Betteshanger Colliery

Overview

The biggest of Kent's four coalfield collieries, whose militant workforce made it the only Kent pit to strike during the Second World War, and the last colliery standing when Kent coal mining ended in 1989.

History

Betteshanger, near Deal, was the last of Kent's four viable collieries to be built, sunk from 1924 with the first coal raised in 1927; its shafts, at 24 feet in diameter, made it the biggest of the Kent pits, and it went on to employ over 2,000 workers at peak, producing up to a million tons of coal a year. Kent's coal industry had begun almost by accident, discovered in 1890 during Channel Tunnel exploratory boring, and Betteshanger drew in many of the hard-line union men blacklisted from their home coalfields after the 1926 General Strike, giving its workforce a reputation as the most militant in Kent; it was the only Kent colliery to strike during the Second World War. A miner named Cephas was killed in 1934 when a loosened lump of rock fell and crushed him while he was hewing coal, one of a number of individual fatal accidents recorded over the colliery's working life. Betteshanger was also the last Kent pit to return to work after the 1984-85 miners' strike, and finally closed on 26 August 1989, ending nearly a century of coal mining in Kent.

Geology

Betteshanger worked coal seams of the Kent Coalfield, discovered in 1890 during exploratory boring for the Channel Tunnel.

Workings

Coal was raised via twin 24-foot-diameter shafts, the largest of any Kent colliery.

Closure

Betteshanger closed on 26 August 1989, the last of Kent's coal mines to close and the end of coal mining in the county.

What remains

The former colliery site has been redeveloped as Betteshanger Park.

Little of the working colliery survives above ground; the site is now a country park.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Betteshanger was sunk from 1924, with the first coal raised in 1927; its 24-foot-diameter shafts made it the biggest of Kent's four collieries. ^1,2
• Betteshanger drew many union men blacklisted after the 1926 General Strike and became known as the most militant of the Kent pits, the only one to strike during the Second World War. ¹
• A miner named Cephas was killed in 1934 when a lump of loosened rock fell and crushed him while hewing coal, one of a number of individual fatal accidents recorded at the colliery. (uncertain) ³
• Betteshanger was the last Kent colliery to return to work after the 1984-85 miners' strike, and finally closed on 26 August 1989, ending coal mining in Kent. ^1,2

Sources

1. (secondary) Looking back at the history of coal in Kent — Kent Online
2. (secondary) Betteshanger Colliery — Dover Museum
3. (secondary) Fatal Accidents at Betteshanger Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 21 August 2026 · Last researched: 21 August 2026