Site of the former
Ellington Girls’ School,
Ellington Place, Ramsgate,
Kent:
Air raid shelter survey,
documentary study and
graffiti survey report
July 2010
Site of the former
Ellington Girls’ School
Ellington Place,
Ramsgate,
Kent
Air raid shelter survey, documentary and graffiti survey report.
Project Code: EGSR-BR-10
Planning Ref: TH/09/0428
NGR: 637200 165290
Report No: 2010/64
Archive No: 2828
July 2010
Document Record
This report has been issued and amended as follows:
Version Prepared by
01
C. Jarman
Position
Date
Project Officer
21.07.10
Approved by
©Canterbury Archaeological Trust Limited
92a Broad Street · Canterbury · Kent· CT1 2LU
Tel +44 (0)1227 462062 · Fax +44 (0)1227 784724 · email: admin@canterburytrust.co.uk
www.canterburytrust.co.uk
All rights including translation, reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the prior written permission of Canterbury Archaeological Trust Limited
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Contents
Summary
1
Introduction
1
2
Location, topography and geology
1
3
Historic and archaeological background
2
4
Objectives
2
5
Methodology
2
6
Tunnel description
3
7
Documentary background (Peter Searey)
6
8
Graffiti (Peter Searey)
12
9
Conclusion
16
References
17
Figures
Fig 1: OS location plan of site of former Ellington Girls’ School, showing demolished
buildings and air raid shelter.
18
Fig 2: Detail location plan of air raid shelter in relation to former school buildings.
19
Fig 3: Survey of air raid shelter at former Ellington Girls’ School, Ramsgate.
20
Fig 4: Detail from Ordnance Survey, 1909 edition.
21
Fig 5: Detail from Ordnance Survey, 1933 edition.
21
Fig 6: Details from Ordnance Survey, 1938 edition.
22
Fig 7: Plan of school from 1939.
22
Plates
Plate 1: Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School being redeveloped. Breach in tunnel
in fenced area to the left of image, with hoist apparatus set over. Looking north.
23
Plate 2: Breach into tunnel roof at base of foundation trench.
23
Plate 3: View along northern tunnel from the west.
23
Plate 4: East end of northern tunnel, east shaft above.
24
Plate 5: West end of northern tunnel, north-west stair tunnel to right. Base of west
shaft in middle ground.
24
Plate 6: Southern tunnel, looking west. Graffiti recording in progress.
24
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 7: Eastern cross passage, looking south to girls’ toilet cubicles.
24
Plate 8: Western cross passage, looking south to collapsed boys’ toilet cubicles.
25
Plate 9: Base of north-west stair tunnel, looking west.
25
Plate 10: North-west stair tunnel from base of steps, looking north.
25
Plate 11: South-west stair tunnel from bottom landing, looking south.
25
Plate 12: South-west stair tunnel, collapsed roof, looking east towards blocked entrance.
26
Plate 13: South-west stair tunnel, blocking and concrete tunnel lining.
26
Plate 14: North-west stair tunnel blocking.
26
Plate 15: View up east shaft to concrete capping slab.
27
Plate 16: Base of east shaft intersecting the northern tunnel. Looking east.
27
Plate 17: Tool marks on tunnel wall.
27
Plate 18: Detail of tool mark, with graffiti marks.
28
Plate 19: Detail of staircase.
28
Plate 20: Detail of steps, showing chalk cut steps with wooden risers retained by metal pins.
28
Plate21 Detail of wooden bracket supporting benches.
28
Plate 22: Entrance to girls toilet cubicles.
29
Plate 23: Detail of corrugated iron sheet and wooden frame forming cubicle partition.
29
Plate 24: View into girls’ toilet cubicles.
29
Plate 25: Stencil on corrugated iron baffle to girls’ toilet cubicles.
29
Plate 26: Detail metal pin and ceramic insulator for lighting festoon.
29
Plate 27: Detail of light socket.
29
Plate 28: Graffiti showing cannon.
30
Plate 29: Graffiti commemorating D-Day 6 June 1944.
30
Plate 30: Graffiti commemorating the opening of the second front (D-Day).
30
Plate 31: Graffiti naming Louie Kirkaldie, age 19.
30
Plate 32: Graffiti naming Mable Jenner, age 16.
30
Plate 33: Graffiti naming Mable Jenner, age 17.
30
Plate 34: Graffiti naming P Mackins dated 22 November 1946.
30
Plate 35: Graffiti declaring St George’s to be stacked painted chads.
31
Plate 36: Graffiti of a St George’s ?girl.
31
Plate 37: Graffiti of a figure possibly wearing a mortar board.
31
Plate 38: Carving of a head at the foot of the north-west (Infants’) stair.
31
Plate 39: The Popeye figures and associated graffiti.
31
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 40: Detail of Popeye figures.
32
Plate 41: Possible ?stenography.
32
Plate 42: House, possibly on fire, with other ?related markings.
32
Appendices
Appendix 1: List of Photographic images.
33
Summary
In late April 2010 groundworks for a housing development (planning ref. TH/09/0428) on the site of the
former Ellington Girl’s School, Ellington Place, St Lawrence, Ramsgate (NGR 637230 165290),
breached the roof of an entrance tunnel leading into a set of tunnels situated beneath the former school.
The site had already been the subject of an evaluation carried out by Canterbury Archaeological Trust
and a watching brief was being maintained during the groundworks. The Trust was commissioned to
carry out a survey of the tunnels and graffiti therein, and to carry out a brief documentary study to place
the tunnel in its historic context. The report that follows gives an account of these works; the evaluation
and watching brief are reported on separately.
The tunnels are thought to belong to an air raid shelter dating to the end of the First World War.
However it is unlikely that they saw much, if any, use at this time. Provision of shelters was made
towards the end of the war in response to Zeppelin raids and naval bombardments, but many were not
completed until late 1918. The graffiti present within the shelter indicates fairly extensive use during the
Second World War. Although much of the graffiti is indicative of use by the school, there is some
indication that the wider community may have made use of the facility.
The shelter was of simple form with two tunnels lined by benches, linked by cross passages terminating in
toilet cubicles, marked girls and boys. Three stairways entered the tunnels, which were c. 12m deep,
corresponding to the Boys’, Girls’ and Infants’ departments of the school. Two vertical shafts cut from
the surface are thought to represent construction shafts (Rod LeGear pers comm.).
1
Introduction
1.1
This report concerns the discovery of a tunnel complex forming an air raid shelter, believed to
date to the First World War, during a programme of archaeological works conducted by
Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) at the site of the former Ellington Girls’ School,
Ellington Place, St Lawrence, Ramsgate, Kent (NGR 637230 165290) ( Fig 1).
1.2
The school has recently moved to new premises and the site is now the subject of redevelopment.
The school buildings were demolished in early 2010 and twelve houses and sixteen flats are being
constructed on the site.
1.3
CAT was initially commissioned by the principal contractor, ISG Jackson, to carry out an
archaeological evaluation of the site in accordance with the conditions of approval of planning
application TH/09/0428. The planning condition was imposed by Thanet District Council on the
advice of Kent County Council’s Heritage Conservation Group. This work is the subject of a
separate report (Linklater 2010). The evaluation was followed by an intermittent watching brief
during which the tunnel complex was discovered, along with a stone cellar and a series of large
soakaways. The watching brief, detailing the cellar and soakaways, is the subject of a further
separate report (Linklater forthcoming).
1.4
The air raid shelter was discovered around 29 April 2010 when the roof of one of its blocked
entrances was breached by the cutting of foundation trenches at the rear of the plot close to its
west boundary wall (Plates 1 and 2). The breach exposed a stairway leading down to the west
before turning to the north and then east, to enter a set of tunnels c. 12m (32.75–33.16m O.D.)
below the surface. A further breach into a second stair tunnel, c.45m to the east of the first
breach, was made during the cutting of a service trench. Two concrete slabs were also located
between these two breaches and one, to the west of the site, was partially removed to reveal a
square shaft descending to the tunnel complex below.
1.5
The air raid shelter tunnels were generally well preserved with little collapse of the ceilings,
except in the upper parts of its entrance tunnels. A significant degree of this damage probably
resulted from the current groundworks. A number of fittings and much graffiti were preserved
within the tunnels.
1.6
The recording of the air raid shelter was conducted in accordance with a specification for
watching brief and historic buildings recording work supplied by the Heritage Conservation
Group (KCC 2010). The building recording was undertaken between 1 and 7 June 2010.
1.7
CAT would like to thank ISG Jackson, their site manager, Paul Wallis, and the sub-contractors,
Cliffe, for their assistance during these works. Particular thanks are expressed to ISG Jackson for
arranging confined spaces training. Thanks are also extended to Rod LeGear and the Kent
Underground Research Group for their assistance and comments.
1.8
The photographic survey was undertaken by Andrew Savage, assisted by Adrian Murphy, and the
documentary research and graffiti surveys by Peter Searey. Mapping of the tunnel was conducted
by Crispin Jarman assisted by Russel Henshaw
2
Location, topography and geology (Fig 1 and 2)
2.1
The site of the former Ellington Girls’ School lies on the north-west side of Ramsgate, 1km from
the town centre, in the parish of St Lawrence. The site is bounded to the north by Ellington Place
and to the west by Ellington Infants’ school, which faces onto High Street. To the east and south
the site is bounded by residential properties on Grange Road and Claremont Gardens.
