Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Second World War public air raid shelters in chalk tunnels for over 1000 people under The Hill, Northfleet. Cut in 1939/40 and abandoned around the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945. Entrances are blocked but the shelters are still extant.

Monument Types

• AIR RAID SHELTER (Modern - 1939 AD? to 1945 AD?)

Full description

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Second World War public air raid shelter tunnels for over 1000 people under the Hill, Northfleet. Cut in 1939/40 and abandoned around the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945. One (north) entrance is in the face of the chalk quarry near Granby Road. There is reportedly another entrance in the surface area of the Hill. The tunnels are about 4.5 m wide and 5 m high and are of rough hewn semi-circular section with some brick lined sections. A thick blast wall and a staggered entrance protected its entry at its northern end. At its southern end are entries into other tunnels which appear to have been incorporated into the shelter system. At the top of Granby Road is a concrete platform from which, anecdotally, food supplies were lowered down the side of the chalk cliff face to be transfered to the shelter as required. The shelter still exists, but with the entrances blocked.
Owner : Private
Publicly accessible : No
How accessed for survey : All access blocked within a private industrial site
Tourism Potential : If the tunnels could be re-opened, they would have considereble potential as a tourism attraction.
Condition : unknown
Date of visit : 04/01/06

Northfleet Urban District Council, 13/11/41, Northfleet Urban District Council minutes (Bibliographic reference). SKE13767.

Northfleet Urban District Council, 13/11/41, Northfleet Urban District Council minutes (Bibliographic reference). Ske13767.

Sources and further reading

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