Kent Coalfield: The fascinating history of coal mining in Kent
The Kent Coalfield is an area in the eastern part of Kent – mainly between Barham Downs and Marshside in the Canterbury area, and Aylesham, Eastry, Eythorne & Shepherdswell, Middle Deal & Sholden, Mill Hill and North Deal in the Dover area.
Coal was discovered in the area in 1890 during the borings for an early Channel Tunnel project, but the first colliery – Shakespeare had only enough coal to last until 1915.
In the early years, many collieries were sunk but were short-lived. The East Kent Light Railway was built to help to move the coal more efficiently.
The coalfield expanded rapidly in the late 1920s and early 1930s, with its maximum output reached in 1936. However, the outbreak of war and disappointing test results resulted in only four collieries surviving: Betteshanger, Chislet, Snowdown and Tilmanstone. The open, rural landscape of east Kent could have changed beyond recognition if coal had been more easily accessible.
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Following the history trail of coal mining in Kent
What images come to mind when you think of Kent? Probably white cliffs, castles surrounded by moats and cathedrals. What else? Beach huts, beautiful gardens and coalfields.
Hang on a minute – coalfields? Yes, there were coalfields in Kent for the best part of a century right up to the late 1980s. In today’s blog I wanted to explore the world of coal mining in Kent.
I was a student at Leeds University during the miners strike of 1984-85 and all the attention was on the collieries and pit villages of West Yorkshire, Northumbria and South Wales. But there were four mines in Kent centred around the Deal and Dover area that were also affected.
Over thirty five years after the last colliery at Betteshanger closed, we decided to see what remains of Kent coal. The best resource to find out more about the coalfields of Kent is the new Kent Mining Museum at Betteshanger Park and the local museums in Deal and Dover. The local museums have only small areas of their displays allocated to the mining history in Kent, but they are still worth visiting if you are passing by.
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The beginnings of coal mining in Kent
The history of coal mining in Kent started when coal was originally discovered as part of abortive excavations to build a Channel tunnel in the late 19th century. There then followed what must have been a frustrating twenty year period where bore holes were drilled, speculative shafts sunk and a vast amount of money spent – with little reward.
So what was the problem? The coal was located very deep underground and to get at it meant pumping out large deposits of water lying in chalk beds.
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Kent’s geology and it’s suitability for coal mining
Geologists, such as Robert Godwin-Austen, have suggested that the geological conditions in East Kent are favourable for coal mining. Godwin-Austen presented his views in 1857, which were later supported by Sir Joseph Prestwich, a member of the Royal Coal Commission from 1866 to 1871.
The rock sequences discovered in the “concealed coalfields” of Kent, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire have been recently renamed using terms established for the South Wales Coalfield. T
he Warwickshire Group, previously assigned to the Upper Coal Measures, now includes much of the strata. The following seams are recognized, listed in stratigraphical order with the youngest at the top and the oldest at the bottom:
- 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
The above seams are recognized in the counties of Kent, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire.
Test Bores
Several test bores were conducted in different locations, each with varying results. The following table summarises the depths and findings of each bore:
| Location | Depth (ft) | Depth (m) | Coal Seams Found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brabourne | 2,004 | 611 | 0 |
| Ropersole, Barham | 2,129 | 649 | 12 (thin) |
| Ellinge, Dover | 1,686+129 | 514+39.32 | 0 |
| Waldershare | 2,372+ | 723+ | 5 |
| Fredville, Nonington | 1,505+ | 459+ | 3 |
| Goodnestone | nearly 1,000 | 300 | 0 |
| Shakespeare Cliff | 2,274 | 693 | 14 |
| Plaxtol | – | – | Abandoned |
The bore at Brabourne was conducted to a depth of 2,004 feet (611 m) but no coal was found. At Ropersole, Barham, a bore was conducted to a depth of 2,129 feet (649 m) and twelve thin coal seams were found.
At Ellinge, Dover, a bore was conducted to a depth of 1,686 feet (514 m) and coal measures were found. The boring continued for another 129 feet (39.32 m), but no seams were found.
At Waldershare, a bore was conducted to a depth of 2,372 feet (723 m) or more, and five coal seams were found. At Fredville, Nonington, a bore was conducted to a depth of 1,505 feet (459 m) or more, and three coal seams were found.
At Goodnestone, a bore was conducted to a depth of nearly 1,000 feet (300 m), but no coal was found. It was believed that the seams lay at a depth of 4,000 feet (1,200 m).
