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Snowdown Colliery
 

The possibility of coal in Kent had been considered as early as the 1840’s but no serious investigations were done until much later and coal was finally discovered around the Dover area in 1890.  However, the coal proved very difficult to mine and it took many failed attempts and several years before any coal was finally brought to the surface.  Eventually, only 4 mines were successful and Snowdown was one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction of Snowdown began in 1907, however tragedy soon struck when the first shaft hit a water pocket, very common in the chalk greensand beds of the Dover area. The water gushed through, killing 22 men. However, work continued and in November 1912 Snowdown Colliery became the first mine to successfully bring coal to the surface.

 

In 1921 the miners went on strike over a reduction in pay; this prompted the Government to put the Emergency Powers Act (1920) into force and Snowdown went into receivership in 1922.  The pumps at Snowdown were kept in operation to prevent the continual stream of water from the surrounding chalk bed from engulfing the mine.  

 

In 1924 Snowdown went back into production after being bought by Pearson & Dorman Long. They totally overhauled the colliery and modernised it with the introduction of electric winding plant and building the nearby mining village of Aylesham to house the 650 miners and their families.

 

Snowdown has the privilege of being Kent’s deepest shaft at well over 3000 feet (some 915m).  At these depths, the geological heat starts to become very noticeable and Snowdown earned the nickname of “Dante’s Inferno” with many miners suffering from heat stroke.

 

The colliery continued to produce coal but the miner’s strike of 1984/5 and the massive downturn of British coal production brought about the end mining at Snowdown in 1987.

 

I would like to say thanks for Geoffrey Pinfold for allowing me to put them on the site.

 

All pictures are copyright to Geoffrey Pinfold.