a central garage by the National Coal Board.[1] The station's generating hall still stands today, along with two smaller associated buildings, and they are Grade II listed.[1][5] The generating hall is a single-gabled yellow brick built building with red brick dressings and felt roofing, and is currently one of a number of workshops on the Philadeliphia Complex.[1][2] Persimmon Homes applied to refurbish the building and bring it into mixed commercial use, as part of a refurbishment of the Philadelphia Complex.[6] The Northern National Restoration Group moved into the hall in November 2019.[7]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philadelphia Power Station.