Lime Kilnswereconstructedtoconvertlimestone on Thekingsbridgeestuaryalone

Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty 1 Page

of 4 History & Heritage 5 ot eo OBUi InformationSheets South Devon AONB Unit of thesoil. it wasusedasadressingon construction formortar, plasterandlimewash,butmostly quicklime, byburningit.Quicklimewasusedin Lime kilnswereconstructedtoconvertlimestone on theKingsbridgeEstuaryalone. to 100knownlimekilnsintheSouthDevon AONB, with22 many operateduntiltheearly20thcentury. There areup Most wereconstructedbetweenabout1700and1850, estuaries, suchastheDartandKingsbridgeEstuaries. in theSouthDevon AONB, especiallyaroundthetidal These oftensubstantialstonestructuresarecommon Introduction -Whatisalimekiln? in theSouthDevonAreaofOutstandingNaturalBeauty Lime Kilns fi elds toreducetheacidity better absorbnitratessuchasanimaldung. to reducetheacidityofsoilapointwhereitcould England, werebadatnitrateabsorption. The intentionwas immediate vicinityofthekilns. sea coasts. The burntlimewasspreadon the estuariesofDevonandCornwall,withafewon by smallervesselstolimekilnswhichwerelocatedbeside at theseplacesandthetwocommoditieswerebrought such asPlymouthand Torquay. Limestonewasquarried from SouthWales andNorth-EastEnglandtomajorports culm (apoorgradecoalorlignite)wasbroughtbysea In the18thand19thcentury, fuelintheformofcoalor there, usuallyinassociationwithlimestonequarries. - mostedgesofthe AONB, manykilnsaretobefound Limestone occursnaturallyattheeastern-andwestern Distribution Function into theatmosphere. is calciumcarbonate(CaCO quicklime. Limestoneinitsnaturalstate with coalorotherfuelstomake Lime kilnswereusedtoburnlimestone kiln. Carbondioxide(CO (CaO) whichfalltothebottomof the limestonetolumpsofcalciumoxide 800-900 degreescentigrade,changes in akilnattemperaturesexcessof be ‘slaked’,byapplyingwater(H Lime wasusedintwoways.Itcould it tocalciumhydroxide-Ca(OH) a controlledmanner, whichchanged harrowed intothesoil,slakingnaturally where itwasevenlyspreadand quicklime wastakenouttothe and limewash.Initsunslakedstate, This wasusedtomakemortar, plaster environments suchasSouth-West over time. Acid soils,createdbydamp fi elds inthe 2 ) isdrivenoff 3 ). Burning fi elds 2 2 . O) in Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty 2 Page

of 4 History & Heritage 5 ot eo OBUi InformationSheets South Devon AONB Unit in theSouthDevonAreaofOutstandingNaturalBeauty Lime Kilns the stokeholeandpackedintocasks. size ofthewell,afterwhichlimewasshovelledout A burnwouldlastforthreeto layers, withawell-constructed the coalandlimestoneweredumpedintokilnwellsin carts tothechargingplatformattopofkiln. There, and asteeplyslopingtrackwasnecessarytohaulthe carts. Mostestuary-sidekilnswerebuiltintotheriverbank, were beachedathightideandtheircargoesunloadedinto estuary, thevesselswhichbroughtlimestoneandcoal Where limekilnswerebuiltbesidetheseaoronan water isaddedtoit. very unstable:aviolentchemicalreactionoccurringwhen enabled thelimebeunloadedoutofrain.Quicklimeis (below) showshowakilnworked. The open-frontedlean-to The illustrationofPerchwoodlimekilnsat Tuckenhay How didtheywork? Illustrations byTony Harrisonbykindpermission Cornworthy and Ashprington HistorySociety fi ve days,dependingonthe fi re ofwoodatthebottom. repeated repairsandrelinings oftheirwells. taller kilnsleanouttowardsthe topandbearevidenceof cost ofstructuralstrength,and manyofthewallsthese metres high. This greaterheightandsizeoftencameatthe at FrogmoreontheKingsbridge Estuarybeingupto5 kilns isoftenmuchgreaterthan previously, examples as a‘sacri more common,eitherasanadditiontooldkiln,or improve thedraughting.Brickliningstowellsbecame had quiteintriguing more. These becameincreasinglycomplexandsome Kilns after1800aresometimesbuiltin‘banks’ oftwoor the KingsbridgeEstuary. round orDshapedkiln:severalexamplescanbeseenon Sometimes asquarekilnhasbeenaddedtoanearlier have slopingor‘battered’ wallstoincreasestability. Later kilnsaresquareorrectangularinplanandoften Portlemouth (privatelyowned)hassucharamp. deck. A freestandingkilnatGoodshelternearEast extra expenseofconstructingaramptoreachthecharging was constructed.Freestandingkilnswererare,duetothe sides returningtothecliff orhillside againstwhichthekiln The majorityofthisearlytypehadaDplan:thecurved walls wereconstructed. removed halfofit,exposingthewellandshowinghow is ausefulvisualexamplebecausecoastalerosionhas on Wonwell Beachatthemouth oftheErmeEstuaryand drawn thiswayonoldmaps.Oneofvarietystands standing, andlooklikeringdoughnuts-theywereoften followed thecurvatureofinnerwell. A fewwerefree- examples, whichdatefrombefore1800,theouterwalls We candatekilnsbytheirdesign andshape.Intheearliest the 18thcentury. between 1750and1850,thoughafewarefromearlierin Most ofthosewecanseenowdatefromtheperiod and constructionofagriculturallimekilnsbeganinearnest. books onagriculturalimprovementbegantobepublished, and riversidequays..Fromthemiddleof18thcentury, often mentionedin16thand17thcenturyleasestofarms West-Country bythelater16th century andlimekilnsare suggests thatlimewasbeingspreadonthe fi From theearly16thcentury, limebegantobespreadon kilns wereheavilybuttressedforthisreason. break up,makingrunningrepairsnecessary. Manyold generated ina‘burn’ causedthekilnwallstocrackand temporary. The otherreasonwasbecausethegreatheat kilns weresmall,seldomsurviving,andoftenonly 18th and19thcenturies. This ispartlybecauseearlier thousand years,moststandinglimekilnsdatefromthe Although limeburninghasahistorygoingbackseveral &development History elds toimprovetheirproductivity. Documentaryevidence fi cial lining’ toanewone. The heightofthese fl ues builtintothemtoincreaseor fi elds inthe Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty 3 Page