At Shakespeare Cliff, a bore was conducted to a depth of 2,274 feet (693 m) in February 1890, and fourteen seams of coal were found. Finally, a bore was sunk near Old Soar Manor in Plaxtol in 1898, but it was abandoned.
Snowdon Colliery
Snowdown Colliery 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, but this made it the first commercially produced coal. The first shaft sunk hit water at 260 feet (79 m), and there was a horrible tragedy as 22 men were drowned. Snowdown eventually reached a depth of 3,083 feet (940 m).
Snowdown Colliery was conveniently situated alongside the main Dover to Canterbury railway line, and lies between the villages of Nonninton and Womenswold.
The colliery was served by the Faversham to Dover railway, and a halt (Snowdown and Nonington Halt) was provided. In 1945, the colliery had a workforce of 1,876, with 1,523 employees working sub-surface and 353 above ground. The colliery closed in 1987, and the shafts were capped in 1988.
We arrived at Snowdon on a sunny spring morning. There are a considerable number of disused colliery buildings still standing behind forbidding rusting iron fences topped with barbed wire. We walked along the road for a while, taking photos and surveyed the deserted scene of over seventy years of coal production.
On the other side of the road, the remains of coal spoil was evident over a wide expanse; uneven patches of grey smudged flecks interspersed with dotted meadow flowers, silver birch trees and hardy shrubs.
Coal mining shafts sunk at Snowdown Colliery
- 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 standard gauge rail network, connected to the mainline at Snowdown and Nonington Halt.
The line was operated by steam locomotives, the last of which survived in working condition after the demise of steam traction on the national mainline in 1968. The colliery railway was by then using a mixed fleet of steam and diesel locomotives, with the final steam withdrawals taking place in the late 1970s.
The final three steam locomotives were named after saints with nearby Canterbury connections. St Thomas (named for St Thomas of Canterbury), St Dunstan (named for Dunstan, also a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury), and St Martin (named for St Martin, patron of England’s oldest parish church, St Martin’s Church, Canterbury).
The miner’s village of Aylesham
New coalfields led to a demand for housing closer to the site of the pits. Most Snowdown miners lived in Dover until the development of the town of Aylesham started in 1926.
Aylesham was an innovative model town of 3,000 houses meant to serve Snowdown and a new pit at Adisham. This pit never materialised and Aylesham was only partly finished, providing 650 houses.
The original plans for the village of Aylesham included hospitals, schools, and shops to accommodate around 30,000 residents. However, due to the economic decline in the early 1930s, only 1,000 houses were built. Despite this setback, the village continued to develop and expand over the years.
Built in the middle of farm lands, Aylesham even now seems quite isolated and so every attempt was made to make it self-sufficient, ensuring it had its own shops, social clubs, schools, churches and sports facilities.
We visited the village – built from the proceeds of coal and noted that the Anglican Church had been constructed in 1927. It looked more like a grand community centre than a place of worship and it may have been both. The Roman Catholic church was very non-traditional in design and had a low lying corrugated roof that looked as it had been built in a hurry.
The miners institute is now a centre for small business and it was easy to imagine the crescent of houses providing accommodation for the miners to the nearby colliery.
It was half term and young children were playing with their mothers. Less than thirty years ago, their husbands and fathers would have been toiling away at the nearby colliery. I wondered how many of the miners families remained in the village or whether more recent homeowners had any idea that without the coalfield the village wouldn’t have been built in the first place?
Walking around, we found a statue dedicated to the children of the miners and a display and map detailing the Kent Miners’ Way with directions to other local pits and villages.
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Betteshanger Colliery
Betteshanger colliery was located to the northwest of Deal and was served by a branch off the Minster to Dover line. The colliery opened in 1924, and the first coal was raised in 1927. In 1945, the colliery had a workforce of 2,033, with 1,594 employees working sub-surface and 439 above ground.
As time was pressing, we decided to travel east about ten miles to the village of Northbourne. From there, we walked through fields to Betteshanger Colliery. Little remains of the colliery and most of the buildings have long been demolished. Shafts have been sealed up and fenced off.
The colliery is now a country park and a wildlife centre with reservoirs and reed beds hosting a variety of bird life. Coal spoil was present and grassed over and several hills and mounds were testament to their former use. You can also find here a new Kent Coal Mining Museum, cafe and information centre, where you can also hire bikes.
