William Thomas Blundell

   Cause of his death was Chronic Bronchitis & Pneumonia.⁴

   Another name for William was Blondell.⁵

  General Notes:

Called William Thomas according to info in freeBMD

From http://www.kurg.org.uk/sites/chalkmines.htm

Chislehurst Chalk Mine
One of the largest of such mines was at Chislehurst and it is now open to the public as Chislehurst Caves. The chalk was first excavated and probably dates from medieval times. A document of that time refers to the 'Marlera at the Swellinde Pette in the Villa of Chislehurst' which has been translated as a marl pit in a hollow for burning chalk. A 17th century map refers to the woodland above the mine as Well Wood and this possibly refers to a denehole-type shaft for supplying chalk to the kilns.
The mine itself consists of three separate sets of galleries known as the Inner, Middle and Outer Series. The Outer Series was dug horizontally into the hill from the original chalk pit and is possibly the oldest of all, being less stable than the others and having suffered several roof fails in the past. it is the smallest mine and ceased operations before the aalleries penetrated very far, probably around 1800.
The Inner Series was driven from a separate chalk pit to the South and an extensive set of galleries was worked.from the Fast of the pit which contained the limekilns. In 1840 five kilns were being supplied fromthese workings but severe flooding caused weakening of the galleries between 1855 and 1860 and several roof fails occurred.
The Middle Series dates from the same time, or perhaps slightly later, but was worked from an 85ft shaft further up the hill. The workings extended in all directions except to the South West because the mine manager knew of the proximity of the other two mines and of the property boundary at surface. Chalk was brought out of the shaft and either burnt at adjacent kilns or used in brickmaking. The will of James Taggart dated 1834 states: '…including the brickfields containing seven acres more or less and my freehold wood called Susan Wood, with lime kilns, brick kilns and chalk pit' (the word 'pit' in those days referred to a shaft).
Taggart left the business to his brother-in-law George Bascombe who continued to produce 'bricks, pots, lime and chalk' and intended to extend the mine workings further under the common to the North East. For this purpose, another shaft was sunk to avoid transporting the chalk a long way underground. Unlike the other two mines (which were driven horizontally and could use horse transport), wheelbarrows had to be used to transport the chalk to the shaft bottom. The ruts in the floor caused by these wheelbarrows were noted during an investigation of the workings in 1904. Despite the plans, the area around the second shaft was not fully developed and mining ceased around 1866. This was mainly due to the invention of the steam shovel because this machine could quickly remove large quantities of overburden. Large quarries were developed at Swanscombe, Northfleet and Gravesend that could produce chalk very cheaply. With the introduction of water transport and better roads, the local mines found it impossible to compete.
At some time prior to abandonment, two tunnels were driven to connect up with both the Outer and Inner Series which had already ceased. It seems likely that Bascombe wanted to check on the exact position of the other mines with a view to mining any unworked areas. Since Bascombe was a keen gardener, he adapted part of the Middle Series to grow celery and other vegetables and sunk a well in the mine to obtain water for the plants. A spiral passage was excavated into this section from his property on the surface and this is now known as 'Cavaliers Passage'. Bascombe was also a keen amateur archaeologist and it is perhaps significant that he did not consider any of the chalk workings to be ancient or mysterious.
In 1885, when mining had long since ceased, a great controversy arose as to the origins of the great chalk caverns. Almost as much correspondence was generated as in the argument about deneholes! At the turn of the century the owner of the Bickley Arms Hotel began to clear out parts of the mine and installed 'electric glowlamps'. He allowed members of the public to explore the mine and there was a visit in 1903 by a party of 'scientific men', including a Mr Nichols who was the Vice-President of the British Archaeological Association (the same organisation that Bascombe had belonged to!). Nichols published his opinions and concluded that the three sets of tunnels belonged to different periods, viz. Roman, Saxon and Druid. He dated Bascombe's well to the Roman period, called the stepped benches Druids' altars and interpreted the two haulage shafts as ancient deneholes of Celtic origin!
A further visit to the mine in 1904 included two mining engineers called T.E. and R.H. Forster. They stated that the caves were simply three chalk mines whose main excavations had been made in the 17th-18th centuries. From then on, everyone joined in the argument with correspondence in the newspapers and heated debates at meetings. The advocates of the Druids theory' shouted down the chalk mine theorists and vice versa.
In the First World War the mines were used by the Government to store explosives and a light tramway was installed. It is said that the picric acid from the explosives turned the chalk yellow in some places. The wooden hut which is now the office dates from this time. In 1920 the present owner acquired the site and attempted to grow mushrooms. During the Second World War the mines became the largest air raid shelter in the Greater London area with up to 8,000 people using it in 1940 at 1d per night. A new ventilation shaft was sunk together with powerful fans to keep the airflow circulating. New tunnels were driven to the surface to act as exits and a great deal of brickwork installed for toilets, washrooms, canteens and a first aid post. It was the wartime nurses, in fact, who drew the plan of the mines on the wall in the 'map room', through which visitors pass today.
Since the war, the mines have been open to the public as a show cave and the guides seem to have adopted Mr Nichols' version of the history as being more entertaining. Visitors are now shown Romans digging out chalk, Druids' sacrificial altars, a witch's cave and many other delights, including a ghost or two! Modern researchers, however, are convinced that the Victorian mining engineers were nearer the truth and that the main development of the mines took place in the late 18th to early 19th centuries. There were also similar chalk mines in the vicinity at logs Hill and Camden Park.

