Ouston lime kiln (Plenmeller with Whitfield)
Ouston lime kiln. Photo by Lancaster University Archaeological Unit.
Lime kiln (dis). (1)
Lime kiln in very good condition. Two draw arches with rounded heads, with two eyes per arch. All built in brick. One pot, with brick lining, some rubbish inside, elliptical shape. Dressed stone. (2)
Lime kiln 120m west of Ouston House, Grade II. Mid 19th century. Coursed rubble, yellow brick. Built into hillside in front of limestone quarry. Twin segmental drawing arches. Oval pot. (3)
Ouston lime kiln. Elevation and sectional elevation of a small kiln with a rectangular pot and two arches. Scale 1:50. (4)
Small 19th century estate lime kiln of roughly dressed and coursed sandstone masonry with fire brick-lined single pot and two draw arches, each with a pair of brick-built drawing eyes. The base of a limestone quarry lies to the west, level with the kiln top. Local information suggests the kiln was operational within living memory. (5)
The lime kiln is one component of a works which distributed lime to the surrounding area. The kiln is a mid-19th century estate kiln which operated until the 1940s. It comprises a sandstone rubble frontage wall (17m long and up to 5.25m high) set at right angles to a possibly natural defile in the valley side. Two draw arches (about 2.17m wide by 2.5m high) sit centrally within the frontage wall. The arches are round-headed and formed two rows of bricks three deep. The interior of the arches are corbelled with large sandstone slabs. Low brick walls at the back of the arches incorporate matching pairs of arched eyes (formed of two rings of voussoir bricks) separated by a brick pier supporting the weakest part of the kiln structure. The single sub-rectangular pot is lined with firebricks. The kiln is in reasonable condition.
Associated features to the east include a weighbridge, formerly connected to the top of the kiln by a railed track. (6)(7)
A watching brief in 2002 provided considerable new information on the way that the lime burning process was carried out in the kiln. The structure was set in a probably natural defile in the valley side which would have been cut back into, as well as along, the slope, in order to construct the pot. The main structural wall of the post, about 0.6m wide, was formed of irregularly-coursed sandstone rubble set in mortar. Once the rear wall of the pot was begun, the yellow bricks for the eye kilns would have been laid, the corbelled stone arches set over the eyes, and the supporting brick pier set between the eyes. Presumably, the front (eastern) wall of the pot would then have been raised along with the frontage wall of the kiln, the latter built around the two large round-headed arches. Infill would then have been packed over the corbelled arches to level the void between the pot and frontage wall. With the masonry completed, the brick lining of the pot would have been laid. Although a seemingly simple structure, a very basic run-through of the postulated sequence of construction shows that it must have been built by skilled masons conversant with the nature of the kiln and its requirements.
Identification of the origin of some of the bricks used in the lining of the kiln pot confirms that it was replaced at least once; the kiln is shown to have been in use by at the latest 1858, when it was shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map, but a number of the manufacturers stanps on bricks in the kiln are of firms which had not begun production by that date. The temperatures in lime kilns frequently made lining bricks friable and fragment. Much of the surface of the kiln pot has been vitrified, however, producing a monlithic surface which may well have been tough enough to withstand the temperatures for a considerable time. The bricks in the pot came from a wide range of brickworks in the region, including Prudhoe, Swalwell, South Medomsley, Mickley and Blaydon, and were probably sourced by the Whitfield Estate.