2.2
The site is roughly rectangular in plan measuring c.43m at the street frontage and extending c.
95m back to the properties on Claremont Gardens. The site slopes gradually from the south, from
44.9m O.D. at its rear to 42.9m at its frontage on Ellington Place. The main school building was
1
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
located 20m from the street frontage and extended back almost the full length of the plot (Fig 2).
Playgrounds lay to its north, east and west. Other more recent buildings were located in the
grounds to the west of the school. A further playground area lay adjacent to Grange Road,
connected to the south-east corner of the school at its north-west corner. This area does not fall
within the current development. To the west of the development site part of the school grounds
have been handed to the adjacent Infants’ School and a wall has been constructed along the new
boundary.
2.3
The underlying geology of the site is shown by the British Geological Survey as Upper Chalk
with no recorded superficial or drift deposits above (British Geological Survey 2010). The
evaluation and watching brief indicated the presence of between 0.7 and 1.4m of Head Clay
(Brickearth) across the site (Linklater 2010, para. 2.1).
3
Historic and archaeological background
3.1
The principal archaeological potential of the site lies in the presence of a demolished medieval
chapel, the Chantry Chapel of the Holy Trinity (Kent HER No. TR 36 NE 42), at the junction of
Ellington Place and Grange Road, to the north-east of the site. The full extent of the chapel is
unknown and it is possible that its grounds extended across the north-east part of the development
site. The only other significant archaeological remains known in the vicinity of the site are two
Bronze Age palstave axes found some 100–150m to the west (Kent HER No. TR 36 NE 48).
3.2
The archaeological evaluation, comprising five 1.8m by 17.5–22.5m long trenches, yielded little
evidence for activity other than that related to the construction, use and demolition of the school
(Linklater 2010). In the north-west corner of the site walls, drains and a rubble filled pit were
observed. These were thought to relate to the presence of the Cannon Inn on the north-west
frontage of the site (shown on the Ordnance Survey 1909 edition (Fig 4)), which was demolished
in the 1970s to form an extension to the school grounds. In the north-east corner of the site a
single linear feature was observed, the backfill of which yielded three abraded sherds of late
medieval pottery. This feature may have related to the chapel.
3.3
The Ellington School was built in the early part of the twentieth century and was opened in 1914
(Figs 4–7). The school comprised three departments: Infants’, Boys’ and Girls’. In 1939 the
Infants’ Department moved to an adjacent site to the west of the school, facing onto High Street
(Fig 6). A more detailed account of the school’s early history is included within a separate
section within this report (Documentary background, below).
4
Objectives
4.1
The principal objective of the programme of works was to contribute to the knowledge of the
Ramsgate area through the recording of any archaeological remains exposed.
4.2
The specific aims of the works reported on herein were to provide a drawn and photographic
record of the air raid shelter and to contribute to the understanding of the social history of the
school and its wartime past.
5
Methodology
5.1
The tunnel survey was conducted following a specification supplied by the Heritage Conservation
Group at Kent County Council (KCC 2010).
5.2
The tunnel is considered to be a confined space and all work was undertaken in accordance with
health and safety regulations and advice provided by a confined spaces expert, Paul Homes of
C3S Training. Escape kits and gas monitoring equipment was used at all times and a hoist with
fall arrest harness was deployed at the tunnel entrance.
5.3
The tunnel was mapped using EDM total station supplemented by hand taped data and drawn up
on AutoCAD. The tunnel was tied to the developer survey and thence to the Ordnance Survey
2
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
National Grid using Ordnance Survey digital mapping. Levels were taken within the tunnel using
an automatic level and were related to Ordnance Datum using a height value provided by the
developer.
5.4
A photographic record of the tunnel was made using a digital camera (Canon 20D). Both general
and detailed record shots of the tunnels were taken. Detailed images of representative examples
of various fixtures and fitting were taken along with a sample of the graffiti.
5.5
A brief survey of the documentary evidence relating to the school, its air raid shelter and the war
time civic defences was undertaken. The results of this are detailed below.
5.6
The graffiti was visually inspected and the more significant examples were recorded. A
representative sample of the remaining graffiti was also recorded in order to characterise its
nature. A description of the graffiti is given below. The quantity and quality of the graffiti,
combined with the practicalities of working within the tunnels, meant that a complete survey was
not undertaken. The tunnels are however being resealed and the graffiti will therefore be
preserved.
6
Tunnel description
6.1
The air raid shelter is located towards the rear of the plot, c. 6m from the south boundary wall,
and perpendicular to the axis of the former main school building, under which it extended (Fig 2).
The shelter extends almost the full width of the plot, beneath the former playgrounds to the east
and west of the building and beyond the new west boundary wall of the site. The main axis of the
tunnel complex is aligned east-south-east to west-north-west, simplified to east–west in this
report, and the overall footprint of the tunnel measures c. 48m east–west by 24m north–south.
The tunnel floors are c. 12m below the ground surface at 32.75–33.21m O.D. with a slight slope
from east to west.
Tunnel plan (Fig 3)
6.2
The air raid shelter is of simple plan. A single long tunnel (Plates 3–5) extends the full width of
the school grounds with, towards its east end, a shorter parallel tunnel 6m to its south (Plate 6).
The northern and southern tunnels are 47.6m and 24.5m long respectively. Linking these tunnels
are two cross passages meeting either end of the southern tunnel at their mid point and extending
south to blank termini (Plates 7 and 8). The cross passages are parallel to each other and are
perpendicular to the northern tunnel. The east cross passage is 10.9m long and the west cross
passage 10.6m long. The eastern cross passage lies 4m from the east end of the northern tunnel
and the western cross passage 26m to its west and 17.5m east of the west end of the nothern
tunnel. The remains of corrugated iron partitioning occupy the terminal ends of the cross
passages, forming toilet cubicles.
6.3
Three L-shaped stair tunnels give access to the northern tunnel, meeting it at right angles; one at
its east end, heading north, one at its west end, heading south, and the third a short distance east
of the latter, heading north (Plates 5 and 9–11). All three stair tunnels are blocked by brick walls
(Plates 13 and 14) at a depth of around 5–6m below ground level (38.8–39.9m O.D.). None are
visible at the surface, the sealing of the tunnels and the subsequent demolition of the school
presumably having obliterated their upper extents. It is through the roof of the south-west stair
tunnel that the air raid shelter was entered (Plate 12).
6.4
The east stair tunnel comprises a flight of sixteen steps rising north from the northern tunnel to a
landing 4.7m to its north and then turns west 9.8m up two flights to a brick blocking wall. The
lower flight in the west return comprises sixteen steps rising to a second landing 4.6m from the
corner. The upper flight was not observed as it was buried beneath an extensive area of roof
collapse.
6.5
Two steps at the west end of the northern tunnel lead to a landing at the foot of the south-west
stair tunnel. The tunnel extends 9.0m south then turns for a further 9.0m to a brick blocking wall
3
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
(Plates 11, 12 and 13). Only the lowest flight of steps is visible, comprising fourteen steps rising
to a landing 4.5m along the tunnel. Above this landing, to the corner of the stair tunnel and along
the length of its eastern return, the tunnel roof has suffered extensive collapse and the stairs are
buried under a significant depth of rubble (Plate 12). At the east end of the stair tunnel the walls
and ceiling have been lined with a 2m long concrete collar, presumably to reinforce the tunnel
entrance where it cut through clay overlying the chalk bedrock (Plate 13). The chalk wall of the
tunnel can be seen to have been cut back for the setting of the concrete and the imprint of wooden
shuttering can be seen in its surface.
6.6
The third (north-west) stair tunnel lies 6.6m from the west end of the northern tunnel and extends
north for a distance of 10.6m then turns east for 3.6m to a brick blocking wall (Plates 5, 9, 10 and
14). Two flights of stairs, separated by a landing 3.8m from the northern tunnel, rise to a second
landing at the corner of the tunnel. The lower flight comprises fourteen steps and the upper flight
seventeen steps. A third flight rises east, ten steps, from the corner landing to the brick blocking.
6.7
The three stair tunnels appear to correspond with the departments of the school (Documentary
background, below). The east stair opens into the Girls’ playground, the south-west stair into the
Boys’ playground and the north-west stair close to the main school entrance, giving access for
the Infants’.
6.8
Two rectangular vertical shafts rise from the northern tunnel to the surface (Plates 15 and 16).
The eastern shaft is located 11m from the east end of the northern tunnel, 6.8m west of the
eastern cross passage, and the western shaft 4.7m from the west end and immediately west of the
base of the north-west stair tunnel. The east shaft measures 1.35m on a side and the west shaft
1.5m east–west by 1.35m north–south. Both shafts have been capped with concrete close to the
surface, at the boundary of the chalk bedrock with the overlying clay drift deposits, 10.87m (east
shaft) and 10.47m (west shaft) above the floor of the tunnel. The imprint of wooden shuttering is
visible on the underside of the concrete.
