History
Lydden Spout Battery was constructed in 1941 on the cliffs between Dover and Folkestone. It is a similar design to that at Fan Bay to the East of Dover, both having been mounted with three 6" naval guns. The gun positions were demolished as part of the 'Eyesore 'Clearance' initiative of the 1970s, but their foundations can still be seen, and it is just possible to squeeze into the magazines and gun crew rooms directly behind each position. A Plotting Room, which was sealed for many years and a large deep shelter still remain on the site in good condition. Above ground, some buildings including former mess rooms, remain as cow sheds.
The Deep Shelter
The first section of the tunnel is unlined, after 60 feet there is a branch to the left and after a further 53 feet a second branch to the left. The main tunnel also then turns to the left making three parallel tunnels with two staggered cross tunnels between them and another cross tunnel linking the three parallel tunnels at the far end. These parallel tunnels are lined with corrugated metal sheeting with steel hoops at regular intervals. At the far end of the western parallel tunnels there is a stairway up to the surface with two right angle bends. The top of the stairway is blocked with backfill.
There is ventilation trunking running throughout the lined tunnels but this is all now lying on the floor. There is also electrical conduit and light fittings throughout the network of tunnels. In the unlined sections of tunnel there are a number of timber pit props.
There is some contemporary graffiti visible the most prominent says 'R. Edwards No. 4194348 681 G.C Coy R.E. 1941 Cymru am Byth' Mr. Edwards was probably one of the Royal Engineers who built the shelter. GC Coy is the General Construction Company and the words below are welsh and translate as 'Wales Forever', Mr. Edwards was obviously a Welsh Engineer.
The Explore
Been meaning to visit here for a few years now but never got round to it, I got there in the end. I only took shots of the deep shelter as thats all I was interested in getting shots of. Visited with @Porker of the night and bumped into another member on the surface before heading down. Entrance was lovely and safe
a few hundred tonnes of chalk balancing on a couple of logs is my kind of thing. The main two great features for me were both the Y section splitting off after the first unlined straight and the staircase at the rear. After spending a couple of hours grabbing a few shots and chatting away we decided to head out, we was not ready for what was about to hit us on the surface. We popped out our heads to a big storm, heavy gusts and torrential rain. Getting back up was a bum squeaker o_O
On to the pictures,
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Cheers for having a ganders
Lydden Spout Battery was constructed in 1941 on the cliffs between Dover and Folkestone. It is a similar design to that at Fan Bay to the East of Dover, both having been mounted with three 6" naval guns. The gun positions were demolished as part of the 'Eyesore 'Clearance' initiative of the 1970s, but their foundations can still be seen, and it is just possible to squeeze into the magazines and gun crew rooms directly behind each position. A Plotting Room, which was sealed for many years and a large deep shelter still remain on the site in good condition. Above ground, some buildings including former mess rooms, remain as cow sheds.
The Deep Shelter
The first section of the tunnel is unlined, after 60 feet there is a branch to the left and after a further 53 feet a second branch to the left. The main tunnel also then turns to the left making three parallel tunnels with two staggered cross tunnels between them and another cross tunnel linking the three parallel tunnels at the far end. These parallel tunnels are lined with corrugated metal sheeting with steel hoops at regular intervals. At the far end of the western parallel tunnels there is a stairway up to the surface with two right angle bends. The top of the stairway is blocked with backfill.
There is ventilation trunking running throughout the lined tunnels but this is all now lying on the floor. There is also electrical conduit and light fittings throughout the network of tunnels. In the unlined sections of tunnel there are a number of timber pit props.
There is some contemporary graffiti visible the most prominent says 'R. Edwards No. 4194348 681 G.C Coy R.E. 1941 Cymru am Byth' Mr. Edwards was probably one of the Royal Engineers who built the shelter. GC Coy is the General Construction Company and the words below are welsh and translate as 'Wales Forever', Mr. Edwards was obviously a Welsh Engineer.
The Explore
Been meaning to visit here for a few years now but never got round to it, I got there in the end. I only took shots of the deep shelter as thats all I was interested in getting shots of. Visited with @Porker of the night and bumped into another member on the surface before heading down. Entrance was lovely and safe
a few hundred tonnes of chalk balancing on a couple of logs is my kind of thing. The main two great features for me were both the Y section splitting off after the first unlined straight and the staircase at the rear. After spending a couple of hours grabbing a few shots and chatting away we decided to head out, we was not ready for what was about to hit us on the surface. We popped out our heads to a big storm, heavy gusts and torrential rain. Getting back up was a bum squeaker o_OOn to the pictures,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Cheers for having a ganders
