A HISTORY OF KENT 



concentrated, exists in Cavey Spring, a small part of Joyden's Wood, 500 or 600 yds. south- 

 west of Stankey. A third group exists on the Essex side of the Thames at Hangman's Wood 

 near Grays Thurrock. All three groups have a general similarity. All the pits end in cham- 

 bers in the chalk, their shafts passing through the Thanet Sand, which is capped invariably at 

 Hangman's Wood by gravel, and occasionally in the two Bexley groups. The depth from the 

 surface to the floor of the chambers beneath is about 80 ft. at Hangman's Wood, and varies 

 from about 40 ft. to 70 ft. at Stankey or Cavey Spring. And in all three cases, though the 

 depth to the chalk is so considerable in each, there is plenty of bare chalk within a mile. No- 

 thing, therefore, can be more evident than the fact that in all these groups we have unquestion- 



3c*LC:AmouT(l,'s 



4. No. 2 Denehole at Stonehall Farm, 

 Lydden. 



Moseling's Hole,' 

 Alkham. 



able deneholes — not chalk-wells. The Bexley groups are not so near the Thames as that at 

 Hangman's Wood. This is probably due to some extent to the existence of the Darenth on 

 the Kentish side, which would allow of the passage of small ships or boats — such as ascended 

 the river Lee and were blockaded there by King Alfred — while there is no similar stream at 

 Grays Thurrock. 



Judging from those Bexley pits which are figured in Mr. Spurrell's paper, and from such 

 as I have had opportunities of inspecting myself, the general plan of excavation in all the three 

 groups was similar. But in Hangman's Wood more lateral space seems to have been allowed 

 to each pit than at Stankey or Cavey Spring. Hence, while the double trefoil shape seems to 

 have been the prevalent one in all three groups, the require- 

 ments of additional space have been met at Bexley by the 

 removal of the greater part of the original partition between 

 adjacent chambers, pillars being left to support the roof, as 

 shown in progress in figures 6 and 7. The greater amount of 

 lateral space allowed at Hangman's Wood appears to have 

 prevented the need there for development of this kind. A 

 corriparison of the Stankey and Cavey Spring pits (figs. 6 and 

 7) with the Hangman's Wood pit (fig. 9) will illustrate this point. And if the Stankey pits 

 shown in plate H in Mr. Spurrell's paper be compared with the pits at Hangman's Wood 

 (seen in the ground plan given with the Report of the Denehole Exploration there) ' it will 



> Report on the Denehole Exploration at Hangman's Wood, Grays, 1884 and 1887. By T. V. 

 Holmes and W. Cole. Also Notes by E. T. Newton, F. \V. Rudler, F. J. Bennett, H. B. Woodward and 

 F. C. J. Spurrell, Essex Naturalist, December, 1887. 



Xtr 



Fig. 6. Stankey Pit. 



