Lime kilns

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1006434
Date first listed:: 21-Jun-1973

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1006434
Date first listed:: 21-Jun-1973

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Holy Island
National Grid Reference:: NU 13824 41727

Summary

Lime kilns, 180m east of Lindisfarne Castle.

Reasons for Designation

Limestone or chalk has been the basic ingredient for lime mortar from Roman times. Since the medieval period, lime has also been used as agricultural fertiliser and, since the early 19th century, widely used in a variety of other industries: as a flux in blast furnaces, in the production of gas and oil, and in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries. The lime industry is defined as the processes of preparing and producing lime by burning and slaking. The basic raw material for producing lime is limestone or chalk: when burnt at high temperature (roasted or calcined), these rocks release carbon dioxide, leaving `quicklime' which, by chemical reaction when mixed with water (`slaking'), can be turned into a stable powder - lime. Lime burning sites varied in scale from individual small lime kilns adjacent to a quarry, to large-scale works designed to operate commercially for an extended market and often associated with long distance water or rail transport. The form of kilns used for lime burning evolved throughout the history of the industry, from small intermittent clamp and flare kilns, to large continuously fired draw kilns that could satisfy increased demand from urban development, industrial growth and agricultural improvement. Small-scale rural lime production continued in the later 19th and 20th centuries, but this period of the industry is mainly characterised by large-scale production and the transfer of technologies from the cement and other industries. The demand for mortars grew steadily during the 19th and 20th centuries. The successful production of mortars made with artificial cement represented an economic challenge to lime production and gradually replaced the use of lime mortars in major construction and engineering projects. From a highly selective sample made at national level, around 200 lime industry sites have been defined as being of national importance. These have been defined to represent the industry's chronological depth, technological breadth and regional diversity.

The lime kilns east of Lindisfarne Castle are in an excellent state of preservation and are preserved as an upstanding and largely intact structure. The significance of the monument is increased by the partial earthwork remains of a wagonway outside of the scheduled area linking the kilns to Nessend quarry. This provides insight into an extend sequence of the industrial process use to create lime.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 1 June 2016. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes the remains of a row of lime kilns of post-medieval date, situated on the south east tip of Holy Island just beyond Lindisfarne Castle. The battery of kilns is contained within a square structure built of randomly coursed sandstone masonry blocks and measuring approximately 21m by 20m. The structure contains six kiln pots and a tunnel running through the structure, which allows access to internal draw arches. The tunnel has five external entries, each with round-headed segmental arches. An earthen ramp on the north side provides access to the top of the kiln.

The lime kilns were constructed in 1860 by a Dundee merchant named William Nicholl and quarrying and slaking occurring until 1900. Originally the lime was quarried from the north of the island and brought to the kilns via a railway, parts of which survive outside of the scheduled area.

The monument lies within the Lindisfarne Castle Grade II registered park and garden.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: ND 555
Legacy System:: RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:- 7848

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.