6.9
The shafts are suggested by Rod LeGear to be construction shafts (pers comm.). The shafts being
excavated to the required depth and the tunnels cut from their bases, with spoil removed via the
shafts. This method of construction is apparently typical of First World War chalk cut tunnels
observed elsewhere. The method follows the mining methods employed by colliers and it is
suggested that men from the Kent collieries were drafted in to carry out the tunnel construction.
6.10
The tunnels are chalk cut with no lining, shoring or supporting arches, except at the south-west
entrance where a concrete lining was present (see above). The tunnels average 1.3m wide by 2m
high, with local variations, most notably in the height. The roof of the tunnel appears to have
been cut following natural seams within the chalk giving a height range from c.1.95–2.3m as the
slope of the seam diverged from the floor level. The side walls of the tunnels are near vertical or,
locally, slightly bowed out, to a height of c. 1.5m, then slope in to meet a flat or concave roof c.
1m wide. The surfaces of both the roof and walls are uneven with tool marks evident along most
of their length (Plates 16–18). Tool marks are also evident in the vertical shafts (Plate 15). Most
of the cutting is horizontal, with localised vertical cutting. The majority of the tool marks appear
to belong to round bladed shovels or trenching tools, though there are some pick type marks. The
latter were principally noted in the northern tunnel 12.5m west of the east shaft and midway along
the southern tunnel. These may represent tidying of the junction of tunnel cutting from opposite
ends of the complex, meeting at these points. In the southern tunnel the pick marks are more
evident and coincide with a step in the roof level consistent with following seams from different
directions.
Tunnel fittings etc.
6.11
Traces of various tunnel fittings survive within the complex. These comprise stair risers, bench
support brackets, toilet cubicles, electrical (light) fittings and candle ledges. These were
generally in poor condition as a result of decay of organic materials and corrosion of metals.
Some elements of the fittings, particularly the electrical equipment and wiring, were probably
salvaged prior to the sealing of the tunnels.
4
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
6.12
The stairs are formed from crudely cut chalk steps with wooden risers packed with clay and chalk
to form level treads (Plates 19 and 20). Each steps rises approximately 150mm and is between
250 and 300mm deep. The risers comprise a single 6 inch by 1.5 inch (152mm by 38mm) plank
running the full width of the stair tunnel held in place by 3/4 inch (19mm) iron pins driven into
the steps c. 250mm from the tunnel walls. The risers are badly decayed indicating a fairly damp
environment. In all three stairways the central area is badly worn, suggesting extensive usage and
there are indications that water may have caused some damage. The state of the stairs suggests
that they have sustained heavy usage and that the decay of the timber may have already set in
when this was taking place. Given that the evidence of graffiti suggests that the tunnels were
blocked in late 1946 (see below) it is tempting to conclude that this represents wear associated
with use during the Second World War and that some of the fittings had already started to decay
by this time.
6.13
In the northern and southern tunnels L-shaped wooden brackets had been socketed into the floor
and walls, presumably to support benches (Plate 21). These survive best in the southern tunnel,
where most of the brackets are still in situ (Plate 6). There was no trace of the bench boards and
these may have been salvaged. The brackets stand around 0.4m high by 0.35m deep and are
formed from 6 inch by 1.5 inch (152mm by 38 mm) planks nailed together. The brackets are
present along the full length of both main tunnels. Spacing between the brackets is variable,
ranging from 1.2–2.4m, with spacing more irregular in the northern tunnel, where one gap of 4m
exists. Generally the brackets on either side of the tunnel are opposed, but there is some
irregularity, again mainly in the northern tunnel.
6.14
Toilet cubicles were present at the southern terminal ends of the two cross passages. These were
constructed using corrugated iron screens. The cubicles in the western cross passage are entirely
collapsed (Plate 8), whereas those in the eastern cross passage remain standing (Plates 7 and 22–
24). A stencil on the entrance to the latter set of cubicles indicates this to have been the girls’
toilet (Plate 25) and a sheet of corrugated iron on the floor of the western passage bore the word
‘boys’. The girls’ toilet is divided into seven cubicles against the east wall, screened by a baffle
on the west wall at the junction of the southern passage and the cross passage. The cubicles were
around 0.6m wide and 0.75m deep. The corrugated iron sheets are supported by a simple wooden
frame , using 2 inch (50mm) timbers, socketed into the wall. The chemical toilet buckets which
must have occupied the cubicles are not present.
6.15
Electrical wiring was run through the tunnel, supported on ¾ inch iron pins driven into the walls
at head height (1.7–2m). The pins are present along the entire length of the tunnel complex,
spaced 2–3m apart. No wiring is attached to the pins but ceramic insulators connected to the ends
of several pins indicate their function (Plate 26). In the girls’ toilets a length of wiring survived
with a bracket or clip and a light socket (Plate 23 and 27) indicating that the tunnel was
illuminated by festoon lighting. The surviving length of wire and the light fitting is not attached
to the wall, but was hung against one of the cubicle partitions, presumably having been moved
but not salvaged. A small quantity of wiring lies discarded around the tunnel, but most appears to
have been removed. One of these sections of wire was connected to a switch box, with two
switches, and a light socket.
6.16
At the base of the shafts, at most of the junctions of tunnels and at occasional points along their
length, crude ledges were cut for candles. In several places sooting is evident and remnants of
candle and dripped wax are present. These may variously have been cut and used by the tunnel
building team and those taking shelter within them, providing a back up for the electric lighting,
which undoubtedly could not be relied on.
6.17
Scattered across the floor of the tunnel, mostly around the base of the north-west stair tunnel, in
small quantities, are sections of wiring (noted above), short stretches of barbed wire, wound metal
wiring from chestnut paling, staves from the paling, corroded tin cans and twigs and sticks.
These were probably introduced a short time prior to the sealing of the tunnels, perhaps as casual
disposal by visitors exploring or playing in the tunnels.
5
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
7
Documentary background (Peter Searey)
7.1
A brief programme of documentary and background research was carried out to provide historical
background for the Ellington School air-raid shelter. Readily available sources were consulted at
the East Kent Archive (EKA), Centre for Kentish Studies (CKS), Ramsgate Public Library, and
the National Archives (TNA). We are particularly grateful to the staff of the East Kent Archive,
and especially to Cerys Russell, for allowing us to use uncatalogued Borough Council Minutes.
7.2
The survival and/or availability of the evidence is patchy. For example the Second World War
Air-raid Precautions Committee minutes run out in 1941, and references to such measures are few
among the later minutes of other committees. Few specific references to the Ellington School
shelter have been found, but a considerable amount of contextual and circumstantial evidence
survives, supporting a provisional account of its history, and placing the shelter in historical
context.
Ellington Council School, opened 1914
7.3
The Ellington School buildings on the present site seem to have been completed shortly before 5
March 1914, for 350 boys, 350 girls and 150 infants (Fig. 5). They were designed by the
architect Graham Tucker, and built by Ramsgate contractors Grummant Brothers.1 The new
school had been proposed, in 1910, as a new public elementary school, to provide additional free
education, especially for the displaced ‘B’ departments of the existing St George’s Church of
England School. The latter was scheduled to be renovated, for the use of the existing ‘A’
departments – children, for the most part, of wealthier, fee-paying, families.2 An earlier
‘Ellington School,’ on a nearby site, had recently been dissolved, as inadequate to modern needs;
it seems to have had little or no connection with its namesake.
7.4
The original drawings for the new Ellington School have not been located, but very likely its plan
would have changed little by the time of the 1939 survey (Fig. 7).3 The Girls’ and Boys’
Departments would have occupied the ground and first floors, respectively, of the large range to
the south, whilst the Infants’ would have used the ground floor of the north wing, with Domestic
Science and Handicraft classrooms on the supervening floor.4 For several years, whilst the
school population grew slowly, the Infants’ Department remained, for most purposes, attached to
the Girls’. The Girls’ and Boys’ had separate playgrounds, to the east and west of the school,
respectively, reached by separate gates at each end. The Infants’ may have had their playground
at the northern end of the Girls’.
The First World War
7.5
1
At the outset of the First World War, the risk of enemy bombardment or invasion of Ramsgate
and Thanet seems to have been considered minimal, but there was clearly risk of invasion by sea.
The greater part of the emergency planning, at the start of the war, seems to have concerned
civilian evacuation in the case of such a landing. In such an eventuality, two maroons would
have been sounded, whereupon the population would have been conducted inland, by pre-
EKA: Ra (uncat.), Works Committee Minutes 1914-24.
2
TNA: ED 21/8080. Is it possible that such fission, along class lines, may have resulted in rivalry and distrust
between the two institutions? This might explain some Second-World-War-period graffiti noted during fieldwork
(see below).
3
EKA: R/U3/1. It is hoped that the (forthcoming?) desk-based assessment of the present site will contain some kind
of record of the school buildings.
4
The carefully segregated access to the Domestic Science and Handicraft Rooms strongly suggests the Boys’ and
Girls’ schools always occupied their respective floors.