A badly corroded iron axle with two attached flanged cast-iron wheels and bearings was recovered from the lower infill of the lime kiln pot and would have been attached to a flat board rather than a standard trolley or tub. (8)
Lime kiln in quarry. (9a)
Ouston lime kiln. Had a rectangular pot, two rounded arches with two brick eyes per arch. (9b)
Lime kiln in very good condition. Two draw arches with rounded heads, with two eyes per arch. All built in brick. One pot, with brick lining, some rubbish inside, elliptical shape. Dressed stone. (2)
Lime kiln 120m west of Ouston House, Grade II. Mid 19th century. Coursed rubble, yellow brick. Built into hillside in front of limestone quarry. Twin segmental drawing arches. Oval pot. (3)
Ouston lime kiln. Elevation and sectional elevation of a small kiln with a rectangular pot and two arches. Scale 1:50. (4)
Small 19th century estate lime kiln of roughly dressed and coursed sandstone masonry with fire brick-lined single pot and two draw arches, each with a pair of brick-built drawing eyes. The base of a limestone quarry lies to the west, level with the kiln top. Local information suggests the kiln was operational within living memory. (5)
The lime kiln is one component of a works which distributed lime to the surrounding area. The kiln is a mid-19th century estate kiln which operated until the 1940s. It comprises a sandstone rubble frontage wall (17m long and up to 5.25m high) set at right angles to a possibly natural defile in the valley side. Two draw arches (about 2.17m wide by 2.5m high) sit centrally within the frontage wall. The arches are round-headed and formed two rows of bricks three deep. The interior of the arches are corbelled with large sandstone slabs. Low brick walls at the back of the arches incorporate matching pairs of arched eyes (formed of two rings of voussoir bricks) separated by a brick pier supporting the weakest part of the kiln structure. The single sub-rectangular pot is lined with firebricks. The kiln is in reasonable condition.
Associated features to the east include a weighbridge, formerly connected to the top of the kiln by a railed track. (6)(7)
A watching brief in 2002 provided considerable new information on the way that the lime burning process was carried out in the kiln. The structure was set in a probably natural defile in the valley side which would have been cut back into, as well as along, the slope, in order to construct the pot. The main structural wall of the post, about 0.6m wide, was formed of irregularly-coursed sandstone rubble set in mortar. Once the rear wall of the pot was begun, the yellow bricks for the eye kilns would have been laid, the corbelled stone arches set over the eyes, and the supporting brick pier set between the eyes. Presumably, the front (eastern) wall of the pot would then have been raised along with the frontage wall of the kiln, the latter built around the two large round-headed arches. Infill would then have been packed over the corbelled arches to level the void between the pot and frontage wall. With the masonry completed, the brick lining of the pot would have been laid. Although a seemingly simple structure, a very basic run-through of the postulated sequence of construction shows that it must have been built by skilled masons conversant with the nature of the kiln and its requirements.
Identification of the origin of some of the bricks used in the lining of the kiln pot confirms that it was replaced at least once; the kiln is shown to have been in use by at the latest 1858, when it was shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map, but a number of the manufacturers stanps on bricks in the kiln are of firms which had not begun production by that date. The temperatures in lime kilns frequently made lining bricks friable and fragment. Much of the surface of the kiln pot has been vitrified, however, producing a monlithic surface which may well have been tough enough to withstand the temperatures for a considerable time. The bricks in the pot came from a wide range of brickworks in the region, including Prudhoe, Swalwell, South Medomsley, Mickley and Blaydon, and were probably sourced by the Whitfield Estate.
A badly corroded iron axle with two attached flanged cast-iron wheels and bearings was recovered from the lower infill of the lime kiln pot and would have been attached to a flat board rather than a standard trolley or tub. (8)
Lime kiln in quarry. (9a)
Ouston lime kiln. Had a rectangular pot, two rounded arches with two brick eyes per arch. (9b)
N6380
FIELD OBSERVATION, North Pennines AONB lime kiln survey 2000; LANCASTER UNIVERSITY ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT
BUILDING SURVEY, Ouston Limekiln and environs 2000; The Archaeological Practice
TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY, Ouston Limekiln and environs 2000; The Archaeological Practice
DESK BASED ASSESSMENT, Ouston limekiln and environs. Archaeological assessment and survey 2000; The Archaeological Practice
WATCHING BRIEF, Restoration of Ouston Lime Kiln 2002; Alan Williams Archaeology
FIELD SURVEY, RCHME: North Pennines Industrial Archaeology Project ; RCHME
BUILDING SURVEY, Ouston Limekiln and environs 2000; The Archaeological Practice
TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY, Ouston Limekiln and environs 2000; The Archaeological Practice
DESK BASED ASSESSMENT, Ouston limekiln and environs. Archaeological assessment and survey 2000; The Archaeological Practice
WATCHING BRIEF, Restoration of Ouston Lime Kiln 2002; Alan Williams Archaeology
FIELD SURVEY, RCHME: North Pennines Industrial Archaeology Project ; RCHME
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