Ellington Girls School was built in 1914 at the time of the outbreak of the First World War and in 1917, the air raid shelter was constructed. The possibility of air attack was a real threat by this time, and the air raid shelter was built beneath the school as a result of that threat. Ellington Girls School was built in 1914 at the time of the outbreak of the First World War and in 1917 the air raid shelter was constructed. The possibility of air attack was a real threat by this time and the air raid shelter was built beneath the school as a result of that threat. During the First World War, a total of 52 air raids were launched against Britain from German Zeppelin airships, resulting in the loss of over 500 lives.   

The main tunnel is 47m long and can be accessed from 3 entrances. It was cut directly into the chalk beneath the school.  Inside were flights of wooden steps and two sets of toilets.  While the shelter was not heavily used in the First World War, it did see significantly more use during World War Two.

Close to this shelter is one of the entrances to the very large complex of Ramsgate Air Raid Shelters, which were constructed much later for WW2 and provided shelter for large areas of Ramsgate.  The Ellington School Shelter is of a very different construction; most Second World War air raid school shelters were constructed using prefabricated concrete for rapid construction, given the urgency and belief that war was imminent towards the end of the 1930s and that air attack was inevitable from the moment the war did break out in 1939.