Monument record TQ 94 NE 407 - Chalk pits, Charing Beech Hangers

Two areas of quarry pits were identified at (TQ 98074836) and (TQ 97654862 to TQ 97754857) during a survey of the woodland carried out in 2004. Each of the pits was up to 50m in width. One of the pit groups was located uphill of one of a hollow way (TQ 94 NE 403), perhaps to facilitate transport of machinery to the site, or chalk from the quarry. The features were observed to be heavily silted, suggesting they had been disused for many years. These features are interpreted (1) as pre-dating the industrial scale quarrying of the 19th-20th centuries (TQ 94 NE 36). (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2004, Charing Beech Hangers, Westwell, Near Ashford, Kent, A Heritage Survey of the Woodland SSSI (Unpublished document). SKE57616.