Could a Victorian map hold the key to Surrey sinkhole?

Godstone’s high street is eerily quiet as theories swirl around what might have caused the vast crater.

- Barney Davis

The first crater appeared in Godstone High Street on Monday. Locals were woken late at night in the quiet Surrey village and told to "get out as quickly as possible" over fears of a gas explosion. A major incident was declared, with 30 properties evacuated, before a second void split open another part of the road a day later. Almost a week on, experts are scrambling to find the cause of the collapse, as residents – who have no idea when they might be able to return to their homes – fear this sinkhole could be just the first sign of trouble for Godstone.

One expert has suggested that the crater could be related to the collapse of a nearby abandoned sand mine. London’s insatiable demand for sand to use in construction during the industrial revolution led to quarries being dug out underneath the Surrey village. The material is said to have been used in the 18th century for the flooring of Westminster Hall.

Andrew Farrant, the British Geological Survey regional geologist for southeast England, explains how old maps of the area, published in 1872, appear to show an entrance to a sand mine very close to the “sinkhole”, which could be related to the ground collapse.

There are also two old mines nearby, with entrances on the east side of the road south of the collapse site. The entrance to the nearest and largest of these is in an old builder’s yard, and extends around 100 metres to the east underneath allotments.

“It is possible other unrecorded sand mines occured in this area,” Farrant says. “It is also possible that a leaking pipe has weakened the rock and led to the failure of a putative mine, assuming it exists and extended under the road. Equally, it is possible that gradual failure of a mine roof caused the water main to fail, triggering further subsidence.”