Box hill dorking

[walnut]

Hi I'm a new member.
Many years ago I used to play and go camping around Box Hill in Surrey.
Whilst exploring the steep southern slopes, in among all the overgrowth, my friends and I found two brick openings in the side of the hill, about 200ft up. These appear to be shafts and were very deep (stones dropped in sounded like they hit water a very long way down). We didn't venture in. I have long since moved away from the area but have always wondered what these shafts lead to. Does anyone have any info about what my lie beneath the hill. It was a major part of the UK defences in the event of German invasion and there are some large pill boxes dotted around and also and old Victorian fort at the top, but none of these appear to have access deeper into the hill. I have also met one old chap who said that his brother worked on extensive mining inside the hill in the 1930's. Any info would be gratefully received.

[DigitalNoise]

Loads of info on the net about it. after searching the victorian fort, it seems that's on the 'Box hill' in Surrey.

[Herriwull]

There's a nice set of lime kilns beside a massive chalk works and a heavily gridded shaft leading down to a firestone mine. You can walk in from the A25 towards Betchworth Station at the bottom of the hills. I've not seen any shafts up on the hills themselves, but no reason why there's nothing there.

http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=520000&y=151070&z=120&sv=520000,151070&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=580&ax=520000&ay=151070&lm=0

[DaveM]

I don't think there are any accessible workings at Betchworth, I've read that the mining here wasn't on the same scale as at Merstham and Godstone and the original entrances were destroyed long ago.

[Herriwull]

Sorry, I muddled that a bit....

You can walk up to the site from the A25, not walk into the mine. There's no access down through the grid, but it's a nice little industrial visit nonetheless.