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Friday, August 31, 2007

Oil Mill Caves, Dover

These tunnels in Limekiln Street were most likely dug in the early to mid 19th Century to extract chalk for burning and turning into lime. The limekilns, which gave the street its name, were located nearby. It is probable that the lime and excavated chalk were used in the construction of Dover Harbour. Almost cavernous in places, the extent of these tunnels is impressive and it is not surprising they've had many uses over the years including WW2 shelters and storage. The tunnels are cut directly into the cliff, some are very short and end after a few feet, whereas others go back a few hundred feet and join up, the ceilings are up to 30ft high in places. There is much evidence of alteration over the years, including the addition of blast walls. The condition inside the majority of the tunnels is reasonable, although there are some collapses in an area in which some pallets caught fire some years ago. This area has been bricked up and has been abandoned, but other sections are lit and are still used for storage. Further up the cliff face, a large horse shoe shaped tunnel with blast walls exists, but has been damaged and is unstable due to the fire below. The Eastern most tunnel has steps down to the nearby railway tunnel, but has been sealed at the bottom.


These tunnels are on private land, it was with the kind permission of the owners, that I was allowed to visit.


This plan roughly shows the tunnels
Inside one of the Eastern tunnelsFurther in
Looking back to entrance
Looking into another tunnel section
Remains of a WW2 poster
Looking back, the blast walls protecting the entrance
Small tunnel branching off
Further in...

Breached wall into unstable sections

Looking back
Arched brickwork, near a sealed entrance
Looking back
Looking into another tunnel section
Looking back
Turn in the passage
The large tunnel, which goes behind a number of the shorter tunnels
The sealed up end
Inside another large tunnel, used for storage

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks a great place to do a paranormal investigation with a proffessional team called soulsearchers, they have an in house clairvoyant too. whats the chance of investigating ? cheers lottie lawrence.

Anonymous said...

...Paranormal investigators...Would love to go down and scare the shit out of you mongs lol

Anonymous said...

Is that a no to a paranormal investigation then? Lol

Anonymous said...

Would it be possible to contact the owners to gain permission for a visit, and if so, who would I contact?

Colin G said...

They are owned by Hammonds, they allowed me a few visits but I'm not sure whether they still will.

Anonymous said...

Lvoe this place! | best ebikes here

write my assignment for me said...

It looks amazing, the photos you shared look great, I want to go to all these places.

Marsha Kaplan said...

The cave looks so horrible and I do not want to visit this place because I have some problems that I can not see horrible things and that is why I also did not watch any horror movies. But I listen horror music when I write my assignment because music can give me a good relaxation and peace of mind.

Amal Adam said...

Caves always gives me a horrible feeling because there are no lights and full of darkness. That is why I run Yacht Rental Dubai business because I love to move in the sea under the open blue sky not under the darkness.