Beaumont Quay, Hamford Water: a 19th century quay and lime kiln

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Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1020688
Date first listed:: 28-Jan-2003

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1020688
Date first listed:: 28-Jan-2003

Location

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

County:: Essex
District:: Tendring (District Authority)
Parish:: Beaumont-cum-Moze
County:: Essex
District:: Tendring (District Authority)
Parish:: Thorpe-le-Soken
National Grid Reference:: TM 18964 24005

Reasons for Designation

Limestone or chalk has been the basic ingredient for lime mortar from at least 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. Lime burning as an industry displays well-developed regional characteristics, borne out by the regional styles of East Anglia, West Gloucestershire or Derbyshire. 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.

At Beaumont Quay the remains of the 19th century quay are combined with those of a largely intact lime kiln as well as a store building. The lime kiln is also a rare example of an East Anglian form, surviving in very good condition, and is the only one of its type (mixed feed) to survive in this area. Archaeological deposits sealed below ground in the quayside area, and in and around Beaumont Cut generally, will contain structural, artefactual and environmental evidence relating to the operations of the quay and the contemporary appearance of its surroundings. It represents a rare survival of a complex of contemporary features which has been largely unaltered since it was abandoned in the early 20th century. The quay itself, the remains of the sailing barge, the associated store where the traded goods would have been stowed away and the lime kiln representing associated industrial enterprise together give vivid testimony to the nature and scale of the quayside activities.

Details

The monument includes a 19th century quay and lime kiln together with the standing and buried remains of associated buildings and the wreck of a contemporary cargo vessel, situated at the extreme western end of Hamford Water, 6km inland from Walton on the Naze.

Beaumont Quay, along with other small wharfs situated in the creeks of Hamford Water, was a centre for a busy coastal trade during the early 19th century. To take advantage of this flourishing trade a quay was built at Beaumont in 1832 at the head of a Beaumont Cut (a straight deep man-made channel for barges to sail up avoiding the naturally winding Landermere Creek). The owners of the quay were Guy's Hospital in Southwark, London, who had acquired it as part of the Beaumont Estate in the 17th century; the tenant who occupied Beaumont Hall also rented the quay. The quay was built using stones taken from Old London Bridge, which was being demolished at that time. Further buildings were soon constructed, including storehouses and, in 1869, a large lime kiln.

The quay is 80m long in total, built along the northern bank of the Cut in a straight line, except at the eastern end where it was altered to curve around the later lime kiln. Its construction is mostly in timber except at the western end which is in stone. The timber section takes the form of a vertical plank revetment held in place by large horizontal timbers. The stone part of the quay is constructed of massive blocks laid in four courses forming a frontage 25.7m long and standing between 1.3m and 1.5m above the creek base. The blocks are unmortared but many are held together by iron staples. Behind the quay revetment and running its full length is a level earthen strip, 6m wide, forming the quayside where goods were loaded and unloaded; its northern edge is defined by a slight scarp 0.6m high. To the south west of the quay frontage are the timber remains of a sluice, which linked the end of Beaumont Cut with Landermere Creek, and some driven stakes which represent the remains of a footbridge structure. Also included in the scheduling is the wreck of the `Rose', a swim barge spritsail of carvel construction built by John Howard of Maldon and launched in September 1880 and now located at the head of the creek.

The lime kiln represents a local attempt to exploit the huge demand for lime for agricultural use in the 19th century. It is a circular structure in red brick contained within an earthen mound. The mound itself measures 12.6m in diameter and stands 2.5m high. The kiln floor is sunk a further 0.5m below ground level and is reached via a flight of four steps and a short open passage. The interior of the kiln comprises a round, barrel-vaulted circulation passage, 1.55m wide and 2.25m high, around the central pedestal of the combustion chamber or pot. A small rectangular opening on its northern side is probably a ventilator allowing regulation of the draught to the kiln. The pedestal of the pot has three openings in addition to its entrance; these were used for setting the fire, raking off the ash and removing the finished lime. The internal base of the pot is 1.45m wide flaring upward through the mound to an open top 2.2m in diameter. The kiln design (a mixed feed type in which the pot was filled with alternate layers of limestone and coal or anthracite dust) would have enabled continuous re-charging and firing for a long period of time, during which ash and lime were periodically drawn off. Adjacent to the kiln is the store building, the last standing structure from a group which orignally included a large two-storey arcaded store. The remaining structure is single-storied and rectangular, measuring 10m long and 5.4m wide, constructed in red brick; the shallow pitched roof is hipped at both ends and covered with slates. The building has no windows and only a single door in its western wall. A further unusual feature, possibly connected with the store's proximity to the lime kiln, is the substantial buttressing along the northern wall and two-thirds of the eastern wall. Internally the plank floor is raised and at its northern end the store is divided into two bays.

The quay and lime kiln at Beaumont flourished during the 19th century with barges bringing in cargoes of coal and chalk (some of which went to fuel and provide the raw material for the lime kiln), manure, building materials and agricultural produce. By the early years of the 20th century however, trade had declined, the limekiln ceased production and by 1921 the quay was out of use.

All modern fencelines are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:: 32455
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
ECC Planning Dept., , Essex Limekilns: A Survey, (1995)
ECC Planning Dept., , Essex Limekilns: A Survey, (1995)
Gibson, S, Gould, S, Essex Limekilns: A Survey, (1996)
Nash, J, Beaumont Quay, (1950)
Nash, J, Beaumont Quay, (1950)
Nash, J, Beaumont Quay, (1950)
Sams, M, Threat to historic quay from ravages of time, (1991)
Sams, M, Threat to historic quay from ravages of time, (1991)
Sams, M, Threat to historic quay from ravages of time, (1991)
Sams, M, Threat to historic quay from ravages of time, (1991)
Sams, M, Threat to historic quay from ravages of time, (1991)
Other
Archaeological Field Survey Report, Pattison, Paul , Beaumont Quay, Beaumont-cum-Moze, Essex, (1996)
Archaeological Field Survey Report, Pattison, Paul , Beaumont Quay, Beaumont-cum-Moze, Essex, (1996)
Archaeological Field Survey Report, Pattison, Paul , Beaumont Quay, Beaumont-cum-Moze, Essex, (1996)
Colour print, Strachan, D, CP/98/15/13, (1998)
In Essex SMR (copies), Unknown, Beaumont Quay, (1910)
In Essex SMR (copies), Unknown, Beaumont Quay, (1910)
In Essex SMR (copies), Unknown, Beaumont Quay, (1910)
In Essex SMR, Leech, T, Archaeological survey of Beaumont Quay, Landermere Creek......., (1994)
In Essex SMR, Leech, T, Archaeological survey of Beaumont Quay, Landermere Creek......., (1994)
In Essex SMR, Leech, T, Archaeological survey of Beaumont Quay, Landermere Creek......., (1994)
In Essex SMR, Leech, T, Archaeological survey of Beaumont Quay, Landermere Creek......., (1994)
In Essex SMR, Leech, T, Archaeological survey of Beaumont Quay, Landermere Creek......., (1994)
In Essex SMR, Strachan, D, CP/98/15/13, (1998)
Title: D/CT 23 Beaumont-cum-Moze Tithe Map and Award Source Date: 1838 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: D/CT 23 Beaumont-cum-Moze Tithe Map and Award Source Date: 1838 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: In Essex Record Office
Title: D/CT 23 Beaumont-cum-Moze Tithe Map and Award Source Date: 1838 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: In Essex Record Office

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.