⁶

  Research Notes:

This extract below is from http://www.glias.org.uk/news/168news.html#H

I do not know who worked the mines in Lubbock Road, but the well-known caves further south by the station were apparently worked as Blundell's lime works. These were advertised in 'Bromley Record' 1/11/1862 as established in 1800 near the caves. On 1/1/1864 W Blundell stated that he would continue the business long carried on by his late father and on 1/7/1864 advertised as Blundell's Flare and Tunnel lime works. My reason for mentioning this is that it establishes a more explicit link with the Greenwich area than the one suggested by Mary. On 1/11/1868 the advertisement read: 'Chislehurst Lime Works (late Blundell's), Bromley Hill, Chislehurst. Thomas Nichols begs to inform the Public that he has taken the above works in connection with his Lime Works at New Charlton, Woolwich. The best description of Flare and Tunnel Lime, Flints, etc.' (Several roads in this area have been renamed, but Bromley Hill was presumably the road now known as Old Hill.) Greater antiquity was claimed on 1/8/1869: 'Blundell's Chislehurst Lime Works. Chalks, Flints, Sand. Established 1706.'

  Death Notes:

Looks like Charles Blundell (son) was present at the death.

  Noted events in his life were:

• URL: http://www.chislehurstcaves.co.uk/. Chislehurst Caves are a labyrinth of dark mysterious passageways which have been hewn by hand from the chalk, deep beneath Chislehurst. There are over 20 miles of caverns and passageways, dug over a period of 8000 years. The vast complex of caves are a maze of ancient mines originally carved out in the search for flint and chalk. They are divided into three main sections, Saxon, Druid and Roman. Each section was later connected by digging joining passages.
The presence of chalk has been important to civilisations over thousands of years, and still is to date. Mining chalk provides Lime and Flint.
Lime is the basic for plaster and whitewash paint, flint was used for manufacturing tools by early man and later for building. The mining activity is difficult to date however the mines appear on a charter circa 1250 and also in local church records of 1737.
The last time the mines were known to have been worked was around the 1830's when the Saxon section was used by a flintmaker and limeburner.
The local railway made the mines more accessable in 1865, and this aided its formation as a tourist attraction. The caves also became the setting for several underground concerts in the early 1900's.
During the 1914 World War the mines became part of Woolwich Arsenal, used as an ammunitions depot. A narrow gauge railway was installed to aid the transport through the passages. Up until the outbreak of the Second World War the mines were used by the Kent Mushroom Company.
The war and the constant bombings over London turned the caves into a massive air raid shelter within easy reach from London and its main suburbs.
The caves again became a major tourist attraction early this century.
The Caves are also used as a film location and have been used by the BBC and independent film companies. Doctor Who, Insemenoid, Bliss, Neverwhere and Randall & Hopkirk (deceased) have all been filmed at the caves

• URL: http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/early%20ages/chislehurst%20caves.htm. In the 1830's, a ‘Limeburner and Flintmaker’ by the name of Soper was known to have carried out his business in the Saxon section, and this seems to have been the last time the mines were actually worked. For some time prior to the early 19th century, the British army used ‘Flinklock’ muskets, and these may well have been supplied from the mines. Local legend seems to favour the notion that the mines would have provided ideal storage for quantities of smuggled goods.

• Marriage Notice: Labourer, 10 Mar 1838, Charlton, Kent, England. Marriage Cert.

• Census UK: Ag. Lab., aged 26, 1841, Crown Lane, Chislehurst, Kent, England.

• Census UK: Lime Burner, aged 34, 1851, 4 Mill Place, Chislehurst, Kent, England. ⁷

• Occupation: Labourer, 1 Oct 1859. From Alice Blundell's birth Certificate

• Census UK: Kiln Lab., aged 44, 1861, 4 Mill Place, Chislehurst, Kent, England. ⁸

• Census UK: Labourer, aged 50, 1871, 1 Mill Row, Chislehurst, Kent, England. ⁹

• Occupation: Gardener, 19 May 1878, Deptford, Kent, England. as on Alice's Marriage cert.

• Census UK: Lime Burner, aged 65, 1881, Mill Place, Chislehurst, Kent, England. ¹⁰

William married Mary Amelia Glide, daughter of John Bartholomew Glide and Mary Billinghurst, on 4 Mar 1838 in Parish Church, Charlton, Kent, England.¹ (Mary Amelia Glide was born before Oct 1818 in Chislehurst, Kent, England, christened on 11 Oct 1818 in Chislehurst, Kent, England ¹¹ and died on 10 Aug 1905 in 56 Beckenham Lane, Bromley, Kent, England ^{4 12}.) The cause of her death was Gastro Enteritis Exhaustion.⁴

  Marriage Notes:

John Bartholomew & Mary Glide were the witnesses. William Blundell was the father of William Thomas.