The miners town of Aylesham was an ambitious project designed to accommodate 3,000 families.

At the time many of the miners at Snowdown lived in Deal and Dover and they were looked down upon by the local people. To alleviate this discontent a new town was planned. In addition to much needed housing for the mine it included shops, social clubs, schools, churches and sports and leisure facilities. Designed by Sir Patrick Abercrombie to a formal plan designed to reflect the shape of a pit head winding frame the full plan was never realised and only 650 houses were built.

Many of the original features of the settlement survive though the town has expanded to about 1,800 houses which are unsympathetic to the original Abercrombie design. (1)

Dover District Council, 2013, Dover District Heritage Strategy, Industries - 10.38. (Bibliographic reference). SKE31372.