6
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
arranged routes, livestock being shot and left to rot in the fields,5 and motor vehicles taken to the
Cavalry Barracks at Canterbury.6
7.6
The Borough Council does, nevertheless, seem to have contemplated shelter provision, making
use of existing cellars and tunnels, from the outset. On 1 September 1914, the Air-raid Shelters
sub-committee of Ramsgate Borough Council reported on premises that might be able to provide
public shelters for the town.
The question of constructing dug-outs was also considered, but it was thought that it would
be best for the committee to make arrangements at once for shelters at such places as could
easily be converted into safe places for people in the streets at the time of raids and then
deal with the construction of dug-outs.7
7.7
Residents were also encouraged to construct private shelters in their own houses or grounds. In
addition to the widespread measures of sand-bagging, and reinforcing, rooms and cellars, it was
envisaged they might make their own excavations in the chalk bedrock. On 4 September, the
council recommended ‘that for the purpose of constructing private dug-outs or protecting
shelters ... the Chief Constable [be instructed] to issue permits to residents in the town to take
sand from the sea-shore without charge.’8
7.8
The construction of air-raid shelters in Ramsgate may have increased dramatically during the
closing years of the War. During the middle months of 1917, Ramsgate came under heavy
bombardment both by Zeppelin and Naval raids. The appalling civilian losses sustained during
an aerial attack on 27 August seem to have brought matters to a head. At the subsequent inquiry,
the question arose again, of public air-raid shelters for Ramsgate. The deputy-coroner ‘said he
thought it would be possible to utilize the deep cellars under private houses, the crypts of
churches, and the cliffs at the edge of the town’ (Times 24 August 1917). The jury, however,
demanded a rider to the verdict, to the effect that ‘the provision of public bomb shelters was
urgently necessary, and that the cost should be met by the government.’ The Deputy-Mayor
called a Council meeting to consider the suggestion (Times 28 August 1917). The following
month, as air-raid shelter provision evolved nationally, a petition circulated in Ramsgate calling
for a siren to provide warnings of attacks. At a subsequent national meeting, the Mayor of
Ramsgate, together with representatives of other bombed towns, pressed for a re-organization of
the national air services, improved defence, and ‘a great air offensive’ in retaliation (Times 4
October 1917).
7.9
The various Borough Council Committee minutes of the time suggest a flurry of new public and
private shelter construction. Interestingly, such purpose-built air-raid shelters seem, usually, to
have been referred-to as ‘dug-outs.’ The term, of course, aptly describes these simple, crude
excavations; its use in Ramsgate, however, almost certainly derived from contemporary news
reports from the trenches, wherein it specifically described ‘the roofed shelters used in trench
warfare’ (OED); Ramsgate may, perhaps, have been relatively early in adopting the term to
denote ‘an underground air-raid shelter’; the earliest citation in the OED for this sense
(Additions Series 1993) dates from 1940. By the end of the War, Ramsgate had some twentyfive public shelters,9 many of which were purpose-built dug-outs.
5
After considerable discussion, and despite the risk of alarming civilians, shooting was chosen as the best way to
dispatch the animals – minimizing blood loss and hence hastening putrefaction. Col. Powell-Cotton, who was
extensively involved in civil defence and defence against invasion in Thanet, pointed out that special bullets were
available for the purpose.
6
CKS: CC/C-E/12/6.
7
EKA: Ra (uncat.), Miscellaneous Committees Minutes.
8
EKA: Ra (uncat.), Miscellaneous Committees Minutes.
9
EKA: R/U39/Z1.
7
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
The prevalence of raids in 1917 caused the population to seek underground shelters, and
there were eventually enough dug-outs for everyone in the town. There were many
commodious public dug-outs in the solid chalk, and people accustomed themselves to spend
the night underground, where prayer meetings, concerts and amusements took place
(Siminson 1919).
First World War school air-raid shelters in Ramsgate
7.10
The heavy bombardment of Ramsgate late in the First World War naturally caused great
disruption at the town’s schools. A document of June 1918, concerning attendance and funding
for Ellington School, noted that the circumstances of the schools in Ramsgate had been
‘exceptional’ in respect of ‘the reduction of their [annual attendance] owing to air raids’ (TNA:
ED 21/8080).
7.11
Rod LeGear (pers. comm.) has suggested that the air-raid shelter under the former Ellington
Girl’s School is of late First-World-War date; this is almost certainly correct. LeGear cites ‘a
note in a contemporary newspaper report by the chief constable of Ramsgate that all schools had
been provided with a shelter and all were equipped with lighting and seating.’10 School shelters
were also mentioned in the Borough Council Minutes, after the war, when they had to be
dismantled; on 27 February 1919 it was ‘resolved that the [Borough] Engineer be instructed to
fill up the School Dug-outs as requested by the Education Committee.’11 The Ellington School,
as a council school, would certainly have had such a shelter, and this undoubtedly represents the
origin of the present tunnels.
7.12
The Ellington School air-raid shelter was entered from the Boys’ and Girls’ playgrounds. It is
worth noting that the three entrances to the shelter agree well with the three departments (Boys’,
Girls’, and Infants’) into which the school was divided at this time. They opened just outside
three of the main entrances to the school building, and, very likely, one was intended for each
department. This further supports the idea that the shelter is of First-World-War date, since, as
we shall see, by the outbreak of the Second World War the Infants’ had removed to the newly
built school, on an adjoining site to the west.
7.13
It is likely that the Ellington School shelter would have been ‘dug-out’ late in the war, as existing
provision, perhaps in reinforced rooms and basements, began to seem less and less adequate. The
provision of shelters at Ellington School may well have paralleled that at the Ramsgate County
Schools in what is now Clarendon House, as described by Barnard and Taylor (1923: 112-3):
It may be of sufficient interest to record how the school was “carried on” during the war
period, seeing that Thanet formed part of the “war area.” The Board of Governors had a
very considerable responsibility in providing for the safety of the pupils under their charge
during school hours, and the building was frequently being inspected by experts, to see that
it was bomb-proof. As the war progressed, so did the power of explosives, and in 1918 the
building was not deemed bomb-proof, and a “dug-out” was ordered to be built. Previously
it was considered safe to use the cloak-rooms as an air-raid shelter, with the walls “sandbagged” outside. ... The “dug-out” built under the lawn in front of the Girls’ School was a
most elaborately designed shelter, lighted with electricity, comfortable seating, and doors
made of a perforated material – but it was not finished until after the Armistice, and was, of
course, never used!
7.14
If the Ellington School shelter were similarly late then this would explain the paucity of
identifiable First-World-War graffiti in its tunnels (see below).
10
Although, as we shall see, the shelter for at least one school does not seem to have been completed until Armistice
Day.
11
EKA: Ra (uncat.), Works Committee Minutes 1914-24.
8
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
7.15
After the War, the provision of ‘dug-out’ shelters was considered to have saved many lives and to
have prevented the wholesale evacuation of ‘England's most Bombed Town’ (Austen 1915).
The eve of the Second World War
7.16
As early as 29 April 1936, the Ramsgate Borough Council Air-raid Precautions Joint Committee,
seem to have been contemplating reopening and extending the existing First-World-War shelter
provision, perhaps into something resembling the interconnected deep-tunnel shelter scheme that
would ultimately be supplied:
The committee gave careful and lengthy consideration to the following Notice of Motion (No.
30) by Councillor Miss Wilson referred to the Committee by the Council at their last
meeting:“That it is the moral responsibility of this Council immediately to provide suitable
refuges from aerial attacks or sea bombardment on Ramsgate”.
... The Council’s attention is drawn to the fact that with regard to the attitude of the
appropriate Government Department with regard to the provision of gas and bomb proof
shelters, there has been no variation of the policy defined in a circular letter issued by the
Home Office on the 9th July 1935, which may be summarised as follows:The construction on any extensive scale of shelters which would be proof against
direct hits by bombs is impracticable. Such protection could be obtained only by
means of concrete structures of great thickness or correspondingly costly works of
equivalent strength, and apart from any other considerations the cost would be
prohibitive. The government cannot therefore undertake to provide money towards
the construction of public bomb-proof shelters. On the other hand, effective
protection against ballast and splinters from bombs can be obtained at comparatively
small cost, and it will be for occupiers of premises to provide this for themselves and
their households, and where necessary for their workers and customers. Specific
advice on this subject will be made generally available.
The Committee take the view that conditions in Ramsgate so far as the provision of bombproof shelters are concerned are exceptional having regard to the contour of the town and
the nature of the chalk sub-soil, which is particularly suitable for tunnelling works.
Discussions have taken place between an official of the Home Office, the Borough Engineer
and the Chief Constable with regard to the possibility of using certain underground shelters
which were made available during the last War, and arising from these discussions, the
appropriate officers have prepared a scheme which if carried out could provide extensive
underground protection on a scale most likely to be adequate and effective in the
circumstances.12
7.17
The matter was referred to the Borough Council, and, in the meantime, already available potential
shelters were assessed. On 23 June 1936 it was ordered ‘that the Chief Constable be authorised
to approach the owners of caves suitable as bomb and gas proof shelters with a view to
inspection, if necessary, of such caves by an expert of the Home Office’.13 These would, in many
cases, include shelters which had been used in the First World War. Early in 1938, the Women’s
Section of the Ramsgate Labour Party began to campaign for ‘the provision of bomb proof
shelters’ specifically for elementary schools. The Council, however, considered this unnecessary
because, in the event of hostilities, the children would be evacuated or, at any rate, would not be
attending school.
