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February meeting 2006
Former Lancashire county archeaologist, Mr Ben Edwards spoke about the lime
industry in Lancashire and beyond to the societys February meeting.
He traced the history of lime making in northern England from its earliest visible
use as mortar on Hadrians Wall to modern factories, where most of the limestone is crushed to make road aggregates.
Extensive deposits of limestone across the North of England produced a thriving
industry, supplying limewash and feriliser amongst other products. The lime was burnt off in many kilns, which, because of their strong construction, are even now, after many years of disuse, still in good condition. The remains of some 700 kilns have been found in the Yorkshire Dales National Park alone. The basic design of the kiln was an entrance, which also acted a a draught channel to keep the fire alive, a fire chamber, reinforced with a layer of stone, and a flue, which sometimes claimed the lives of unwary lime-burners, through giving off carbon monoxide fumes.
Mr Edwards showed several slides of kilns, some of which have been rebuilt,
including the Hoffman kiln at Langcliffe near Settle.
Quarrying was, and still is, the chief means of extracting the limestone, though
sometimes the process of "hushing" was also used. This involved building a small earth dam and releasing the water quickly, which washed away the topsoil covering the limestone. |