Betteshanger miners initially lived in Deal itself but reports are that the genteel folk of the town didn’t take readily to the unwashed miners. And the miners were unwashed since bathing facilities were not originally available on site. ‘No Miners’ signs were placed in boarding house windows in the town.
As a result, in 1929, isolated farmland on the outskirts of Deal, at Mill Hill was acquired to build 950 houses plus social and sport facilities. Nowadays the miners have now gone, but perhaps they had the last laugh after all, since the houses built to keep them out of the Deal have now been incorporated into the town’s boundaries.
By all accounts, Betteshanger was the biggest and most militant of all the Kent coalfields. Betteshanger was infamous for the 1942 Betteshanger miners’ strike, which was the only such action during World War II. This strike raised much public contempt despite justification.
Betteshanger was the last pit to return to work after the 1984–85 Miners’ Strike, and it eventually closed on 26 August 1989. This made the Bettershanger colliery to be the last one in Kent to close.
Coal mining shafts sunk at Betteshanger Colliery
- No. 1. 2,126 feet (648 m)
- No. 2. 2,426 feet (739 m)
Chislet Colliery
Chislet Colliery began production in 1918, and its owners, the Anglo-Westphalian Kent Coalfield Ltd., had German connections, which caused questions to be asked in Parliament. The company later changed its name to the North Kent Coalfield Ltd. and then to Chislet Colliery Ltd.
The colliery was served by the Ashford to Minster railway, and a halt was built to serve the miners. In 1945, the colliery had a workforce of 1,350, with 1,023 employees working sub-surface and 327 above ground. In 1963-4, a 1+2⁄3 mi (2.7 km) 550V.dc railway was built into the south-eastern area of the mine, which had formerly used battery locomotives.
Chislet colliery closed on 25 July 1969, as the abandonment of steam traction by British Rail had taken away the market for its coal. Houses for the miners were built at Hersden, which still has a social club named the Chislet Colliery Social Club.
Locomotives that worked at Chislet
- 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.
- Barclay 0-6-0DM (works # 382, built 1955) – following closure of the mine, this locomotive moved to the Snowdown Colliery Railway.
Coal mining shafts sunk at Chislet Colliery
- North 1,470 feet (450 m)
- South 1,467 feet (447 m)
Tilmanstone Colliery
The initiation of operations at Tilmanstone took place in 1911. A tragic incident occurred in 1913, resulting in the loss of three workers’ lives and the destruction of the pumping infrastructure, leading to the inundation of the mine. Consequently, the site remained inactive for a period of nine months. In 1915, the colliery was linked to the East Kent Light Railway, and by March 1916, coal extraction had commenced.
A significant event occurred on February 27, 1931, when Sydney William Padfield was honored with the Edward Medal in bronze. This accolade was unique within the Kent Coalfield. The following year, in 1930, an aerial conveyor system was constructed to facilitate the transport of coal directly to Dover Harbour.
This operation involved the creation of a tunnel through Dover’s cliffs, culminating in a coal storage facility capable of holding 5,000 tons at the harbor. However, the system saw limited use post-1935 and was eventually taken down in 1954.
By 1945, the colliery employed 914 individuals, with 631 working underground and 283 on the surface. The colliery ceased operations in 1988, but not before yielding in excess of 20 million tons of coal.
Within the colliery, a token system was implemented for the pithead baths and canteen, and a lamp check system was in place, as was the practice in most pits of the time. Today, none of the original structures and buildings remain; they have all been razed to the ground.
Coal mining shafts sunk at Tilmanstone Colliery
- No 1. 1,559 feet (475 m)
- No 2. 2,477 feet (755 m)
- No 3. 2,077 feet (633 m)
Shakespeare Colliery
But what became of the first pit – that of Shakespeare Colliery – formed from the Channel tunnel workings at Dover?
Opened in 1896, it encountered more water than coal, and by 1915, mining had been largely abandoned. Shakespeare was located in West Hougham, on the site of the original Channel Tunnel workings.
Coal was discovered at a depth of 300 metres below Shakespeare Cliff on 15 February 1890. The first shaft was started on 21 August 1891.
A mining accident on 6 March 1897 killed eight men. The cause was a sudden inrush of water at a depth of 366 feet. This problem was solved by lining the shaft with cast iron tubes as the shaft was sunk. During the sinking, a 17-foot seam of iron ore was discovered.
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. The site was obliterated by workings in connection with building the Channel Tunnel in the 1980s. Three shafts were sunk at the site, namely X (520 feet), Y (1,632 feet), and Z (1,632 feet).