In the event of hostilities the schools will in all probability be closed for substantial periods
and in all the circumstances having regard to the very heavy expenditure amounting
probably to hundreds of thousands of pounds which would be involved in the provision of
such shelters, the committee feel that it would not be practicable to provide a shelter at each
12
EKA: Ra (uncat), Air-Raid Precautions Joint Committee and Sub-committee Minutes 1936-41.
13
EKA: Ra (uncat), Air-Raid Precautions Joint Committee and Sub-committee Minutes 1936-41.
9
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
school, and the committee have authorised the Town Clerk to inform the hon. Secretary of
the position.14
7.18
Despite the existing First World War public shelters, when the Munich Crisis arose later that
year, the Air-raid Precautions Committee were, like all the other towns in Kent, forced to resort to
the excavation of emergency timber-lined trench shelters. Some of these were subsequently
retained and given concrete linings; some were filled in.
7.19
The present Ellington Infants’ School had been proposed in 1936 to take pupils from the St
Lawrence Church of England School Infants’ Department (which was due to close) and the small
Infants’ Department of the Ellington Council School. The vacated Infants’ Department of the
latter would be annexed to the, by now overcrowded, Boys’ and Girls’ Departments.
Construction of the new school had begun by late June 1938 (Fig. 6).15 On 12 April 1939 the
Air-raid Precautions Committee proposed establishing a First-aid Point in the newly completed
building, as a temporary measure; it is not yet clear whether this was carried out.16 The new
school opened 5 June 193917 and Ellington Council School was reorganized with only Boys’ and
Girls’ Departments.
7.20
In March 1939, Ramsgate Borough Council obtained Home-Office agreement for the first phase
for its famous system of ‘deep tunnel shelters.’ Extensive new excavation would link together
some of the existing shelters, and a disused railway tunnel, forming a wide arc through the chalk
hills encompassing the town centre. The system was large enough to have its own electrical
generators, and first-aid rooms, and had the added advantage of connecting with Ramsgate
General Hospital.18 In June 1939 the Borough Engineer sought the construction of additional
‘school entrances’ to the tunnels. 19 It is not yet clear what was the outcome of this, but it seems
likely that the short branch of the tunnel extending up Church Street from Boundary Road would
have been intended for St George’s School, whilst the entrance at the junction of Boundary Road
and Chatham Place would have been convenient for what is now the Chatham House School.
The Ellington schools were some way outside the circuit of the well-known Ramsgate Deep
Tunnel Shelters – the nearest entrance being that at Ellington Park. Had it been built, an
additional branch of the tunnels leading to the Southwood Sports Ground, proposed as part of a
second phase of works, would have passed slightly nearer, but there does not seem to have been
any intention to provide convenient access. In any case, by the time this second phase was
considered, the scheme was already well over budget, and some of its anticipated collateral
benefits had failed to materialize, leaving the Home Office suspecting they had been led ‘up the
garden path’. 20
The Second World War
7.21
14
Elementary education in Ramsgate was interrupted at the start of June 1940, by the evacuation of
the majority of town’s children to Staffordshire. Against official advice, children had begun to
return, gradually, by March the following year, albeit without functioning schools to attend
(Humphreys 1991). Ellington School was taken over for purposes of public welfare and morale,
becoming a kind of inexpensive communal feeding centre called a ‘British Restaurant.’ On 19
May 1941, the Air-raid Precautions Committee recommended that such an establishment be
EKA: Ra (uncat), Air-Raid Precautions Joint Committee and Sub-committee Minutes 1936-41.
15
Interestingly, the school building was built near the eastern edge of the intended school site because the purchase
of the western portion had not yet been completed.
16
EKA: Ra (uncat), Air-Raid Precautions Joint Committee and Sub-committee Minutes 1936-41.
17
TNA: ED 21/8080; CKS: CC/C-E/15/32.
18
TNA: HO 287/1101.
19
EKA: Ra (uncat), Air-Raid Precautions Joint Committee and Sub-committee Minutes 1936-41.
20
TNA: HO 287/1101.
10
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
opened there, in addition to the one already in operation at St Georges’. The works of adaptation
and provision of the necessary equipment at Ellington British Restaurant [had] been completed by
26 August, ‘and arrangements made for the Restaurant to open on Monday 1st September.’21
7.22
By the end of 1941, enough children had returned to Ramsgate, in addition to those who had
never left, to require proper schooling.
Full-time compulsory education began again in Ramsgate on ... 7 January 1942, and over
eight hundred children between the ages of five and fourteen were receiving a normal
education (Humphreys 1991, 171).
7.23
It seems likely, however, that the Ellington schools remained closed at this time, perhaps for
more than a year. When teaching returned to Ellington it seems, initially, to have been confined
to the new Infants’ School, presumably because the elementary school was still in use as a British
Restaurant. W.H. Hearnden later recalled:
For a period I was absent from the town on teaching duties in Staffordshire, where the local
children had been evacuated. I was eventually recalled, with a number of colleagues, in
order to provide some form of education for the children who had remained behind, and
were now living in deep caves which had been dug under the whole of Ramsgate. I had
charge of groups of children from infants to fourteen years old, which was then the school
leaving age, in the building now occupied by Ellington Infants’ School. The town was under
frequent bombardment from the air, from the sea, and from shore-based batteries on the
French coast, so much of our teaching time was spent in dug-outs near the school.22
7.24
The shelter Hearnden refers to is clearly a new Second-World-War shelter on the Infants’ School
grounds (see below), rather than the old Ellington Council School shelter. The evidence from
graffiti (see below) suggests the latter did not re-open until late in 1943.
After the Second World War
7.25
No documentary evidence has been found for the re-sealing of the Ellington County School
shelter, but the date of late 1946, suggested by the graffiti, is highly plausible. It agrees well with
the circumstances at the neighbouring Infants’ School. In December 1945, the head-teacher of
the latter asked that the Thanet Divisional Executive take ‘the necessary steps ... to ensure that
the [Infants’ School shelter] entrances [were] made safe in the interests of the children’. The
hazard here, however, does not seem fully to have been removed before 20 March 1947, when the
school’s new head-teacher observed ‘the dangerous condition of the railings at the shelter’ and
the executive were asked ‘to give early attention to the matter’. The necessary work was
probably completed soon after this because the shelters were not mentioned subsequently.23
8
Graffiti (Peter Searey)
8.1
A day was spent inspecting the graffiti in the air-raid shelter; rough notes were made and some
quick reference photographs taken. The best of the graffiti have been recorded as part of the
main photographic record of the tunnels, together with a more-or-less representative sample of
the remainder. The present section seeks only to describe and interpret the overall character, and
varieties, of the inscriptions, and to mention a few of the more interesting examples.
8.2
The tunnels contain many graffiti, dating, for the most part, from between late 1943 and late
1946. Due to the sealing of the tunnels after the war, these are relatively free from later additions,
and thus provide an interesting ‘snapshot’ of the time. Already, however, at least six individuals
have contributed new graffiti, since the rediscovery of the shelter in April 2010. The largest
21
EKA: Ra (uncat), Communal Feeding Committee Minutes 1940-45.
22
EKA: R/U46/Z1, competition essay by W.H.Hearnden 1984 ‘Ramsgate as I Knew It.’.
23
CKS: CC/C-E/D/13/12/37.
11
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
concentration of these intrusive graffiti are in the northern half of the eastern wall of the eastern
cross-passage, where relatively few wartime graffiti were made; this spot was presumably
selected as being in the ‘deepest’ part of the shelter, furthest from the entrance. The twenty-firstcentury graffiti include the initials ‘RB,’ ‘EJ,’ ‘JM,’ ‘JT,’ and ‘KR,’ and the name ‘Frosty.’ Of
these, ‘RB’ has ‘tagged’ extensively. The words or names ‘heshy’ and ‘skile,’ elsewhere, may
also be modern. Once these are discounted, almost all the remaining graffiti are convincingly of
Second World War, or early post-war, date.
8.3
Most of the graffiti were simply incised or executed in pencil. Pupils may, generally, have had
pencils about their person, or these may have been taken into the shelters deliberately to allow
teaching to continue during raids; the pencil graffiti included mathematical exercises, which may
have been inscribed during lessons. For improved contrast, incised graffiti were often made in
the patches of soot over the light-fixings, and in patinated cleavage-planes in the chalk. A few
graffiti were made with fingers daubed in candle-soot; these include at least one attempted handprint.
8.4
The great majority of the graffiti are in the southern tunnel, with some in the two cross-passages,
and relatively few in the northern tunnel. There tend to be concentrations at junctions, and the
majority of inscriptions in the northern tunnel are in such localities. There are very few graffiti in
the stair tunnels, except at the very bottom, and almost none in the toilets at the end of the cross
passages – perhaps due to the confined space.
