Description

SANDON AND BURSTON

953/0/10042
09-FEB-11

TRENT LANE
SANDON LIMEKILN

II

A late-C18 draw limekiln/ flint calcining kiln.

MATERIALS: The structure consists of a red brick pot lined by a packed earth mound, which is partly encased in coursed sandstone walls. There are the remains of a wrought iron grid in the draw hole at the base of the pot.

PLAN: The kiln forms an irregular square on plan, with relatively straight-sided walls to the south and east, although some parts of the walls and banks have spread outwards.

EXTERIOR: The kiln walls are approximately five metres tall and lean gently inwards, pyramidal in shape, in line with the mound that they support. To the left of centre in the south wall is an entrance with pediment and cornice. The opening, or draw arch, stands under a brick head. Parts of the west and north walls have been removed, resulting in the partial collapse of the earth mound to the west. The bank to the north is sloped, reflecting an original ramp used to transport raw materials to the kiln pot opening. The east wall is attached to a red brick outbuilding, probably part of a C19 smithy complex, but of little national interest. On the top of the mound is the brick opening to the kiln pot. The circular aperture has a recessed ledge.

INTERIOR: The kiln is constructed in the traditional manner, with a vertical, brick-lined pot serving as the container for layers of limestone and coal. The kiln pot is narrower at the neck for preheating the limestone, and to retain the heat and improve the draught. Below the neck the pot is shouldered, and drops into a wider, central section for combustion, and a narrower base for the deposited quicklime. There is an inspection or poking hole towards the top of the base. The pot stands above a draw hole with support bar. The draw hole and poking hole are served by a stone and brick-lined, vaulted working area. To either side of the draw hole, the brick corners of the walls are rounded. Due to the intense heat created, many of the bricks in and around the pot are vitrified. There is a raised step up from the working area into a wider storage area and a passageway leading south to the entrance. The storage area and passageway are vaulted in brick with stone walls, and form an L-plan. At the entrance are a threshold stone to the floor, and a stone pig trough. The interior working spaces have brick floors.

HISTORY: A watermill, pond and fishery are recorded on the River Trent at Sandon from the early-medieval period, on what is now the Earl of Harrowby's Sandon Estate. The estate was sold by Archibald Hamilton to the 1st Baron Harrowby in 1776, the year before the completion of the Trent and Mersey Canal, which runs a short distance to the north of the old mill site. Harrowby commissioned Samuel Wyatt to remodel Sandon Hall at this time. The mill fell into disuse in the C18, and a new flint and corn mill was built next to the canal in 1792/3 by Sampson Handley. Flint mills supplied ground flint to potteries, the flint being employed to strengthen and whiten the finished pottery product. Flint was also used for improving the finish of glazes. Handley's Mill formed the focus of a small industrial site by 1802, by which time outhouses and limekilns had been described on Sandon Estate records. However, the limekiln is not shown on an Estate Map of 1802 or a tithe map of 1832. It is likely that the kiln was constructed in the later C18 to provide lime for spreading on the agricultural Estate land, and for building purposes on the Estate. The canalside site indicates that the kiln is of post-1776 date; located close to deliveries of limestone and coal. Payments for deliveries of lime are recorded on the Estate accounts of 1797 and later.

As the C19 progressed, the water-powered milling of flint became less viable as larger, steam-powered mills, often in the urban centres of the Midlands, were more efficient and productive. As a result, the mill gradually declined in activity and the kiln probably ceased to burn lime in around 1850. It is thought that the kiln continued to be used for the burning of flint until the 1860s. The mill closed c1870. The kiln is marked on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1881 as Old Lime Kiln. During the years following the closure of the mill, the principal buildings on the site were converted to agricultural and then residential use by the Estate. It is thought that the kiln was used to house pigs, and the brick floor was re-laid at a raised level, and a small stone trough was inserted to the right of the entrance arch. During the C20 the well of the kiln became gradually infilled, and the mound became further overgrown with vegetation. During the mid-C20 part of the north/ west rubble stone walls of the kiln were removed. In the C21, the vegetation has largely been cleared and the well emptied. A lean-to shed attached to the south-east corner of the kiln has been removed. The kiln has had a detailed survey and there are ongoing plans to restore the structure. The historic mill and farm buildings continue to stand close by, and are currently (2010) in residential use.

SOURCES:
A Andrews, Sandon Mill and Limekiln, Journal of the Staffordshire Industrial Archaeology Society no. 18, 2004, 5-34
A & J Andrews, Sandon Limekiln: Survey and Archaeology, Journal of the Staffordshire Industrial Archaeology Society no. 18, 2004, 38-79
H Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840 (1995), 1125
Robert Melville and Partners, Sandon Lime and Flint Kiln Proposed Repairs Particular Specification and Schedule of Works, General Specification and Drawings, 2004

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
Sandon Limekiln of c1790, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural: the limekiln is built to an unusual pyramid design with hints of neo-classical inspiration, including an entrance with pediment and cornice.
* Technological: the unusual, shouldered kiln pot, the atypical interior L-plan with storage area, and its dual use for burning both lime and flint, considerably add to the building's special interest.
* Intactness: the building is largely intact in its original form.
* Rarity: late C18 limekilns are rare survivals, and ones also used for calcining flint, and with designed features, even more so.

Reasons for Listing

Sandon Limekiln, Trent Lane, Sandon, of c1790 meets the criteria for designation and should be listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural: the limekiln is built to an unusual pyramid design with hints of neo-classical inspiration, including an entrance with pediment and cornice.
* Technological: the unusual, shouldered kiln pot, the atypical interior L-plan with storage area, and its dual-use for burning both lime and flint, considerably add to the building's special interest.
* Intactness: the building is largely intact in its original form.
* Rarity: late C18 limekilns are rare survivals, and ones also used for calcining flint, and with designed features, even more so.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675234

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
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  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
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  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)