Today, you can visit the original Shakespeare Colliery although nothing much is left. It is now the site of the wonderful country park called Samphire Hoe. It was created by using the material excavated during the construction of the Channel Tunnel. The park covers a 30-hectare area at the foot of Shakespeare Cliff, between Folkestone and Dover. It is a haven for wildlife and biodiversity, and it has quickly become one of the world’s rarest habitats, which is chalk grassland.
The park is open every day from 7 pm until dusk, which means about 4 pm in the winter and 8-9 pm in the summer. The last entry to the park in the winter is at 7 pm. There is also a tea kiosk run by a park volunteers, which is open most days from Easter to September (11 am – 5 pm), but it does depend on a weather.
To get to the park you need to drive through a tunnel, which is the original access to the colliery and you can see the Eurostar trains running next to the park as they appear from one tunnel and before they disappear into the next.
Failed or abandoned coal mining projects in Kent
As much as I enjoy learning about the success of coal mining, I also find it fascinating that there were so many other coal mining sites in Kent, that were planned, but abandoned. Five other collieries were started but never came to fruition.
Government plans in the 1920’s were based on 18 new pits being developed and the need for upwards of 50,000 new homes to support the mining community. In the events both forecasts proved wildly over- optimistic.
The mines were largely unproductive in the long term and conditions at Snowdon, the deepest, were described as being like Dante’s Inferno. Miners used to pass out with heat stroke and reports are that they drink up huge quantities of water to combat the intense heat. This started the slow decline of coal mining in Kent.
We reflected on the hardships endured by the miners deep below ground. Just a few miles away there are beautiful rural historic villages dating back to the Norman Conquest. People leading very different lifestyles but with similar wants.
Under white cliffs was black coal. Today what remains of the coal lies undisturbed and unvisited while every year thousands walk on the cliffs as they imperceptibly erode back into the ground.
Adisham
A colliery was planned at Adisham, but it was never started.
Cobham
Cobham had a mine that produced a small amount of brown lignite, and some bituminous coal was found. The coal was mined open-cast and was used to heat nearby Cobham Hall. Two drifts were dug into the hillside in 1947, and at one point, the mine produced 80 tons per week. The mine closed in 1953, and the site was cleared.
Guilford
Guilford’s 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 was found by 1918, and the colliery closed in the 1920s due to geological problems. Two buildings remain at the site. The site had three shafts sunk, namely No. 1 (306 feet), No. 2 (1,272 feet), and No. 3 (1,272 feet).
Hammill (Woodnesborough)
Hammill was a site located south of Woodnesborough. Work was abandoned in 1914 without coal being found. The site was subsequently used by the Hammill Brickworks. Some buildings survive, including a former colliery building.
Maydensole
Maydensole was a colliery that was to have been located near East Langdon. Some boreholes were drilled, but work was abandoned without any shafts being sunk.
Stonehall
Stonehall was a colliery located near Lydden. It was abandoned in 1914 without coal being found. It lay derelict until 1919 when work recommenced, only to be abandoned, and most of the buildings were demolished in 1921. A couple of buildings remain. The site had three shafts sunk, namely North (75 feet), East (273 feet), and West (273 feet).
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. The site had two shafts sunk, namely East (50 feet) and West (150 feet).
Coal mining working conditions
Miners in the Kent coalfields worked in extremely hot and humid conditions due to the deep location of the coalfields under the chalk.
A medical investigation carried out during an epidemic that affected workers at the coalface revealed that two of the coal mines were exceptionally deep (3,000 ft.) and very hot and wet.
The third mine, where the epidemic occurred, was moderately deep (1,500 to 1,600 ft.) and quite dry, but hotter than the other two due to certain peculiarities in its construction. Additionally, ventilation was a matter of considerable difficulty, making the mine extremely humid, with wet- and dry-bulb temperatures practically identical.
The miners worked without clothes and sweated profusely, consuming an average of six pints of water during a shift. Some miners worked for one shift or less and left without trying to collect their pay due to the heat and lack of ventilation. This was particularly hard for those who had softened by a spell of unemployment.
The Depression years saw many mine workers emigrate to Kent to secure work. However, the oral history study found that miners’ wives disliked the new environment even more, as they missed the warmth of the traditional mining areas. Local people also feared and detested the new immigrants. The women’s response influenced the high turnover of labour at the collieries, as they wanted to go back home.
This blog post was originally published on 18 June 2016 and last updated on 12 January 2024
