Kent Coalfield
The Kent Coalfield is a
In 1911, investigation into whether there was other workable coal was planned. Six 'bore holes' were put down in search of coal (at Rushbourne, Hoads Wood in Sturry, Herne Bay, Reculver, Chitty (which is near Chislet) and Chislet Park near the future site of Hersden). In the early years many collieries were sunk but were short-lived and the East Kent Light Railway was built to exploit the anticipated business.
Extensive plans had been drawn up by 1914 for major coal exploitation in east Kent, and the coalfield expanded rapidly in the late 1920s and early 1930s, with its maximum output reached in 1936.[2] The outbreak of war and disappointing test results resulted in four collieries surviving: Betteshanger, Chislet, Snowdown and Tilmanstone. Had coal been more easily accessible, the open, rural landscape of east Kent could have changed beyond recognition.
Geology
Various geologists, including
The rock sequences found in the "concealed coalfields", all those of the counties of Kent, Berkshire and Oxfordshire have been formally renamed in recent years using terms established for the South Wales Coalfield. Much of the strata now assigned to the Warwickshire Group was formerly assigned to the Upper Coal Measures.[4][5] The following seams are recognised. They are listed in stratigraphical order with the uppermost/youngest at the top and the lowermost/oldest at the bottom:[6]
- Warwickshire Group
- Kent № 1 (Beresford) seam
- Kent № 2
- Kent № 3
- Kent № 4
- Kent № 5
- Kent № 6 (Millyard) seam
- (South Wales) Upper Coal Measures
- no coals
- (South Wales) Middle Coal Measures
- Kent № 7 (Chislet № 5) seam
- Kent № 8
- Kent № 9
- Kent № 10
- Kent № 11
- (South Wales) Lower Coal Measures
- Kent № 12
- Kent № 13
- Kent № 14
Test bores
Test bores were made at the following places:-
- Brabourne – bore to a depth of 2,004 feet (611 m), no coal found.[3]
- Ropersole, Barham – bore to a depth of 2,129 feet (649 m), twelve thin seams found.[3]
- Ellinge, coal measures found, boring continued another 129 feet (39.32 m), but no seams found.[3]
- Waldershare – bore to a depth of 2,372 feet (723 m) or more, five coal seams found.[7]
- Fredville, Nonington – bore to a depth of 1,505 feet (459 m) or more in December 1896, three coal seams found.[7][8]
- Goodnestone – bore to a depth of nearly 1,000 feet (300 m), no coal found. It was thought that the seams lay at a depth of 4,000 feet (1,200 m).[7]
- Shakespeare Cliff – bore to a depth of 2,274 feet (693 m) in February 1890. Fourteen seams of coal found.[9]
- Plaxtol – a bore was sunk near Old Soar Manor in 1898, but was abandoned.[10]
Collieries
Betteshanger
Standing to the northwest of
- Shafts sunk[15]
- No. 1. 2,126 feet (648 m)
- No. 2. 2,426 feet (739 m)
Chislet
Work began at
- Locomotives
- Yorkshire Engine Company 0-6-0ST (works # 2498, built 1951) worked at Chislet Colliery from 1960 until its closure. It has been preserved and now bears the name Chislet.[19]
- Snowdown Colliery Railway.
- Shafts sunk[15]
- North 1,470 feet (450 m)
- South 1,467 feet (447 m)
Snowdown
Snowdown was the deepest mine in Kent at 3083 feet. Work commenced in 1908, and coal was first brought to the surface on 19 November 1912. The first shaft sunk hit water at 260 feet (79 m) and 22 men were drowned.
