View from W showing rubble front and draw hole

Description View from W showing rubble front and draw hole

Date 29/4/1971

Collection Papers of Professor John R Hume, economic and industrial historian, Glasgow, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 787323

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Limekiln, Kilfinian, Argyll & Bute This shows the front of the kiln, which is set into a bank, with the approach to the draw-hole cut into the bank. The outer face of the kiln is built of the local stone, a schist which is very difficult to work, hence the entirely rubble build. Agricultural improvement came late to this part of Argyll, as the areas of cultivable ground were small. The local soils were acid, restricting their fertility, so the availability of lime to counteract the acidity was critical. This is a medium-sized single-draw limekiln in an excellent state of preservation. It was probably built in the mid-19th century, to burn limestone from a local outcrop, using coal brought in from Ayrshire by sea. The lime would certainly have been used primarily for agricultural improvement. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

External Reference H35/71/35/4

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/787323

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap