The Elvington and Eythorne Heritage Centre was officially opened by Margaret Dunn, daughter of Jack Dunn, who had once been an Elvington resident, Tilmanstone Colliery miner, and a Kent Area Secretary of the NUM (National Union of Mineworkers). The opening of Elvington and Eythorne Heritage Centre was made possible by the funding opportunities made available by Dover District Council and the Kent Coalfields Regeneration Trust, along with the support by the first members of the heritage group – Carol Duffield, Jim Morley, Doreen Whitting, Colin Varrall, Margaret Stevens, Mick and Kath Roome, and Tony and Elizabeth Kemp.
Since the Elvington and Eythorne Heritage Centre has been open it has received many different items and collections that have been very kindly donated by former residents, who have lived in Elvington and Eythorne, and also from men who had worked at Tilmanstone Colliery prior to its closure in 1986.