Hammill Brickworks June 2012

Thanks to SpaceInvader for the shout on this!
Visited with SpaceInvader,Urbanginger,Obscurity and Fortknox0
No dramas just a relaxed wander about




Hammill Brick Ltd operated from a site at Hammill, near Eastry, for over 80 years until the downturn in the building industry forced their eventual closure in 2008. The brickworks was built mainly on the site of the old Woodnesborough Colliery, and utilised some of the buildings there, although there have been newer structures added to the site over the years. Currently standing almost derelict and seeking a buyer, some areas of the site look as if they were abandoned almost yesterday!

The largest brickworks in Dover district was undoubtedly at Hammill 1.7km north west of Eastry. Hammill brickworks is sited on the former Woodnesborough Colliery site. Works at the site started in 1910 but the colliery operation never progressed beyond the sinking of two test shafts and the construction of surface buildings including an engine house, workshops and a chimney. In 1923, after the First World War, the mine was sold to Pearson & Dorman Long, owners of Betteshanger Colliery. In due course the site was sold on to the Hammill Brick Co. who built a brickworks on the site using some of the old colliery buildings and working clay extracted from a nearby clay seam within the Thanet Beds geology The brickworks opened in June 1927 and continued in operation until 2006. When the brickworks opened a two foot gauge line was built parallel to the standard gauge line and ran between the brickworks and a clay pit c. 500m to the north-east of the brickworks (another clay pit is indicated c. 800m to the north-west). Despite attempts to keep the site working the brickworks finally shut in 2008.

Was a rather nice day out!

Hms Forward

This was the start of a fun day out ..brief history then on with the pics

HMS FORWARD maintained a comprehensive maritime surveillance of everything that moved on, under or over the English Channel from Dungeness to Selsey Bill. Ten coastal radar stations between Fairlight and Bognor Regis reported directly to HMS FORWARD. All information was filtered and plotted and also relayed by teleprinter to similar plots at Dover and Portsmouth.

HMS FORWARD was heavily involved in the saga of the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst, Gneiseneau and Prinz Eugen on 11 February 1942, the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, D-Day, and nightly MTB harassment raids and commando 'snoops' on the occupied French coast. Air/sea rescue was also coordinated from here.

Ditton research lab June 2012

Visited with UrbanGinger one dark damp night

Bit of history.

Ditton Research lab was originally opened by The Empire Marketing Board in 1930.

The EMB was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote inter-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'. It was actually established as a substitute for tariff reform and protectionist legislation and this is why it was eventually abolished in 1933, as a system of imperial preference replaced free trade.

The EMB had three principal aims: to support scientific research, promotion of economic analysis, and publicity for Empire trade.

The purpose of this laboratory was to carry out experiments on the shipping of fruit across the high seas,in order to extend its life over long,seabourne journeys. This is where the "ship on land" experiment originated from.

In 1969 the lab was incorporated into the nearby East Malling Research Station as the fruit storage section.