Lime kiln 100m east of Scales Green Farm

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.



The lime kiln 100m east of Scales Green Farm survives well and is a good example of an 18th century draw kiln. Taken together with two other kilns of differing form in the near vicinity, both of which are the subject of separate schedulings, it displays the development of lime kiln design and technology during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Details

The monument includes an 18th century lime kiln located on the southern edge of an area of outcropping limestone pavement 100m east of Scales Green Farm. It is a single pot draw hole type kiln which was used to burn limestone. Typically the limestone was tipped into the kiln from the top via the charge hole then burned using wood, coal or coke as a fuel. The resultant quicklime, also known as birdlime or slaked lime, was then shovelled out from the draw hole at the bottom of the kiln. Lime has many uses including spreading on lime deficient soils to encourage plant growth, the whitewashing of walls and ceilings of buildings, and concrete and cement production.

The lime kiln, which is one of three different types in the vicinity, is a rounded or barrel-fronted structure constructed of large blocks of coursed limestone rubble and built into the hillside. Its draw hole, also known as a fire hole, has corbelled-in jambs with a large flat lintel above. The charge hole, which measures about 2m in diameter, is fully lined with small dressed fire bricks. A flattened surface above the kiln and to the rear of the charge hole is known as the charging platform. It was used to hold small amounts of limestone which were awaiting burning.

The lime kiln is a Listed Building Grade II.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

35001

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Scales Green lime kilns, Ulverston, (2000)
Keates, A C, Cumbria Industrial History Society in Scales Green 1, (1995)

Other
DOE, List of Buildings of Historic & Architectural Interest,

End of official list entry

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