White Cliffs Underground

Warren Halt 'well' Shaft

The 'well' shaft, situated near Folkestone Warren Halt (a disused small station) to the east of the town in a landslip area of great natural beauty, is actually an access shaft to a drainage adit. The concrete surround at the surface soon gives way to a deep vertical shaft lined with rotting sleepers and braced with severely rusted iron hoops. A badly corroded iron ladder leads down, but some of the mountings to the side have rusted through and it is in a pretty unsafe condition.
At the bottom the tunnel itself is in good shape, having been relined in the '70's with a prefabricated corrugated and galvanized steel lining reminiscent of the wriggley tin linings used in the military deep shelters. The tunnel leads back under the railway line with a concrete section where it goes under the actual line to a sleeper dead end. There is a continuous small stream of water running out along the tunnel from this point.
Going in the other direction the tunnel leads out after quite a distance to a locked entrance on the first concrete apron, just above sea level. I believe these aprons were constructed in the early part of the last century to act as counterbalances to the weight of the land trying to slip down behind them in the Warren area. These pictures were taken in April 1978.

'Well' shaft now capped with concrete slab, Jan.2001.

Entrance to 'well' shaft leading down to drainage adit (taken after dark).

Looking up shaft.

Looking down shaft, note rather poor condition of lining.

Looking down shaft, note poor state of ladder and safety rope.

In modern steel lined adit looking towards railway underpass section.

Concrete section where tunnel passes under railway line,

leads up to dead end where stream originates.

Section of adit leading seawards, to end in locked door.

Note small stream on floor of tunnel- the whole purpose of this adit.

View of lower door into adit. Photo taken in Feb.2001. Concrete area is part of sea defence apron.

A large shed stood here in the 1970's which was used as a hangar to keep

the 'Gossamer Albatross' in while waiting for the right conditions to make the

record breaking crossing of the English Channel by a man powered aircraft.