civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, in the South East of
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, near
Eastry
Eastry is a village and civil parish in the Dover district, in Kent, England, around southwest of Sandwich. It was voted "Kent Village of the Year 2005". The parish includes the hamlets of Heronden and Selson. In 2011 the parish had a populatio ...
, a much bigger and more developed area. Tilmanstone no longer has a village school; however, the independent Northbourne Park School is close to the parish boundary. The name of Tilmanstone has historically been famous for its colliery, although it is located in the village of
Eythorne
Eythorne is a civil parish and small village located 7.3 miles north-northwest of Dover in Kent, with a combined population of approximately 2,500 residents including nearby villages Barfrestone and Elvington. Although not classed as one of th ...
, operated from 1906 to 1986 as one of the four main pits of the
Kent coalfield
The Kent Coalfield is a coalfield in the eastern part of the England, English county of Kent. The Coalfields Trust defines the Kent Coalfield as the wards of Barham Downs and Marshside in the Canterbury district, and the wards of Aylesham, East ...
. The population taken at the 2011 Census also included that of the nearby hamlet of
Ashley
Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsċ'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
...
.
History
The parish church of St Andrew dates back to the mid-11th century and is made of flint, with later stone and brick sections. The church also includes the Tilmanstone Brass, which recognized Richard Fogge (c. 1482, a descendant of politician
Thomas Fogge
Sir Thomas Fogge (died 13 July 1407) was an English politician and soldier.
Career
The names of Thomas Fogge's parents are not known with certainty,Court Rolls held in the Library of Lambeth Palace. These rolls cover the years 1753–1789.
Mining
The Tilmanstone Colliery was located in the village of Eythorne, on the ridge to the west. The mine was opened in 1906 and was modernised in 1947 surviving until closure in 1986.
An accident in 1913 killed three men and destroyed the pumping system, causing the mine to flood and work was abandoned for nine months.Coal Heritage in Kent /ref> The site was connected to the East Kent Railway (EKR) in 1915 and coal first brought to the surface in March 1916.
Tilmanstone Colliery Halt railway station
Tilmanstone Colliery Halt was a station on the East Kent Light Railway
The East Kent Light Railway was part of the Colonel Stephens group of cheaply built rural light railways in England. Holman Fred Stephens was engineer from its ince ...
served the pit between 1916 and 1948. An accident at the pit on 27 February 1931 resulted in Sydney William Padfield being awarded a bronze
Edward Medal
The Edward Medal was a British civilian decoration which was instituted by royal warrant on 13 July 1907 to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers. The medal was named in hono ...
, the only one awarded in the Kent Coalfield.Pitwork An
aerial ropeway
A material ropeway, ropeway conveyor (or aerial tramway in the US) is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.
Description
Material ropeways are typically found around large mining co ...
was built in 1930 to link the pit with
Dover Harbour
The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pas ...
; this included
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
ling through the cliff at
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
to deliver the coal to a 5,000 ton bunker at the harbour. It was little used after 1935, and was dismantled in 1954.SimHQ In 1945, the workforce was 914, with 631 being employed sub-surface and 283 above. /ref> The colliery closed in 1988, having produced over 20,000,000 tons of coal. A system of tokens was used in the pithead baths and canteen /ref> and a lamp check was operated, in common with the majority of pits. /ref> All buildings have been demolished. /ref>
;Shafts sunk /ref>
* No 1.
* No 2.
* No 3.
Tilmanstone is on the
Miner's Way Trail
The Miner's Way Trail is a long-distance circular footpath in England, starting at Sholden, Kent. Linking up the coalfield parishes of East Kent.
Including; the parishes of Deal, Kent, Deal, Ash, Dover, Ash, Aylesham, Chillenden, Eastry, Eythor ...