8.5
The earliest graffiti – made, variously, by pencil and incision – may have been the simple settingout marks for the socketed supports to the low benches lining the walls of the northern and
southern tunnels. These marks are probably of First-World-War date, assuming the benches were
supplied at this time. No other obvious First-World-War graffiti are evident. As noted above, the
shelter was probably completed towards the end of the war; it may never have been used, or was
perhaps so little used that the idea of carving graffiti never arose. We have considered the
possibility that two depictions (one unfinished) of field cannon (Plate 28), toward the western end
of the north wall of the southern tunnel, may have been of this date, but this seems unlikely (see
below).
8.6
A row of eastward-pointing arrows, at about shoulder height, extending down the length of the
north wall of the northern tunnel, may have been official; in at least one case, the arrow was
accompanied by the letter ‘P’. The remainder were probably unofficial.
Initials, dates, etc.
8.7
As one might expect, many of the graffiti comprise the names, or more usually initials, of
individuals using the shelter, sometimes accompanied by other details including their age, form
(i.e. their class at school), and the year, or even the precise date, of the inscription. Together,
these provide some useful clues to the use of the shelter.
8.8
The dates noted among the graffiti range between 1943 (including one for October that year) and
1946 (including two elaborate examples for 22 November). The great majority, however, were of
1944, with only two for 1945 (including one for 19 March). The shelter may well, then, have
been re-opened late in 1943, and sealed late in 1946 (perhaps around 22 or 23 November), with a
resurgence of interest in the shelter just ahead of its closure. During 1944, there were specific
graffiti for 1 and 9 January; 12 April; 4, 5, 7 (two examples), and 17 June; 6 August; 11
September (four examples); 13 September 1944 (three examples); and 14 and 19 September. It
would be interesting to compare these dates with details of known raids on Ramsgate.
8.9
Several graffiti commemorated D-Day on 6 June 1944. Three of these, toward the east end of the
north wall of the southern tunnel, comprised the word ‘D-Day’ followed by the date, contained
within a square or round cartouche (Plate 29). Someone with the initials ‘GO’ recorded the same
event, on the north wall of the northern tunnel, in the form: ‘Scnd Front opened 1944’ (Plate 30).
12
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
8.10
The probable initials represented include the following: ‘AA,’ ‘AB,’ ‘AD,’ ‘BG,’ ‘BS,’ ‘BSW,’
‘BY,’ ‘CH,’ ‘DA,’ ‘DB,’ ‘DC,’ ‘DE,’ ‘DF,’ ‘DG,’ ‘DH,’ ‘DL,’ ‘DM,’ ‘DP,’ ‘EB,’ ‘FB,’ ‘FDP,’
‘FH,’ ‘FK,’ ‘FM,’ ‘GC,’ ‘GJ,’ ‘GL,’ ‘GN,’ ‘GO,’ ‘GP,’ ‘JAG,’ ‘JB,’ ‘JH,’ ‘JS,’ ‘LG,’ ‘LW,’
‘MF,’ ‘MI,’ ‘MT,’ ‘NS,’ ‘PH,’ ‘RJ,’ ‘RP,’ ‘RS,’ ‘SE,’ ‘TB,’ ‘TH,’ ‘TW,’ and ‘WR.’ Named
individuals included ‘C. Holness,’ who was there in 1944, and returned in 1946; ‘Norman Allen;’
‘W. Darry;’ ‘D. Saunders,’ who inscribed his or her name, within a heart-shape, on 22 November
1946; ‘D. Giraud;’ ‘C. Phillips;’ ‘Leslie Woodward;’ ‘J.C. Micuebe[...];’ ‘P. Mackins,’ who was
present at ‘8pm [on the] night [of] 22 Nov 1946;’ (Plate 34) ‘Louie Kirkaldie,’ who was
apparently aged 19 in 1944 (Plate 31); ‘T. Goldfinch;’ ‘R. Parrey,’ aged thirteen; and ‘G.
Gifford.’ Another name, possibly ‘M. Hearnden,’ has been effaced under the ‘Popeye’ cartoons
(see below) at the junction of the southern tunnel and western cross tunnel. The distribution of
the names suggests there may have been little or no attempt to segregate the boys from the girls
using the shelter.24 Various individuals, identified by initials, were noted as being ‘daft;’ one,
‘W. Spicer’ as ‘daft weird.’
8.11
One ‘Mable Jenner’ apparently inscribed her name twice, once aged sixteen and once aged
seventeen – on both occasions using the same slightly unusual spelling of her first name, and
reversing the ‘N’s in her second name; we should not, perhaps, discount the possibility that this
represents a deliberate affectation or a hoax (Plates 32 and 33). Assuming she existed, Mable
Jenner (like Louie Kirkaldie, above) was above the normal school-leaving age, when she carved
her name. This may well reflect the use of the Ellington School shelter by members of the public,
outside of school hours. This, however, is by no means certain.
8.12
In some cases, initials were grouped to indicate various relationships. Near the foot of the Boys’
entrance stairs, in the west wall, the pairs of initials ‘AB,’ ‘DA,’ ‘LG,’ and ‘JS’ were placed one
above another (Plate 18). Nearby, the same initials occur arranged in a single column, eightletters high. A much larger group, perhaps including two of the same individuals, occurs on the
north wall of the southern tunnel. Here, the pairs of initials ‘DP,’ ‘DM,’ ‘JS,’ ‘FM,’ ‘RP,’ ‘FB,’
‘DH,’ ‘LW,’ and ‘NS,’ occur one above the other, between two tall curly brackets, beside which,
to the right, is written ‘FO M 4.’25 Dyadic relationships were also recorded. Occasionally, the
nature of this relationship was specified, as in ‘DB loves DL,’ or ‘CD loves DM.’
8.13
In some places, personal initials become involved in, and occasionally hard to distinguish from,
other kinds of designation or code. One notable example, mid way along the south wall of the
southern tunnel, was the alphanumeric ‘B8,’ which occurs twice. In one case, it appears above
the initials ‘GC,’ separated by a horizontal bar; immediately to the left is a large hollow capital
‘V;’ nearby, someone has written ‘fool.’ Elsewhere, we are informed ‘B8 is a cunt.’ This was
the strongest, and only obvious, obscenity among the wartime graffiti, and one which, in 1944,
may still have carried considerable weight. Perhaps for this reason, someone hastily scribbled
over the middle two letters. Needless to say, the identity of ‘B8’ is obscure. One notes, however,
that there were seven numbered classrooms in the Boys’ Department on the first floor – might
‘B8’ have been the number on another first-floor doorway – perhaps the Headmaster’s Office, or,
more likely the Handicrafts Room?
St George’s School ‘chads’
8.14
One group of pencil graffiti, about a third of the way from the east end of the north wall of the
southern tunnel, expresses the antipathy, of a faction at Ellington School, towards the pupils of St
George’s School, Ramsgate. One inscription, in a rectangular cartouche, asserts: ‘St Georges are
stacked painted chads’ (Plate 35) another simply denounces ‘St Georges chads,’ whilst a third
provides what was presumably intended as a generalized portrait of a St George’s pupil, with an
identifying label, within a rectangular frame (Plate 36). The latter has a crazed expression, a
24
Any such pattern, however, may have been confused by members of the public using the shelter outside school
hours.
25
‘Form 4’? If so, the ‘R’ is deliberately omitted.
13
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
curiously formed upper lip, and sports thin, untidy, shoulder-length hair, dangling at the sides of
the head. St George’s School pupils may well have been distrusted because they were typically
from wealthier families than Ellington pupils. Just possibly, such antipathy may have been
exacerbated by an awareness of the origin of the Ellington Council School – which was
established, in part, to accommodate pupils from the former ‘B’ departments of St George’s (see
above).
8.15
The slang, here, resists interpretation. It is unclear whether the St George’s ‘chads’ were in any
way cognate with the well-known ‘Mr. Chad’ figure, defined as: ‘a human head appearing above
a wall, etc., with the caption “Wot, no ——?”, as a protest against a shortage or the like’ (OED
online). This latter figure apparently emerged during the Second World War as a reaction to
rationing, and seems to have been characterised, from an early date, by bald head and an
elongated nose, drooping over the said wall.26 In the Ellington School shelter, however, there is
no reference to ‘shortage’, and no obvious physical resemblance. In fact, besides having hair, the
accompanying portrait neglects to depict a nose of any kind. Various possibilities present
themselves. Perhaps the Ellington pupils had encountered the name ‘Chad’ out-of-context, and
had adopted it as a term of abuse. Alternatively, when a soubriquet was required for the
canonical figure, the name-giver may have drawn on an already existing piece of playground
slang.27
8.16
The adjectives ‘stacked,’ and ‘painted’ are similarly puzzling. They may simply have been
chosen for emphasis (‘stacked’ implying multiplicity; ‘painted’ suggesting some kind of
enhancement or other distinction); their apparently arbitrary relation to the noun ‘chads’ would
have provided additional amusement. Alternatively, however, these adjectives may have
possessed definite negative implications, relating to femininity (or effeminacy?), vanity, and
wantonness. By 1942 the term ‘stacked’ was well-established, within American slang, meaning
‘shapely,’ or perhaps ‘large-breasted,’ with regard to the female figure. By 1944 it may well, like
‘Popeye,’ also have been known in Kent. The term ‘painted,’ often referred to the use of
cosmetics; frequently with some disreputable implication. This would agree with the long hair in
the accompanying portrait, whilst the odd appearance of the upper lip may, just possibly, have
been intended for lipstick. This would have different connotations depending upon which
department of St George’s School was intended; in either case, however, it would have been
suitably derogatory.
