A Strange Tale of Coffins and Bird Skulls
As most people will know Ramsgate has many tunnels and caves and as the publisher of a book about the main Ramsgate tunnel system, I occasionally come across snippets about the history of some of them.
This is the most bizarre yet, told to me by an eighty year old man who has lived in Ramsgate all his life, in 1938 when he was ten years old a time when the county was preparing for war and adult eyes were averted, a favourite haunt of local boys was the tunnels under the cemetery.
He described three large arches running far under the cemetery with a network of smaller tunnels and rooms, in places coffins had fallen through the ceiling from the cemetery above.
The greatest attraction to the boys was the bird room, by crawling under a very low part with a candle it was possible to get into a room where there were a lot of small square recesses cut into the wall, in each one was a birds skull
News, Local history and Thanet issues from Michael's Bookshop in Ramsgate see www.michaelsbookshop.com I publish over 200 books about the history of this area click here to look at them.
Sounds to me rather like the chalk adits/caves in Hollicondaine Chalk Pit in College Road....
ReplyDelete17.16 are they still there and is there any access to them.
ReplyDeleteBeen a long time since I biked around the area but there were a couple of cottages in teh chalk pit about 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThere are also 'bellpits' marked on old maps which are chalkmines with shafts to the surface..
I remember (a few years ago.....) walking from the tunnel near Dumpton Park train station all the way to the other end which came out near the old Pleasurama site. Great fun for kids !!!
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