[TR 24685127] Snowdown Colliery [NAT] (1) Snowdown Colliery, Aylesham. The coal seams in Kent were discovered in 1882 during test borings by the South Eastern Railway for a proposed channel tunnel, just west of Shakespeare Cliff near Dover, though the sinking of shafts there did not start until 1896. The coal measures lie at a considerable depth, between 2,000 and 3,000ft and often encounter severe problems of water and sand ingress. Snowdown Colliery is one of only three collieries in Kent being worked by the National Coal Board. The two others are Betteshanger (TR35SW/60) and Tilmonstone (TR25SE/29). (2)

Additional Information (3).

Description from record TR 25 SW 144:
Snowdon colliery near Aylesham, TR 247512. The shaft is 3000 feet deep, and workings extended some 4 miles from the shaft base. Closed during the 1980s. (4)

Closure announced in Noveber 1987 with the loss of 830 jobs (1983 Kent Employment Census). Three capped shafts retained with a protective area of 12 metre radius. The winding towers have now been demolished. A number of good quality buildings still exist. (5)

Building assessment and recording at Snowdown Colliery in advance of redevelopment of the site. The colliery started in 1907 and closed in 1988. Most of the buildings are probably from the 1920s reorganisation of the surface works. They range from small stores to very large winder houses and workshops. The majority are built in brick with steel roof trusses. A few of the buildings may be from the earlier years of the coliery and exhibit some finer detail in brickwork. (6)

For details of the history of the mine and mining operations. (7)

Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company, 2013, Archaeological evaluation at the Snowdown Colliery Welfare Ground/Club (Unpublished document). SKE54852.

<1> Kent Underground Res Grp Res Rep 6 1989 11-14 (M Jack) (OS Card Reference). SKE45949.

<2> Dover District Council, Snowdown Colliery Policy Guidelines (Monograph). SKE6719.

<2> The Ind Arch of SE Eng 1978 13 (A J Haselfoot) (OS Card Reference). SKE50364.

<3> OS 1:2500 1976 (OS Card Reference). SKE48218.

<3> Brett Paving and Construction Limited, 1989, Application for Planning Permission to Remove Minestone from Spoil Heap at Snowdown Colliery (Unpublished document). SKe7640.

<4> The Ind Arch of SE Eng 1978 13 (A J Haselfoot) (OS Card Reference). SKE50364.

<5> Brett Paving and Construction Limited, 1989, Application for Planning Permission to Remove Minestone from Spoil Heap at Snowdown Colliery (Unpublished document). SKE7640.

<6> Oxford Archaeology, 2005, Snowdown Colliery: Historic Building Assessment and Recording (Unpublished document). SKE12991.

<7> Kent Underground Research Group, 1997, Kent Underground Research Group Newsletter no. 55 (Unpublished document). SKE25130.