Kent Portland Cement Works

In the meantime, APCM as a whole had expanded on a worldwide scale. In 1909, the company purchased the ‘’Tolteca Cement Works’’ in Mexico, and by 1914 had ventured into territories of the British Empire, buying into cement-producing industries in both British Columbia and South Africa. Between 1945 and 1970, APCM’s global profile was further enhanced: in 1954, the group opened a cement works in Malaysia, and in the following decade, similar APCM establishments commenced operation in Australia, Rhodesia, Nigeria, and Kenya, in addition to the company buying into a Spanish-based cement operation.

At the Kent Works, the management sported a headquarters which boasted its own garden, this being tightly bordered on three of its four sides by the internal rail network. It was situated to the immediate south west of the main complex of cement kilns and warehouses, the latter of which, too, were placed within a maze of tightly curving lines with a multitude of points. Ships docked at the site beside a large L-shaped pier, which accommodated five tracks and a pair of travelling cranes. The latter were common features – numerous wharves along this stretch of the Thames boasted such a feature. Indeed, the largest pier in the vicinity, the T-shaped example belonging to the December 1908-opened Ingress Abbey Paper Mills, utilised a travelling crane to transfer goods between boat and its own internal railway network.

In 1959, BPCM was fully absorbed into APCM after the latter purchased the remaining company shares to take 100% ownership. A decade later, closures were looming, as preference was given to centralising operations in the name of efficiency. In 1967, plans for a new cement manufacturing plant at Northfleet came to light, construction beginning in the following year. It was proposed that this facility would be capable of manufacturing four million tonnes of cement in a year. The works was to be served by a huge inland excavation being made at this time on former farmland within the Greenhithe parish: ''Western Quarry''. The existing ''Eastern Quarry'' was also deepened at this time. In 1969, part of the new complex on the bank of the Thames at Northfleet became operational. One kiln had been commissioned by this time, producing 700,000 tonnes of cement in its first year; the remaining five kilns were gradually brought into use over the next year. The works was fully complete by December 1970. As a consequence, the Kent Works and all those in its peripheral, including that of Johnson's, were closed.

The exhausted chalk pits in the Parish of Stone, south of the North Kent Line, were soon to find a new use in the landfill capacity. Thus, where deep excavations once existed, the opposite extreme was created – that of rolling hills – as the pits were filled with waste. Needless to say, this led to the obliteration of much evidence of the former industrial railway network, but signs still exist, as will later be illustrated. Smaller pits to the north of British Rail’s commuter line were allowed to flood, and the land which was formerly host to a string of cement manufacturing plants was returned to nature. Despite the £13 million opening of the first Dartford Tunnel in 1963, followed by the £45 million commissioning of the second tunnel in 1980, development did not materialise, and the huge expanse of land stretching from the Thames, southwards to London Road, remained a decidedly rural landscape. Indeed, any significant building work was stifled by the fact that much of the site had been used for landfill. It was not until the building of the Dartford Bridge was confirmed that any redevelopment of former ACPM/BPCM sites was initiated. With reference to the Kent Works, much of this site became part of the 1989-proposed Dartford International Ferry Terminal.

4th May 2006

Photograph 3: We are now south of the North Kent Line, but this time looking towards the Thames, with ''Tunnel 1'' in view. The 1954 prefabricated concrete extensions of Stone Crossing are in clear view, ''flying'' over the first chalk cutting engines used to pass through when heading from the Kent Works complex to the pits. Naturally, vegetation has taken its hold, but the chalk face reveals itself on the far right. The track bed in the foreground can be seen curving to the left: this once led to the most westerly chalk pits excavated, ⅔-mile away. This was a point of divergence, and the railway also ran directly south, too. The track bed for this is also still in evidence, and disappears between the chalk face and the mound in the foreground. © David Glasspool

8th May 1960

Photograph 4 (Left): Presented is a very interesting scene depicting the cross over point of four separate sites. Firstly, this is a northward view looking at ''Tunnel 2'': the rails of the North Kent Line can be seen upon the grass embankment above it. Passing northwards through the tunnel, the rail network of the Whiting Works is reached, this eventually leading to a deepwater pier on the Thames. Heading south, underneath the camera, the large chalk pit of the Stone Court Chalk Works was once accessed. The Stone Court Chalk Company had ceased trading here eleven years previously, which explains why the rails heading southward from the tunnel are no longer in evidence, but the track bed lining is. Heading west, the rail network eventually comes to a disused chalk pit, once used by the Atlas Stone Co, and passing through this gives access to the remaining operational pits west of Cotton Lane. © David Glasspool Collection

Photograph 5 (Right): This view has followed the line back east from the previous picture, to bring us to the main chalk pit south of Stone Crossing Halt. If we recap from Photograph 3, the track bed here diverged to the west and south. For Photograph 4, we followed the track westward; however, for Photograph 5, we have returned to the point of divergence and followed the route southwards. The above picture has a northward heading, and we are viewing a redundant set of points which once served the chalk pit's most westerly pair of sidings. This is the same chalk pit which was gradually excavated southwards to London Road, after which this highway was tunnelled under and another chalk pit opened south of it. © David Glasspool Collection