A very Brief History of the East Kent Railway

 History of East Kent Railway Trust, from two marvellous books 1

The East Kent Railway was constructed between 1911 and 1917 to serve the growth of the Kent Coalfield that was being developed in East Kent. The consortium of Kent colliery and landowners envisaged a line that would link the collieries with the mainline and a new port at Richborough.

Although Richborough became an important port during WWI, the line did not cross the River Stour until after the war, by which time the port was in decline. Branch lines to Canterbury, Deal, and Birchington were planned but never completed.

The line was built to light railway standards by the engineer, Colonel H .F. Stephens. The first passengers were carried from 16^th October 1916, with just a few facilities being provided for them.

Wells Farm, near Eastry

Sandwich Road, Eastry

Knowlton Halt, was originally known as Tilmanstone and Knowlton, at Thorndon crossroads. Presumably the site of Ground Pine.

Shepherdwell station, with the Knees area and a never-used connection to the main line.

Golgotha tunnel

Eythorne station

Elvington Halt. The platform can still be seen now.

Eastry South, at the north end of Thornden Lane

Eastry north (Poison Cross) gave an opportunity for a nice pun.

Branch line to Hammill colliery, which was built but never operated. A brickworks replaced it.

Woodnesborough Station and Roman Road Station

Ash Town - clearly a metropolis

Staple station

WinghamColliery Halt

The line from Shepherdswell to Tilmanstone Colliery remained operational until the 1984/85 Miners Strike. Tilmanstone Colliery reopened for a short while but eventually ceased production in October 1986. Inevitably closure of the line followed in 1987.

In November 1985, the East Kent Railway Society had been formed with the intention of saving and reopening the remaining two and a quarter miles of line, but it was not until 1989 that the volunteers were able to start the massive task of clearing the tangle of shrubs, trees and other vegetation that had claimed the railway since closure. 

1  M. Lawson Finch & S.R. Garratt The East Kent Railway 2 vols – Oakwood Press (from library)

The village of Coldred at the time of the Census of 1841 and the Tithe Apportionment of 1844

The Census of 1841 and the Tithe Apportionment of 1844 give a good snapshot of the identity of villages in the mid-nineteenth century, a time of poverty after the Napoleonic Wars and falling grain prices, coinciding with rising rents and increased wealth of often-absent land-owners.

The details below are subject to the usual provisos regarding the accuracy of note-taking and interpretation.

Waldershare Estate

The eastern half of the parish was owned by the Earl of Guilford based at Waldershare, the title at the time being held by the sixth Earl, a clergyman and master of St Cross Hospital in Winchester. He was presumably not often resident in the family seat although he died at Waldershare in 1861.

Interestingly only one individual, William Easter, is recorded at Waldershare Mansion in the 1841 census, with a gardener and his wife (John and Jane Lloyd at the Garden House) and a couple at “Canterbury Gate”, John and Sarah Horton, in the grounds. Despite the fact that the mansion is in the parish of Coldred, three servants and seven labourers are listed in the Waldershare parish census.

The land owned and managed by the estate in the parish in 1844 (including the mansion, park and Wildernesse) was deemed to be worth £610 per year, while that in the parish of Waldershare was valued at £384pa. The estate also controlled almost all woodlands in the parishes.

Farms

The majority of the land in the western half of the parish is recorded in the Tithe Apportionment as being owned or managed by six Farmers. Listing them clockwise from the road to Lydden, they were:

Chilli Farm (worth £81 annual income) owned and managed by Charles Miller (45 in 1841) with 13 on the farm.

Unnamed (Upton?) Farm (worth £83) in the north west, owned by Henry Barton and Joseph Banks, and managed by George Clarke (from Colret House?) “and others”.

Coldred Court (£159) which was owned by the Earl, but managed by George Castle, aged 25, in 1841, as tenant.

Newsole Farm (£153) was also owned by the estate, and occupied by Kelsey Richards, 45, his wife Hester, 40, their family of 4 and five servants.

Singledge Farm (£139) was owned by the Commissioners of Dover Harbour (after it was bequeathed to them by Henry Matson in 1720) and occupied by John Marsh according to the Tithe Apportionment although the census shows four households headed by Agricultural Labourers in 1841. https://shepherdswellhistory.org/singledge-farm/

Parsonage Farm (£183) owned by Elizabeth Potter and occupied by George Potter.

Most of these farms border other parishes and so the total incomes are likely to be greater than just those shown for the Coldred parish.

Employment

In addition to the six farmers, eighteen villagers are noted as being Agricultural Labourers, with fifteen Male Servants and eight Female Servants.

Other Occupations

The village centred on Coldred Green which was surrounded by the houses of labourers, servants and tradesmen, dominated by Colret House at the top of the rise.

The Carpenters Arms is shown as a Beer Shop managed by John (45) and Ann Tritton (40).

A bailiff is shown as Richard Gilham (50) and his wife Mary (45) with eight children.

William Amos (60) was a carpenter, with his wife Mary aged 65.

Villagers

In total there were 157 villagers listed in the 1841 census, an increase of 31% since 1811. There was to be a further increase to 182 shown in the next census (1851) before a significant fall to 134 by 1861.