of 4 History & Heritage 5 ot eo OBUi InformationSheets South Devon AONB Unit was notdirectlyexposedtoheat,thisimportant limestone wasoftenusedforconstruction:aslongit later oneshadlimestonebondedwallfaces.Strangely, like housesandfarmbuildingsofthesameperiod,while rubble cores.Earlierkilnswereoftenclay-bonded,rather Usually ofcoursedstonerubble,withwell-builtfacesand in theSouthDevonAreaofOutstandingNaturalBeauty Lime Kilns side ofBowCreek,nearCornworthyontheDart. abandoned cottagebesidethem,suchasthatonthesouth close tothekiln.Sometimesveryremotekilnshavean The limeburnerandhisfamilyoftenlivedinacottage Lime burners’ cottages sleeping nearthemouthsofwells. tramps werefoundtohavediedfromthefumeswhile attracted poorpeopleincoldweather, andsometimes spillages, andforsafety. The heatofworkingkilnsoften This oftenhadalowparapetwallaroundit,toprevent Charging deck nearest availableplace. bank orcliff wasverysteepthey wouldbelocatedinthe These wouldnormallybeclosetothekiln,butwhere Loading ramps Iron Construction Details of usebytheFirstWorld War. kilns intheSouthDevon AONB arelikelytohavegoneout used inDevonwerethe Tamar Valley inthe1920s.Most later 19thcenturyalsohadaneffect. The lastkilnstobe place ofuse.Improvementsinarti lime wasthenpackagedupandcarriedready-burnttoits carried tolargeindustrialkilnsinlimestonequarries. The in transport,suchasrailways,whichenabledcoaltobe Lime kilnseventuallywentoutofuseduetoimprovements on progress. bar inandbreakuplumpsoflimestoneforchecking usually foundjustabovethestokeholewasusedpokea hot limedustfromspillingout.Thelittleholewhichis These wouldbeshuttowardstheendofaburntoprevent for wroughtirondoorsarefoundacrossthestokehole. it wasfullyalight.Sometimestracesofhingesorlatches prevent theweightofchargesmothering The baseofthewellnormallyhadabaracrossit,to fi ttings

fi cial fertilisersinthe fi re before re they worked. illustrated boardexplainsthehistoryofkilnsandhow shaped form,oneofwhichisclearlyaddedtotheother. An History Society. They arequitesmallandofaclassicD recently clearedandconsolidatedbyCornworthyLocal These How togetthere good example; few ofthemarepubliclyaccessible.Thefollowingisone There aremanylimekilnsintheSouthHams,butonlya in theSouthHams? Where canIvisitlimekilns road whereitwidensnearthekilns. Bridge to Tuckenhay, 3kmsouthof Totnes. Parkbesidethe The kilnsarealongsidethelanewhichleadsfromBow 100022628/2007 District Council,LicenceNo. rights reserved.SouthHams © CrownCopyright. All Perchwood Lime Kilns Grid ReferenceSX815563 Perchwood LimeKilns, Tuckenhay fi ne midtolate18thcentury kilnshavebeen WE Scale: 1:50,000 N S Area ofOutstanding Natural Beauty 4 Page

of 4 History & Heritage 5 ot eo OBUi InformationSheets South Devon AONB Unit in theSouthDevonAreaofOutstandingNaturalBeauty Lime Kilns worked inSouthDevonformostofhislife. AIFA. Heisafreelancearchaeologistandhaslived This factsheetwasproducedbyRobertWaterhouse, BA, Author published by Tempus in2002. Industries ofthe Yorkshire Dales,byDavidJohnson, burning inBritainisgivenChapters1-4ofLimestone Publications.An excellentoverallviewofthehistorylime by KenIsham,waspublishedin2000CornishHillside excellent book:LimeKilnsandLimeburnersinCornwall, There isnobookonDevon’s limekilns,butfortunatelyan Where canIfindoutmore?