- Shafts sunk[15]
- No 1. 262 feet (80 m)
- No 2. 3,083 feet (940 m)
- No 3. 2,994 feet (913 m)
Snowdown Colliery railway
The colliery had an extensive internal
- Locomotives
- Avonside 0-6-0ST St Thomas (works # 1971, built 1927)[23] – survives as an exhibit at Dover Transport Museum.[23]
- Avonside 0-6-0ST St Dustan (works # 2004, built 1927)[24] – this locomotive has been preserved.[25]
- Avonside 0-6-0ST St Martin
- Fowler 0-4-0DM (works # 416002, built 1952) – this locomotive has been preserved.[25]
- Barclay 0-6-0DM (works # 382, built 1955) – this locomotive previously worked at Chislet Colliery Railway.
In the final days before closure the railway was worked by British Rail Class 08 shunter engines.
Tilmanstone
Work was commenced at
- Shafts sunk[15]
- No 1. 1,559 feet (475 m)
- No 2. 2,477 feet (755 m)
- No 3. 2,077 feet (633 m)
Failed sinkings
Adisham
A colliery was planned at Adisham. It was not commenced.[33][34]
Cobham
A mine at Cobham produced a small quantity of brown lignite, although some bituminous coal had been found. It had been mined open-cast, the coal being used by Lord Darnley to heat Cobham Hall. Two drifts were dug into the hillside in 1947; at one point the mine was producing 80 tons per week. The mine closed in 1953 and the site cleared.[15][35]
Guilford
The first test shaft was sunk in 1906, hoping to find the coal seams discovered under Waldershare Park. The East Kent Light Railway connected to the pit in November 1912. No coal had been found by 1918, and the colliery closed in the 1920s owing to geological problems. Two buildings remain at the site.[36]
- Shafts sunk[15]
- No. 1. 306 feet (93 m)
- No. 2. 1,272 feet (388 m)
- No. 3. 1,272 feet (388 m)
Hammill (Woodnesborough)
This site was located to the south of Woodnesborough. Work here was abandoned in 1914 without coal being found. It was served by a half mile branch off the East Kent Light Railway. The site was subsequently used by the Hammill Brickworks. Some buildings survive.[37]
Maydensole
This colliery was to have been located near East Langdon. Some boreholes were drilled but work was abandoned without any shafts being sunk.[34]
Shakespeare
Shakespeare was located in West Hougham on the site of the original Channel Tunnel workings. Coal had been discovered at a depth of 300 metres (980 ft) below Shakespeare Cliff on 15 February 1890. The first shaft was stated on 21 August 1891.[38] A mining accident on 6 March 1897 killed eight men.[39] The cause was a sudden inrush of water at a depth of 366 feet (112 m). This problem was solved by lining the shaft with cast iron tubes as the shaft was sunk.[40] During the sinking a 17 foot (5.2 m) seam of iron ore was discovered.[41] By February 1905, just 12 tons of coal had been brought to the surface. Only 1,000 tons had been raised by 1912 and the colliery closed in December 1915 due to geological problems. Shakespeare Cliff Halt opened in 1913 to serve the miners.[42] The site was obliterated by workings in connection with building the Channel Tunnel in the 1980s.[9]
- Shafts sunk[15]
- X 520 feet (160 m)
- Y 1,632 feet (497 m)
- Z 1,632 feet (497 m)
Stonehall
This colliery was near Lydden. It was abandoned in 1914 without coal being found.[43] It lay derelict until 1919 when work recommenced, only to be abandoned and most of the buildings demolished in 1921.[34] A couple of buildings remain.[43]
- Shafts sunk[15]
- North 75 feet (23 m)
- East 273 feet (83 m)
- West 273 feet (83 m)
Wingham
Work at Wingham was abandoned in 1914, without coal being found. Water had been hit, and there was no finance to buy pumps. The buildings were mothballed and sold in 1924, being used for a milling business. The colliery was to be served by the East Kent Light Railway.[34][44]
- Shafts sunk[15]
- East 50 feet (15 m)
- West 150 feet (46 m)
Associated development
The village of
Working conditions
The Kent coalfields were deep under the chalk; consequently miners worked under extremely hot and humid conditions. A medical investigation into an epidemic that affected workers at the coalface noted:
There are certain well-recognized peculiarities about the Kent coal mines which may have some bearing on the question. In the first place, two of them are exceptionally deep (3,000 ft.), and very hot and wet; the third, that in which the epidemic has occurred, is only moderately deep (1,500 to 1,600 ft.), and is quite dry, but owing to certain peculiarities in its construction it is hotter than either of the other two; moreover, ventilation is said to be a matter of considerable difficulty. The mine is also extremely humid, wet- and dry-bulb temperatures are practically identical. The men work without clothes and sweat profusely; on an average they drink about six pints of water during a shift.[46]
Mine workers came from the north of England, South Wales and other parts of Britain to find work in Kent the Depression years; some tramped from Scotland. An oral history study found that some miners worked for one shift or less and left without trying to collect their pay, such was the heat and lack of ventilation; those softened by a spell of unemployment found it particularly hard. However, it appears that miners' wives disliked their new environment even more, for they missed the warmth of the traditional mining areas, and local people feared and detested the new immigrants. The women's response influenced the high turnover of labour at the collieries: they wanted to go home.[47]
See also
References
- ^ "List of coalfield wards in Kent, The Coalfields Trust" (PDF).
