Lime Kiln

Built sometime around 1750 and later extended, these kilns were used to manufacture Quicklime (Calcium Oxide), used in mortar and to improve soil. These were incredibly important functions of the early industrial revolution, enabling large scale building and improving the productivity of farmland to feed rapidly expanding towns and cities.

Although close to the village of Limekilns, it was named for earlier small scale production, and these magnificent kilns are just a litte further west at Charlestown.

The kilns are built in a natural cliff, and each vaulted kiln was fed continuously from the top (through a wide chimney) with a mixture of coal and limestone. Quicklime was extracted through the front (the arches you see here) and loaded onto ships (the harbour is just across the road) for distribution. Another route out was by rail, initially an entirely wooden system of horse-drawn wagons but later converted to iron rails and steam power.

Once one of the most important industrial facilities in Scotland, production of quicklime in these kilns continued until 1956 by which time cement and synthetic soil treatments had largely replaced quicklime.

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Yesterday evenings blips were fairly late, some chilli and the wedding from Saturday.