Shakespeare Colliery.
All traces of the colliery which was located at the base of Shakespeare Cliff on the site of the original Channel Tunnel workings have long since been lost - the site has been replaced by the modern tunnel workings. The Ordnance Survey map of East Kent published in 1931 shows the colliery at the base of the cliffs where the main-line railway emerges from the Shakespeare Tunnel to the west of Shakespeare Cliff.
A two foot deep seam of coal was discovered on Saturday 15th February 1890 at a depth of 300'. The first shaft was begun on 21st August 1891 and in 1897 three companies were formed to search for coal in the area. All three companies were left in financial difficulty when boreholes to the west of Dover proved unsuccessful.

The Consolidated Kent Collieries Corporation was formed in July 1899 and took over the assets of the ailing companies. A number of bores were sunk between 1905 and 1910, under the direction of Arthur Burr, to delineate the extent of the coalfield. By 1914, 40 boreholes had been dug at considerable expense to locate workable seams, the best of which were found at deep levels and averaged only just over a metre in thickness. By 3rd February 1905, just 12 tons of coal had been brought to the surface. Efforts to work the seam were plagued by difficulties, including flooding. So much so that by 1912 only 1,000 tons of coal had been raised. The colliery finally closed just before Christmas 1915.

The first accident in Kent that led to the loss of life took place on 6.3.1897 at 10.55 pm.
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Due to the coal strike in Britain, Elizabeth Nye, who had returned to Britain for a short visit, was unable to return to the United States as planned aboard the Philadelphia. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph (April 25th 1912, page 16) Elizabeth was transferred to the Titanic and boarded at Southampton travelling in second class.
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World War I saw major changes in the town yet again. After the summer of 1914 holiday makers disappeared, to be replaced by boatloads of refugees fleeing the conflict on the Continent. Soldiers increased in number, many stationed at Shorncliffe Camp while others were housed in requisitioned boarding houses and hotels. Folkestone became the centre for the transport of troops across the Channel to France.
Folkestone was also subjected to air-raids. The worst of these occurred on May 25th 1917 when 71 civilians died and a further 94 were injured. Lack of advance weather information caused abortion of an attempt to bomb London, and Luftwaffe planes were ordered by Brandenburg to drop their load on Folkestone instead. A large proportion of bombs dropped on shorncliffe barracks and the Canadian troops stationed there, but a greater weight of bombs dropped on the town itself. Greatest damage was caused by 6 bombs which dropped on tontine street. In total they dropped 5 tons of bombs during the busy shopping hour. CLICK HERE to read more about the bombing. After World War I Folkestone returned to its role as a holiday resort. This time however it was not as the resort of the gentry but as a holiday destination for families. Many large homes were turned into flats or private hotels. Housing developments took place in the town as a part of the effort to meet housing shortages, amusement centres were established along the sea front and the zigzag path on the West Cliff was built.

Only twenty years after the town was transformed by the First World War, Folkestone again found itself the focus of enemy activity during World War II. At the end of the war the town had suffered great damage and was to be changed forever. 123 people were killed, and 778 injured. 550 houses had been destroyed, 10,000 properties damaged, and 37,000 people had left the area.
The rebuilding of Folkestone after the war was the birth of the modern town.