The trawl uphill and downhill in the midday heat was worth it once we finally found the tunnel entrance. Interesting and different to the other tunnels we had seen in the area.
History
Also known as the Winchelsea to Priory Hill caves shelters, this series of tunnels were used as a shelter for 1350 people in the Second World War.
There was hot and cold running water and flush toilets, and an above ground Decontamination Centre and First Aid Post with four rooms accessed via air locks and with gas curtain separation from one another. The tunnels themselves had “an overhead cover ranging from 25 to 90 feet” and were adapted and extended after the Munich crisis
The main tunnels were bored near the end of the First World War to test a rotary cutting machine, possibly a Whittaker machine, that could be used to drive tunnels on the Western Front. The advantage of cutting a test tunnel at Dover was to allow it to be also used as a “dug out”, as air raid shelters were often called at the time, to protect citizens from Zeppelin and Gotha bomber attacks. The tunnels at the time may have been called Priory Gallery. A 1923 newspaper recalled that "...the R.E. Tunnelling Company made a series of experimental tunnels between the chalk pit in Folkestone Road and the chalk pit at Tower Hamlets, which were intended for use as an air raid shelter, but were never actually used, as by the time it was finished in 1918 the raids had ceased."
The quarry entrances are now used as storage for the company that owns the quarry site.
The Explore
Despite having a very accurate location for the entrance, we had real trouble finding it. The midday heat and steep hills didn't help matters, but we eventually found quite an easy way inside after a lot of searching through tall undergrowth.
The Tunnels are constructed very differently to over Wartime tunnels, in that they were mostly bored out of the rock, rather than dug and supported with beams.
We didn't realise that the other side was open and used by the nearby quarry, so we had to be a little careful not to make too much noise, as sound echo'd down the tunnels with ease. Turned out to be worth the effort of finding it, something different and interesting.
Photos
History
Also known as the Winchelsea to Priory Hill caves shelters, this series of tunnels were used as a shelter for 1350 people in the Second World War.
There was hot and cold running water and flush toilets, and an above ground Decontamination Centre and First Aid Post with four rooms accessed via air locks and with gas curtain separation from one another. The tunnels themselves had “an overhead cover ranging from 25 to 90 feet” and were adapted and extended after the Munich crisis
The main tunnels were bored near the end of the First World War to test a rotary cutting machine, possibly a Whittaker machine, that could be used to drive tunnels on the Western Front. The advantage of cutting a test tunnel at Dover was to allow it to be also used as a “dug out”, as air raid shelters were often called at the time, to protect citizens from Zeppelin and Gotha bomber attacks. The tunnels at the time may have been called Priory Gallery. A 1923 newspaper recalled that "...the R.E. Tunnelling Company made a series of experimental tunnels between the chalk pit in Folkestone Road and the chalk pit at Tower Hamlets, which were intended for use as an air raid shelter, but were never actually used, as by the time it was finished in 1918 the raids had ceased."
The quarry entrances are now used as storage for the company that owns the quarry site.
The Explore
Despite having a very accurate location for the entrance, we had real trouble finding it. The midday heat and steep hills didn't help matters, but we eventually found quite an easy way inside after a lot of searching through tall undergrowth.
The Tunnels are constructed very differently to over Wartime tunnels, in that they were mostly bored out of the rock, rather than dug and supported with beams.
We didn't realise that the other side was open and used by the nearby quarry, so we had to be a little careful not to make too much noise, as sound echo'd down the tunnels with ease. Turned out to be worth the effort of finding it, something different and interesting.
Photos
