Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Submarine mining establishment, Shorne.

Summary from record TQ 67 SE 1147:

Late 19th century/early 20th century submarine mining depot, centred in the marshes about 100m west of Shornemead Fort. It consisted of minestores and a tramway which connected them to a loading jetty on the edge of the Thames for minelayers to take the mines on board, both as a training facility and, if necessary, as part of the mining defence of the Thames. The depot appears to have originated in the later 1870s or 80s and to have continued into the First World War or shortly before. There are no surviving traces.

Monument Types

• SUBMARINE MINE DEPOT (Destroyed 1930, Post Medieval to Modern - 1880 AD? to 1914 AD?)
• SITE (Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
• SUBMARINE MINE DEPOT (SUBMARINE MINING ESTABLISHMENT, Modern - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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Several rectangular concrete bases for stone buildings of the submarine mining establishment, mostly invisible below marsh surface. Traces of a narrow gauge midway for transport of the mines to the river's edge may also exist. No further details (1). Site photographs (2-13). Area of bases not accessible. No gauge remains visible on foreshore apart from concrete debris. (14)

Description from record TQ 67 SE 1147:
Late 19th century / early 20th century submarine mining depot, centred in the marshes about 100m west of Shornemead Fort. It consisted of minestores and mine servicing areas, with tramways connecting them to a jetty with cranes which projected out from the nearby riverbank into the Thames. There were also lecture rooms. The depot was both a training facility and part of the arrangements for the mining defence of the Thames. At least in the end of the 19th century and in the first few years of the 20th, vessels would arrive at the jetty for annual summer training exercises. The depot appears to have originated in the later 1870s or 80s and to have continued into the First World War or shortly before. There are no surviving traces but it is probable that there are archaeological remains under the marsh turf. The date of destruction is unclear but the site appears to have been cleared by the early 1930s.
Owner : Unknown
Publicly accessible : No
How accessed for survey : There are no visible traces of the depot
Tourism Potential : As part of wider interpretation of Shornemead Fort
Condition : Destroyed
Date of visit : 01/02/06

War Office, 01/01/1893, Map of Shornemead Fort (Map). SKE14007.

War Office, 01/01/1893, Map of Shornemead Fort (Map). Ske14007.

Frank Bowen, 15/02/36, Gravesend and Dartford Reporter (Bibliographic reference). SKE14008.

Frank Bowen, 15/02/36, Gravesend and Dartford Reporter (Bibliographic reference). Ske14008.

<1> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, Site visit by VTC Smith 1995 (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<2> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9404.

<3> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9420.

<4> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9467.

<5> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9860.

<6> 1942, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10003.

<7> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10014.

<8> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10016.

<9> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10067.

<10> 1941, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10113.

<11> 1941, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10114.

<12> 2000, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10280.

<13> 1978, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10929.

<14> Wessex Archaeology, 2005, North Kent Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey: Phase ll: Field Assessment Year Two Report (Unpublished document). SWX12323.

Sources and further reading