The last of these ceased mining in 1956. One of the Nesham collieries, the Success pit was the scene of a disaster on Friday 2 June 1815. The pit had reached coal at . The explosion was obvious to the men above ground by a large column of dust rising from the pit. No flames were observed, the flame front seems to have been stopped by a large wagon blocking one of the roadways. Early reports blamed a sudden inrush of firedamp from old workings which pitmen had inadvertently broken into. Not all the men were killed by the blast. A number attempted to reach the shaft but were overcome by afterdamp, some even surviving to reach the surface before succumbing to its effects. Out of 72 men and boys underground only 15 survived; 57 were killed. The local church, St Matthews, dates from 1886, having replaced a previous chapel which was built in 1850. The village centre is a designated conservation area and has stone built housing. Herrington Country Park provides walking, picnics, model boating and cycling and is a mile on foot to the north of the village accessible by public footpath. The village is situated in the Copt Hill ward on a predominantly Labour run council, however since the local elections of May 2007 the ward itself is served by an Independent councillor. Along with many other communities the local economy has changed over the past generation. The Co-operative store and Post Office have closed and the land and property developed. Newbottle has been featured in the media since 2005 North East News, BBC Look North, Durham FM, BBC Radio Newcastle, Sunderland Echo, The Journal, Evening Chronicle and The Guardian as 7,000 trees, which are part of the Great North Forest are being threatened to be chopped down to make way for 20 new football pitches, car parking and infrastructure. As a result of this threat protestors have been campaigning "Save Our Trees!". On 29 June 2006 a 'chain saw' gang acting on the instructions of developers moved into the wood and began felling trees. This action caused the local community to apply to the high court in London for an emergency injunction. Mr Justice Bennett granted the high court injunction. In 2009 the plans were allowed to go ahead and have been ongoing since January 2010, with expected completion around September. After delays, the action was