Emmer Green (Hanover) Chalk Mine
Encyclopedia
The Emmer Green Chalk Mine is an extensive abandoned subterranean chalk
mine
in Emmer Green
, Reading
, Berkshire, located just north of the junction of Peppard Road & Kiln Lane (OS Grid Ref: SU722769). The mine is so named because the land is now owned by the Hanover Housing Association
who have a development adjacent at Wordsworth Court. The mine is one of a number of known mines in the Emmer Green and Reading area where chalk mining was once an important industry. It is likely other abandoned mines remain undiscovered. The area was once known as Rose Hill and contained brickfield and chalk mining works.
The mine was discovered in 1977 during building works. Access is through a 50ft fixed steel ladder in a narrow vertical shaft below a locked iron cover.
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
in Emmer Green
Emmer Green
Emmer Green is a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom, situated immediately north of Caversham on the border with Oxfordshire.-History:...
, Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Berkshire, located just north of the junction of Peppard Road & Kiln Lane (OS Grid Ref: SU722769). The mine is so named because the land is now owned by the Hanover Housing Association
Hanover Housing Association
The Hanover Housing Association is a British registered social landlord and a not for profit exempt charity registered as an Industrial and Provident Society, number 16324R, with the Registrar of Friendly Societies....
who have a development adjacent at Wordsworth Court. The mine is one of a number of known mines in the Emmer Green and Reading area where chalk mining was once an important industry. It is likely other abandoned mines remain undiscovered. The area was once known as Rose Hill and contained brickfield and chalk mining works.
The mine was discovered in 1977 during building works. Access is through a 50ft fixed steel ladder in a narrow vertical shaft below a locked iron cover.