- ISBN 9780851155876.
- ^ a b c d "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- et al.2012
- ^ Waters, C.N. et al. 2007. Lithostratigraphical framework for Carboniferous successions of Great Britain (Onshore). British Geological Survey Research Report, RR/07/01 60pp
- ^ British Geological Survey 1:50,000 scale geological map sheet 289 (England & Wales series) Canterbury. BGS, Keyworth, Notts
- ^ a b c "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. 3 February 1905. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ Lewis, M. (n.d.). Plaxtol. A short history of a Kentish Village. Plaxtol Memorial Hall Committee.
- ^ a b c d "lom45ken". freepages.rootsweb.com.
- ^ "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Coal Heritage in Kent". Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ "Romar.org". Archived from the original on 25 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kurg.org".
- ^ Railway Magazine October 1963 p. 731
- ^ "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. 25 July 1969. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Coal Heritage in Kent". Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ "Buckingham Railway Centre". Brc-stockbook.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Coal Heritage in Kent". Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ "Urbex". Archived from the original on 25 October 2008.
- ^ Steam traction in use, illustrated at Railway Herald magazine.
- ^ a b "NCB Snowdown Colliery No. 'St Thomas'". steamlocomotive.info. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ "Snowdown Colliery No. 'St. Dunstan'". steamlocomotive.info. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ a b "East Kent Railway".
- ^ a b "Coal Heritage in Kent". Dover.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "No. 33725". The London Gazette. 12 June 1931. p. 3837. PDF
- ^ Pitwork Archived 20 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "SimHQ". Archived from the original on 25 September 2008.
- ^ "Mining Memorabilia". Mining Memorabilia. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Mining Memorabilia". Mining Memorabilia. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "lom18ken". freepages.rootsweb.com.
- ^ a b c d "Coal Heritage in Kent".
- ^ "Cobham's Coal Mine". Cashs.org.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Coal Mining in Kent". Eastkent.freeuk.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ This is Folkestone Archived 6 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Folkestone Herald". Eastkent.freeuk.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Coal Heritage in Kent". Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ Technical Publishing Co Ltd (1899). The Practical Engineer. Vol. XX, July–December. Manchester: Technical Publishing Co Ltd. p. 195.
- ^ "Kent Rail". Kent Rail. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Stonehall Colliery". eastkent.freeuk.com.
- ^ "Wingham". eastkent.freeuk.com.
- ^ "Kent Mining Village That Begs To Be Bigger". The Times. 6 January 1964. p. 8. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- PMID 19989787., p.814.
- JSTOR 40166883., pp.98, 99, 101, 103-7, 108, 109.
External links
- Betteshanger Colliery photos.
- Betteshanger Colliery at work photos
- Photographs
- Account of a Bevin Boyin Kent during World War Two
- Gallery of photos of Snowdown Colliery in 2007
- Photo of Wingham Colliery