Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A section of tram rails relating to the former site of the tramway which ran thorugh Barnfiled Pit/Craylands pit and connected it with further pits to the north and south, is still visiible. The rails are not in situ and likley moved when the quarry was infilled in the 1950's and 1960's (location accurate to the nearest 10m based on available information)

Monument Types

• TRAMWAY (Demolished, Post Medieval to Modern - 1890 AD? to 1950 AD? (at some time))

Full description

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The rails of the tramline surving in a number of quarries were presumably removed when the gorge fell into redundancy, and now only its route can be recognised. However, evidence of the former tramway does remain, in a scattering of timber railway sleepers lying in the undergrowth and a single section of trackTQ94664411) . The track no longer remains ‘in situ’ and has been moved to the western side of the tram bed (now pathway). The rails were fixed to concrete sleepers and therefore must belong to a later, ultimate phase of use or repair.(1-2)

<1> Essex County Council, 2003, Aggregates Levy Survey Industrial Sites, KN877/911 (Unpublished document). SKE12009.

<2> Wessex Archaeology, March 2004, Swanscombe Heritage Park and Craylands Gorge, Swanscombe, Kent. Archaeological and Geological Desk Based Assessment (Unpublished document). SWX12883.

Sources and further reading

Related records