# Minera limeworks - Limekiln frenzy



## tarboat (May 12, 2008)

For the limekiln enthusiast the Minera quarries and surrounding area are very rewarding as there are three banks containing a total of thirteen large draw kilns, plus a very early Hoffmann kiln, to be seen. It was a nice day so I headed down there to see what could be found. The main quarry was finally closed in 1994 after acquisition by Redland Aggregates.





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Limeburning at Minera is recorded from as early as 1620 but the kilns seen here were erected by the Minera Lime Company which was established in 1852. This bank of six large kilns was completed in the 1850's., at which time the total output from the Minera area quarries was estimated (1859) to be around 300,000 tons with 200,000 tons of this converted to lime.



















Next to see was the bank of seven kilns, built in at least three phases by the Lester quarry which was taken over by the Minera company in 1899. In 1858 the output of the Lester quarry was 80,000 tons of fluxing stone and lime.
























Next to these is the Hofmann Kiln. The Minera Lime Company became a limited company in 1865 there was a significant injection of capital into the business. A tangible result of this was the erection of a large Hoffman kiln in 1868. Although first introduced for brickmaking in with a patent of 1858, the design was soon adapted for limeburning and the Minera kiln was one of the first. 









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There are 24 chambers, each capable of holding 120 tons of limestone. The charge burned sequentially through the chambers in oval kiln sequentially. There was a central flue and chimney and the kiln operated continuously, being capable of producing large quantities of lime. The fuel was fed from above through a series of feed holes.









The charge was placed into the kiln via a number of wickets which were walled up during the burning and then reopened to remove the burned lime.




Production ceased in 1929 when new gas fired kilns were introduced but was resumed after they proved unsatisfactory. After takeover of the quarry by Adam Lythgoe Limited on 1954 this kiln, and another smaller Hoffmann kiln of 1874, were abandoned.




Finally, a short distance along the trackbed of the railway to the lead mines are the Atcherley kilns, hidden uphill slightly to the east of the main quarry. The three kilns burned limestone from the nearby Cae Coch quarry and were abandoned in 1887 due to the rock becoming unprofitable to work. In recent years the front wall of the left side kiln has collapsed entirely, as has some of the front of the centre kiln, and further deterioration is inevitable.


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## Sabtr (May 12, 2008)

Excellent report there.  Full of factual information and lots of good pics too. I like the way the metal parts within the kilns are still in situ.
Do you have a flash linky for this area? I would love to see the quarries from above.


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## King Al (May 12, 2008)

Looks like a great site, I can't get over the size of some of those kilns


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## Neosea (May 12, 2008)

That's a cool find! Thanks for the photo's


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## tarboat (May 12, 2008)

@Sausage: Here are the links you requested.

This is the link to the centre of the Hoffman Kiln

Bank of six kilns

Lester bank of seven kilns

Atcherley kilns


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## Foxylady (May 12, 2008)

Rather a huge site there and a lovely area for wandering about. I'm amazed by the Hoffmann kiln...never seen one before...fantastic photos of the inside. Good stuff!


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## Sabtr (May 13, 2008)

Thanks for the linkys tarboat.  Must have been good limestone there!
Is this site now listed as a heritage site? It should be.


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## batroy (May 13, 2008)

What are those structures you can see inside the Hofmann kiln? Surely not something to do with the lime works?


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## tarboat (May 13, 2008)

@batroy: Those are an attempt to keep people out whilst still allowing a view inside.

@sausage: I did a search and discovered that there is an organisation trying to find a way of dealing with the heritage and nature conservation issues in the area. There was no indication of this on site. This is their website which did not work properly using Firefox.


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## yaz36 (May 13, 2008)

this looks cool! and photos are ace, good report


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## wolfism (May 15, 2008)

tarboat said:


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That's a cracker of a photo! Interesting site – having crawled through the smaller limekilns at Cults in Fife, those Hoffman kilns would be a treat to explore.


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## Bryag (May 17, 2008)

Like Wolfism, I too have crawled through Cults limestone in Fife, so this report is very enlightneing. Excellent report, and photos.


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