Patterns, symbols, and pictures
8.17
The shelter graffiti are also rich in pictures and patterns, often repeated either in clusters or
scattered around the tunnels. Some of the latter probably ‘belonged’ to particular individuals;
others would have been shared.
8.18
Human faces, and their variants, were common motifs, often occurring in groups of similar
examples. The majority were of the simplest kind, resembling the modern ‘smiley,’ but oval, and
with a small vertical line for a nose. One of these, near the foot of the north-west stairs, seems to
have an upward pointing arrow for a nose, and may, just possibly, have been intended for a skull.
26
On 2 December 1945 (cited in OED online), a contributor to the Sunday Express asked: ‘What is the origin of that
peculiarly laughable figure called Chad we see so often scribbled across our walls?’ Several accounts have since
been published, of the origin of this figure. Among them, Barry H. Smith (2005 ‘How “Mr. Chad” came about’
contribution to BBC Peoples’ War website) gives a charming but apocryphal account of its origin in a blackboard
circuit-diagram at a secret RADAR school in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in 1941. A writer in The Times (1 April
1946) was probably nearer the truth: ‘The face with the long, inquisitive nose peering over a wall and expressing
itself with an odious mingling of mock surprise and jeering satisfaction at the lack of some particular commodity in
a world of shortage probably did not spring whole and complete into existence at a single moment of time. Mr.
Chad probably went through a number of evolutions at the hands of a vast number of people before reaching the
present state and can claim no one man as creator.’
27
The online Dictionary of Playground Slang suggests ‘Chad’ originated in South-east England, but this is of
uncertain provenance
14
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Sometimes stick-figure bodies, and/or hair, were appended, including one example, in the north
wall of the northern tunnel, just north-west stair, surmounted by a horizontal line suggestive of a
‘mortar-board’ (Plate 37). There were also cartoonish ‘baby’ faces – with bulging cheeks and
crania and round eyes. One of these was toward the east end of the south wall of the southern
tunnel; there was another, abortive, example on the south wall of the northern tunnel, just to the
west of the western cross passage. Faces were also depicted in profile. One such type – of which
there were several clustered on the north wall of the southern tunnel, and others in the western
cross passage – represented a woman with a characteristic 1940s hairstyle. Another kind, carved
repeatedly in the southern shelter tunnel, closely resembled an Easter Island head – even down to
the projecting rectangular brow.
8.19
A crude relief carving of a face has been made in the eastern angle at the junction of the northwest stairs with the northern shelter tunnel (Plate 38).
8.20
Perhaps the most striking of the pictorial graffiti in the Ellington School shelter are two
depictions of the American cartoon character ‘Popeye,’ at the junction of the southern tunnel and
western cross passage (Plates 39 and 40). The two depictions are closely similar, except in size.
One is clearly an enlargement of the other, which was probably copied directly from a comic strip
or other publication.28 To the larger depiction, someone has added Popeye’s signature tobacco
pipe, albeit disproportionately small.
8.21
Among the inanimate objects depicted, maritime and military themes seem to have predominated.
These include an anchor on the south wall of the western limb of the northern tunnel; a small
steamship, on the north wall of the same tunnel, further east. A field cannon with spoked wheels,
was incised on the north wall of the southern tunnel, resting on sloping ground, with a rammer at
its side, leaning back onto the wheel (Plate 28). This is unlike any artillery likely to have been in
use during the Second World War, or probably even during the first. It is most likely, therefore, a
historical depiction; associated graffiti suggest a date of 1944. As is often the case with SecondWorld-War graffiti, swastikas are present in abundance, together with a number of simplified
union jacks – rectangles quadruply bisected by congruent lines.
8.22
The steamship may or may not form part of an ambiguous group of graffiti, associated with the
‘Scnd Front’ inscription in the northern tunnel (see above), along with letters, arrows, a swastika,
and certain irregular lines which could, conceivably, be intended for a path or coastline. Just
possibly this could represent some military situation; it is all far too indistinct to be sure,
however.
8.23
Other symbols and patterns included stars, polygons, hearts (often pierced by arrows), and
various simple curvilinear designs. The west wall of the western cross passage bore a group of
‘diaper’ designs, formed of diagonal crosses concatenated.
8.24
At the extreme eastern end of the north wall of the southern tunnel is a small pencil drawing of a
house (Plate 42). Two paths lead to the door, one of which, curving to the right, ends in a crossbarred gate. Such topographical specificity suggests this may well represent a particular building.
The house appears to be in flames, although it may merely have been scribbled over.
Sums and possible shorthand inscriptions
8.25
As noted above, various elementary sums have been executed on the tunnel walls. These may
reflect lessons carried on during air raids, or perhaps calculations made in laying out the seating.
8.26
In several places, collections of strange sigils, executed in blunt pencil, are evident. These may
represent some kind of phonographical shorthand (Plate 42). Girls at the school may well have
studied stenography in preparation for secretarial careers – especially, perhaps, considering
Ramsgate’s historical links with that science. We have not attempted to decode the script; it is
28
The depictions coincide with the former position of a candle fixture, which may have provided the necessary light.
15
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
not yet clear whether it represents shorthand practice, or whether it may have been used
cryptographically. There is reason to think ‘Leslie Woodward’ may have been responsible for
much of this material, although this is not certain.
Games
8.27
As one might expect, numerous games of noughts-and-crosses were played-out on the tunnel
walls, and others apparently aborted because the grid proved too small or too irregular.
Interesting variants included: on the south wall of the northern shelter tunnel, a game played on
an obliquely slanted grid, and, on the north wall, an incomplete grid, open at the sides, without
noughts, but with a row of three crosses centre top to bottom. In several places, tallies were kept
on the tunnel walls, probably, in most cases, recording scores in games.
9
Conclusion
9.1
The tunnel complex discovered at the site of the former Ellington Girls’ School is a well
preserved example of a First World War air raid shelter, though it appears to have seen most, if
not all its usage in the Second World War. The graffiti from this period is extensive and of some
interest, but relatively few names or events are commemorated. The tunnels were probably
sealed late in 1946, as no later graffiti is identifiable (excepting modern graffiti from recent
intrusions), and many of the fittings seem to have been removed at this time. Relatively little
debris has been deposited within the tunnels. Only the surface elements have sustained damage,
with no trace of the entrances at the existing surface.
9.2
The tunnel has or will be sealed hopefully returning it to a stable state and allowing its
preservation in situ.
16
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
References
Austen C.A.F. 1915 'Ramsgate Raid Records 1915-1918: A War History of England's Most Bombed
Town' (EKA: R/U103/1/19).
Barnard H.C. and Taylor F.N. 1923 Records (1902 – 1922) of the Ramsgate County School for Boys’ now
known as Chatham House School.
British Geological Society, 2010, www.bgs.ac.uk/opengeoscience, Ramsgate, Kent.
Humphreys R. 1991 Thanet at War 1939-1945.
Kent County Council, 2010, Specification for an archaeological watching brief and historical building
recording work at Ellington Girls’ School in Ramsgate.
Linklater, A., 2010, An archaeological evaluation at [the] Former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington
Place, St Lawrence, Ramsgate, Canterbury Archaeological Trust unpublished report.
Linklater, A., forthcoming, An archaeological Watching Brief at [the] Former Ellington Girls’ School,
Ellington Place, St Lawrence, Ramsgate, Canterbury Archaeological Trust unpublished report.
Siminson A.H. 1919 Ramsgate during the Great War, 1914-1918: a Souvenir of the Most-Raided Part of
England
17
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 1: Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School being redeveloped. Breach in tunnel in fenced area
to the left of image, with hoist apparatus set over. Looking north.
Plate 2: Breach into tunnel roof at base of
foundation trench.
Plate 3: View along northern tunnel from the
west.
23
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 4: East end of northern tunnel, east shaft
above.
Plate 5: West end of northern tunnel, northwest stair tunnel to right. Base of west shaft
in middle ground.
Plate 6: Southern tunnel, looking west.
Graffiti recording in progress.
Plate 7: Eastern cross passage, looking south
to girls’ toilet cubicles.
24
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 8: Western cross passage, looking
south to collapsed boys’ toilet cubicles.
Plate 9: Base of north-west stair tunnel,
looking west.
Plate 10: North-west stair tunnel from base of
steps, looking north.
Plate 11: South-west stair tunnel from bottom
landing, looking south.
25
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 12: South-west stair tunnel, collapsed roof, looking east towards blocked entrance.
Plate 13: South-west stair tunnel, blocking and
concrete tunnel lining.
