We recently received some comments on the Archaeology in Kent FB page about the Shorne clay works and thought we’d share some with you here.
If you’d like to contribute please email us at SWAGkent2023@gmail.com.
“We returned to one of our favourite park finds this week, the cart in the tree! It carried London clay from our clay pit, along a narrow gauge railway to be processed. The clay was both slurried & pumped along the A2 and taken by lorry to Northfleet, for use in the cement industry. The pit was worked 24/7 from the 1930s to the 1960s, transforming the landscape at Shorne Woods from wooded hill to worked out quarry. The fishing lakes and visitor centre now sit in the base of the old quarry pit- with 100ft of clay missing above our heads. This cart must have been pushed off the railway and abandoned, with nature taking over and a hornbeam tree growing out of it”
Simon Thornton:
I remember swimming and rafting on the quarry lake back in the early ‘70s long before it became the country park. There was still a lot of machinery, rails and metalwork scattered around back then. I suspect a lot of that is still buried under the park. There were also steep hills/spoil heaps, which must have been flattened when the park was created. Although it was great fun to play in there as a kid, the conversion into the park is a very positive use of the land.
Matt Whiting:
The foundations of the quarry offices can still be found in the park not far from the a2. Still bits of rail to be found in the woods too
Susan Jacobs:
We used to call it the ‘Crystal Quarry’ when I was a youngster back in the early 70’s. We used to dig out loads of quartz from the clay before it was the park. Happy Days. Shorne Shorne Woods Country Park is one of my favourite places.
Other Clay Works News:
- Archaeology and Art
- Clay Works ‘cart in the tree’
- Clay Works air raid shelter
- Peter Dadson: memories of Shorne Woods Clay Works
- Ted Goodwin and his sister Patricia Cox remember their Dad and the Clay Works in Shorne woods
- Shorne Woods Clay Works project gets air time
- Clay Works at Shorne
- Alan Hills: Shorne Woods clay pit operation
- Peter Beech: memories of Shorne, the airfields and Clay Works
