Clearing over 60 years worth of detritus from the floor of the engine house

Partially cleared floor of engine house (foreground) with 'vertical ball-mill' mounting blocks behind

The partially uncovered object in the middle of the picture consists of steel angle riveted to three sides of a sheet of steel, with concrete cast on top and flints embedded in the concrete

This object is now believed to be the remains of a filter or sieve, possibly of the oscillating variety, which was the final stage in reducing the chalk to a slurry before this was pumped to the cement works

The site of the engine house after further clearance. The ball-mill mounting blocks can be seen at the back, with the railings of the wahmills just visible on the left.

The circular object in the middle of the picture is the slurry tank where the slurry was held before being pumped to the cement works. It would originally have had a 1m high brick wall around it

The slab of concrete in the foreground, with slots along the edge, is the floor of the slurry-pump house. The mounting base for the pump can be seen with four bolts sticking out of it

The triangular slab of concrete just to the right of the ball-mill mounting blocks is part of the filter or seive mentioned above

When falling water levels exposed the bottom of the washmills, this object could be seen embedded in the mud

Partial excavation showed it to be a water pump, believed to be the pump which supplied water to the washmills from the adjacent well

The pump after it has been cleaned preparatory to painting.

The red and white 'range poles' are each 1m long. The pump is just over 1m high and is estimated to weigh about 150kg

When refurbishment has been completed the pump will be put on public display

A harrow in the process of being dug out of the mud at the bottom of the northern washmill. There are probably three more still buried.

This harrow has now been lifted so that, when the water level is low enough, it can be seen by the public

Metal sleeper from the 24" (60cm) 'Jubilee' track

This narrow gauge track was a lightweight, portable system which could be moved back and forth along the working chalk face as work progressed. Both wood and metal sleepers were used although, after nearly seventy years, little of either now remains