A brief history
I stumbled across this site following a fairly disappointing (access-wise) visit to the nearby colliery and thought it would be worth documenting it as I haven't seen a report on it on this site before.
The Snowdown Working Men's Institute was founded for the workers of the nearby colliery, the deepest in the Kent Coalfield and infamous for having some of the worst working conditions of any mine in Britain. The first record I have found of the Institute dates from 1926 and refers to the accounts from the previous year, although it is likely the institute itself was founded shortly after the colliery was opened. The club closed in mid 2009, presumably due to lower custom and rising costs, the second of three working men's clubs in Aylesham to have closed in the past three years. The site has now been sold to developers.
1. A fairly plain and blocky construction, a short walk from Aylesham but almost adjacent to the colliery itself:
2. The remains of what I can only assume was a nursery or daycare centre given the amount of toys dotted around a few rooms:
3. Two full sized Riley Snooker tables left to go in the skip:
4. The smaller of the two bars:
5. And its counterpart on the right:
6. The stage, complete with wall-paintings and a speaker that had seen better days
I know this isn't anything special but better recorded than not!
Thirteen.
I stumbled across this site following a fairly disappointing (access-wise) visit to the nearby colliery and thought it would be worth documenting it as I haven't seen a report on it on this site before.
The Snowdown Working Men's Institute was founded for the workers of the nearby colliery, the deepest in the Kent Coalfield and infamous for having some of the worst working conditions of any mine in Britain. The first record I have found of the Institute dates from 1926 and refers to the accounts from the previous year, although it is likely the institute itself was founded shortly after the colliery was opened. The club closed in mid 2009, presumably due to lower custom and rising costs, the second of three working men's clubs in Aylesham to have closed in the past three years. The site has now been sold to developers.
The Pictures
1. A fairly plain and blocky construction, a short walk from Aylesham but almost adjacent to the colliery itself:
2. The remains of what I can only assume was a nursery or daycare centre given the amount of toys dotted around a few rooms:
3. Two full sized Riley Snooker tables left to go in the skip:
4. The smaller of the two bars:
5. And its counterpart on the right:
6. The stage, complete with wall-paintings and a speaker that had seen better days
I know this isn't anything special but better recorded than not!
Thirteen.
