Park, Closeburn, Limeworks, Limekilns

NX99SW 41.01 90727 91159

Limekilns

(disused) [NAT]

OS (GIS) MasterMap, July 2009.

The fine limekilns at Park date from the late 18th century. They are built into the natural banking above the flooded quarry, constructed of red sandstone, and are 30ft high and 60ft long.

There are three arched, single-draw kilns, the centre one being 90ft broad at the entrance, 8ft high and 11ft deep to the fireplace wall in the interior. The latter is constructed of brick, measuring 4ft by 5ft, with cast-iron door. The kilns are brick-lined and the tops measure 9ft in diameter.

The limestone for burning has been loaded from the top, having been raised from the quarry by an inclined wagon-way, traces of which can still be seen. The OS six-inch map 1856 indicates an 'old limekiln' to the north of the quarry with the existing kilns on the south-west, but there is no trace of the former. These works remained in operation until c 1888, although they probably produced lime intermittently until about 1895.

Park village nearby has some interesting traditional single-storey dwellings, probably erected in the late 18th or early 19th centuries by the Menteiths to house quarrymen and limestone burners.

I Donnachie 1971.

(Location cited as NX 907 913). Limekilns, Closeburn, late 18th century. A range of three single-draw kilns of rubble construction.

J R Hume 1976.