Buckland

Tapwood Pit      

Buckland Sandpits  Here the Folkestone Beds of the Lower  Greensand spread over a wide area and the grain size and chemical composition of the sand make it particularly suitable for glass manufacture.  The operation at Buckland, which used to be one of the largest employers in the village, was  started in 1925 by the grandfather of the present owner; however since 1978 the operation has been leased to ARC Southern. At one time the company produced up to 60 different products, a very important one being  foundry sand - in fact, the propellers for the  QE2 were cast in Buckland sand.  At present sand is extracted from Tapwood Pit  Sand from Tapwood Pit is slurried with water and pumped under the road to Park Pit.