The average age of the 61 male adults was 31.6 years.

There were 32 females with an average age of 34 years old, a considerable numerical disparity likely created by the lack of work in the village for unmarried women and the impact of childbirth on women’s life-span. Just two men and two women were over 60.

The village in 1841 had 19 boys and 37 girls under 15; the youngest boy recorded as an Agricultural Labourer was 15 and there were two girls as Female Servants under 15 (Jane Rigden 12 and Jane Woodcock 14). There was no school in the village so presumably they walked to Shepherdswell, or to the schoolmistress Anna Pyner in the school house in Waldershare.

There were also three male and five female babies under 1 year old.

I have transcribed the 1841 census and applied it to the Tithe Apportionment, so if anyone is interested I'd be happy to share it - contact me on kingsdowner@hotmail.co.uk.

2025 Revisited

 Looking back over 2025, it was a good year. 

January - started with the New Year Plant Hunt as usual, with five walks finding 100 different flowering species. The favourite Woodnesborough walk picked up 55 species, setting a challenge for 2026.

February saw the first trip of the year, by sleeper to the Med.  And the blue sky in Nice was .... nice.

Not many flowers around but a first orchids for the year were out, Giant Orchids of course, emerging from an old Roman road..

I was appalled by the lack of snow in the Alps....

In March, our wanderings took us around the local area as usual, generally calling at small churches for a coffee and snack, or maybe even a packed lunch. Churches that are unlocked, have coffee-making facilities and maybe even a toilet give us weary pilgims a welcome haven. 

April saw the start of my my surveying year, which kept me busy through the summer and autumn, visiting Local Wildlife Sites and then writing the reports. It all became a bit of a blur. The surveying took me to unusual places, like the coal tip below where I watched a family of Ravens on a pylon. 

Much of the summer was taken up tramping around the Ash Levels, pushing my identification skills of ditch and water-side plants. I was delighted to find Tubular Water-dropwort (left) to add to another new plant for me, Corky-fruited Water-dropwort (right), that lives in a totally different habitat. 

There's a lot of hot, unshaded walking across the marshes, but when I find beauties like Flowering Rush and Greater Bladderwort it's all worthwhile.   

May saw a survey of a different kind, as we became fascinated by urban flora, thanks to a new book by Trevor Dines. Mel looked down drains to find ferns, and we picked up the occasional rarity like Oak-leaved Goosefoot, here by Deal Castle.

In June, I took the train to Northumberland to catch up with an old school friend. The county did not disappoint, and for a time it was hotter than down south.

A visit to Holy Island was badly timed to coincide with the hottest day (there's no shade there) but I was fortunate to meet Chris Metherall, county recorder, who kindly showed me a small colony of Lindisfarne Helleborines.

 In July, we counted 860 Red Hemp-nettle plants in a field near Adisham, as part of a Plantlife project. They seem to be thriving after we helped sow them about five years ago.  And nearby was our invertebrate find of the year - a Water Stick-insect. 

I had the chance to stay in London for a few days in August, so took in the sights. It was hot and busy but the traffic improvements achieved in the past few years have made the city far more pleasant, with less traffic, fumes and noise.

Using buses was a joy, and free, but borrowing an electric bike opened the place up a treat. Cycling round Buckingham Palace, the City and the East End in a hour was easy, and I also explored the Surrey Docks, now transformed by green corridors.

There were still interesting plants to see between the concrete, like the recent abundance of Jersey Cudweed, and these Nettle-leaved Bellflowers in the lovely Bunhill Cemetery. 

In September we found the Dragonfly Pond near Sandwich Bay Observatory and it quickly became a favourite stop for coffees and occasionally fish and chips. The pond has a flourishing colony of Whorled Water-milfoil, again a first for me.  

October was the month of hay-making at Hawkshill, and we recruited 30+ willing volunteers over four days to scissor-cut, rake, bag and store an extraordinary amount of grass. It's looking good there now and we're hoping for a continued improvement in biodiversity in 2026.

November is a dreary month, but it was saved by searching for flowering plants. It encouraged us out on almost all days, and we found a creditable 247 species. This achievement was, however, eclipsed by the North Downs and Beyond, who recorded a few more despite us having the benefit of seaside habitats. Little joys were found, like a single solitary Autumn Gentian at Lydden and Monkeyflower in the Dour.

In December we joined the Wild Flower Society and started to tackle their Winter Months Flower Hunt. The number of flowering species seen in December was 152, with most becoming scarcer as the cold month wore on, but with a few early spring flowers appearing, like the Green Hellebores in Caen Wood.

But the find of the month was the less showy Argentine Fleabane Erigeron bonariensis, found on a farm track in Marshborough, a second for Kent (the first being in 1978 in Greenhythe). It's an unassuming little plant and it had not yet flowered or set seed; I feel, however, that it will spread rapidly once it gets a hold.

So that's it for 2025.... living the dream in retirement, by avoiding shops, aeroplanes and the harsher things of life, and embracing family and friends. Here's to 2026 🥂🌼