There is evidence of human habitation around Aylesham dating back to the Bronze Age, but the current village is less than one hundred years old and owes its existence to just one thing – the discovery of coal under the Kent Downs.
The village was purpose-built to house miners working at the newly opened Snowdown Colliery in the 1920s. The new settlement attracted miners from across the north of England and south Wales who were struggling to find work at home. Many landlords in nearby Kent towns refused to accommodate these “dirty” migrants so Aylesham provided a welcome sanctuary.
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