Plate 14: North-west stair tunnel blocking.
26
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 15: View up east shaft to concrete capping slab.
Plate 16: Base of east shaft intersecting the
northern tunnel. Looking east.
Plate 17: Tool marks on tunnel wall.
27
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 18: Detail of tool mark, with graffiti
marks.
Plate 19: Detail of staircase.
Plate 20: Detail of steps, showing chalk cut
steps with wooden risers retained by metal pins.
Plate 21 Detail of wooden bracket supporting
benches.
28
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 22: Entrance to girls’ toilet cubicles.
Plate 23: Detail of corrugated iron sheet and
wooden frame forming cubicle partition.
Plate 24: View into girls’ toilet cubicles.
Plate 26: Detail metal pin and ceramic insulator
for lighting festoon.
Plate 25: Stencil on corrugated iron baffle to
girls’ toilet cubicles.
Plate 27: Detail of light socket.
29
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 28: Graffiti showing cannon.
Plate 29: Graffiti commemorating D-Day 6 June
1944.
Plate 30: Graffiti commemorating the opening of
the second front (D-Day).
Plate 31: Graffiti naming Louie Kirkaldie, age
19.
Plate 32: Graffiti naming Mable Jenner, age 16.
Plate 33: Graffiti naming Mable Jenner, age 17.
Plate 34: Graffiti naming P Mackins dated 22
November 1946.
30
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 35: Graffiti declaring St George’s to be
stacked painted chads.
Plate 37: Graffiti of a figure possibly wearing a
mortar board.
Plate 36: Graffiti of a St George’s ?girl.
Plate 38: Carving of a head at the foot of the
Infants stair.
Plate 39: The Popeye figures and associated
graffiti.
31
Former site of Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
Plate 41: Possible ?stenography.
Plate 40: Detail of Popeye figures.
Plate 42: House, possibly on fire, with other ?related markings.
32
Appendix 1: List of photographic images.
FILM
F15268
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F15269
F15269
F15269
F15269
F15269
IMAGE NO.
4782
4784
4787
4789
4791
4793
4796
4797
4799
4802
4803
4804
4807
4808
4811
4812
4816
4818
4819
4822
4823
4827
4830
4832
4835
4836
4839
4840
4842
4844
4846
4848
4851
4853
4858
4859
4862
4863
4864
4868
4869
4871
4872
4875
4877
4880
4882
4883
VIEW NO.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7
8
9
10
10
11
11
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
24
24
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
31
32
32
33
33
34
34
35
36
37
LOCATION
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
northern tunnel
northern tunnel w construction shaft
northern tunnel
northern tunnel/north-west stairs
northern tunnel/north-west stairs
northern tunnel/north-west stairs
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
DESCRIPTION
fitting
toolmarks/graffiti
graffito
fitting
steps
candle niche/sooting
candle niche/sooting
candle niche/sooting
candle stub?
fitting and toolmarks
fitting
fitting
toolmarks/graffiti
toolmarks/graffiti
toolmarkws
fitting
bench support niches
toolmarks
toolmarks
graffiti/toolmarks
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
steps
steps
steps
steps
steps
graffito
graffito
graffito
candle-niches
candle stub?
candle stub?
graffiti
graffiti
graffiti/sooting
graffiti/sooting
sooty hand print
sooty hand print
graffito
graffito
bench fitting
bench fitting
graffito
33
LOOKING
ne
s
s
w
e
nw
nw
nw
nw
ne
ne
ne
w
w
w
w
sw
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ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
ne
n
ne
ne
ne
ne
nw
nw
nw
ne
ne
ne
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
F15269
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F15270
F15270
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F15270
F15270
F15270
F15270
F15270
F15270
F15270
F15270
F15270
4885
4886
4890
4891
4894
4897
4899
4901
4903
4905
4909
4910
4913
4916
4919
4920
4923
4924
4925
4927
4928
4929
4933
4935
4938
4943
4944
4946
4949
4950
4953
4956
4957
4958
4959
4961
4962
4963
4965
4966
4967
4968
4969
4970
4971
4972
4973
4974
4975
4976
4977
4979
37
37
38
38
38_1
38_2
38_2
39
39
40
40_1
40_1
41
42
43
43
44
44
45
45
46
46
47
48
48_1
49
49
49
50
50_1
50_2
50_2
50_3
50_3
50-4
50_5
50_6
50_7
50_8
50_9
51
51
52
52
53
53
54
54
54_1
54_1
55
55
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
east stairs
west cross passage
west cross passage
boys’ toilets
boys’ toilets
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
girls’ toilets
east cross passage
east cross passage
east cross passage/northern tunnel junction
east cross passage/northern tunnel junction
east cross passage
east cross passage
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
graffito
graffito
bench fitting
bench fitting
steps
graffito
graffito
toilet support niches
toilet support niches
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
floor
floor
debris
light fitting
light fitting
interior
interior
interior
exterior
exterior
exterior
exterior
interior
interior
interior
cubicle
cubicle
cubicle
roof
debris
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
34
n
n
sw
sw
n
ne
ne
s
s
n
s
s
s
s
n
n
n
n
n
n
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
ne
ne
ne
s
s
s
s
sw
sw
n
n
e
e
e
e
e
e
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
F15270
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F15271
F15271
F15271
F15271
4980
4981
4984
4985
4986
4987
4988
4992
4993
4997
4998
4999
5000
5003
5004
5005
5007
5008
5010
5011
5015
5016
5018
5019
5020
5021
5022
5023
5025
5026
5027
5029
5030
5033
5034
5036
5037
5039
5040
5041
5042
5043
5044
5045
5046
5047
5048
5049
5052
5053
5054
5055
56
56
56_1
57
57
57_1
57_1
57_2
57_2
58
58
59
60
60
61
61
62
62
63
63
64
64
65
65
66
66
67
67
68
69
69
70
70
71
71
72
72
73
73
74
74
75
75
76
76
76
77
77
78
78
79
79
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
west cross passage
west cross passage
west cross passage
west cross passage/northern tunnel junction
west cross passage/northern tunnel junction
west cross passage/boys’ toilets
west cross passage/boys’ toilets
west cross passage/boys’ toilets
west cross passage/boys’ toilets
boys’ toilets
boys’ toilets
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
west cross passage
west cross passage
west cross passage/southern tunnel junction
west cross passage/southern tunnel junction
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
southern tunnel
northern tunnel/east construction shaft
northern tunnel/east construction shaft
northern tunnel/east construction shaft
northern tunnel/east construction shaft
northern tunnel/east cross passage junction
northern tunnel/east cross passage junction
northern tunnel/east cross passage junction
northern tunnel/east cross passage junction
northern tunnel/east stairs junction
northern tunnel/east stairs junction
northern tunnel/east stairs junction
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
graffito
graffito
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
view
view
graffito
graffito
view
fitting
fitting
graffito
graffito
graffito
graffito
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
w
w
w
w
w
w
w
n
n
s
s
s
sw
sw
s
s
s
s
s
s
n
n
n
n
n
n
ne
ne
e
ne
ne
s
s
s
s
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
ne
ne
ne
n
n
s
s
s
s
35
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
F15271
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5056
5057
5059
5060
5061
5062
5064
5065
5066
5068
5071
5072
5074
5077
5078
5079
5080
5081
5082
5083
5084
5085
5086
5087
5088
5089
5090
5091
5092
5094
5095
5096
5097
5098
5099
5102
5103
5104
5105
5107
5108
5110
5111
5115
5117
5118
5119
5120
5121
5122
5123
5124
80
80
80
81
82
82
82
83
83
83
84
84
85
85_1
85_2
85_2
86
87
88
88
88
89
90
90
91
91
92
92
93
93
94
94
95
95
95
96
96
97
97
98
98
99
99
100
101
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east stairs
east construction shaft
east construction shaft
east construction shaft
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
north-west stairs
northern tunnel/north-west stairs junction
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs blocked entrance
north-west stairs blocked entrance
north-west stairs blocked entrance
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
north-west stairs
west construction shaft
west construction shaft
northern tunnel
northern tunnel
northern tunnel/north-west stairs junction
northern tunnel/north-west stairs junction
northern tunnel/north-west stairs junction
northern tunnel/east construction shaft
northern tunnel/east construction shaft
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs
south-west stairs blocked entrance
south-west stairs blocked entrance
south-west stairs blocked entrance
south-west stairs blocked entrance
south-west stairs blocked entrance
above ground
above ground
above ground
view
view
view
blocked entrance
view
view
view
view
view
view
debris
debris
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
36
w
w
w
w
e
e
e
up
up
up
nw
nw
n
nw
n
n
n
n
n
e
e
e
w
w
s
s
s
s
up
up
w
w
nw
nw
nw
w
w
s
s
n
n
e
e
w
e
e
e
e
w
n
n
n
Site of the former Ellington Girls’ School, Ellington Place, Ramsgate, Kent: Archaeological evaluation report
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5125
5126
5128
5129
5130
5131
5132
5133
5134
5135
5139
108
109
110
111
112
112
113
113
114
114
115
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
above ground
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
view
access hole
access hole
access hole
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
e
e
n
37