Building record 2946/1/2 - Lime Kilns near Baytree Farm

<1> Kirkham, L, 2004, Astbury Hydraulic Lime Works, Newbold, Cheshire, p.68 (Article in Journal). SCH7737.

The two lime kilns and the adjoining building were constructed as part of the 1880s reorganisation of Astbury Limeworks (see 2946/1/0). They were used to produce white lime, uncontaminated by coal or ash, for plaster.

<2> Kitching, D, Various, Limekilns, Newbold Astbury (Web Site). SCH7738.

In the nineteenth century there were two banks of kilns of which only the later ones, at Astbury Sidings adjacent to the North Staffordshire Railway, have survived. The others were demolished by Arthur Potts of Baytree Farm in the 1960's. The remaining structures at Astbury comprise a rare survival of the kilns, offices, warehouse and weighbridge of a small rural limeworks of the nineteenth century.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1896-1898, Ordnance Survey First Revision County Series (Epoch 2) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ8559, 1898-1899 (Maps and Plans). SCH3848.

The kilns and the adjoining building are clearly depicted as part of the larger complex adjacent to the railway.

<4> Historic England, 2015-, Notification Report of Decision not to Designate, Organ C, 09/08/2018 (Written Communication). SCH7825.

Surviving lime kilns assessed for possible listing in 2018. The lime kilns and attached building under assessment were built in the late C19 in a railway yard which became known as Astbury Sidings. There have been lime works in the vicinity of Astbury Sidings since atleast 1708. The first quarry was located to the south-east in an area known as Limekiln Wood, adjacent to Limekiln Farm, and these early-C18 works included a quarry, kilns and associated buildings. During the 1880s the above-ground infrastructure of the lime works was relocated to land to the north of Baytree Farm and adjacent to an existing brick and tile works. A subterranean ‘pony level’ tunnel with three air shafts was cut to link the quarry at Limekiln Wood and the new site, which became known as the Astbury Lime Works.

The Astbury and Limekiln Woods sites were among the very few works in Cheshire where limestone was extracted and processed at the same location. Four lime kilns were established at the Astbury Lime Works, two near Baytree Farm (demolished 1960s) and two (under assessment here) within the nearby railway yard. The kilns within the railway yard were originally built as a free-standing structure and subsequently a brick building was added to the south side; probably as a workshop or warehouse. The kilns produced white lime for plaster, and are depicted on the second edition
1:2,500 Ordnance Survey Map (1898). The railway yard included a number of other lime works structures; most have been demolished although a weighing machine survives near the yard entrance. The production of lime continued into the C20, but by 1910 the works was no longer considered to be profitable and it closed in 1920. The pair of lime kilns within the railway yard was retained along with the attached building which was modified in the later C20 for use as a mechanics and timber workshop.

Details
Pair of lime kilns, late C19; attached building, late C19 with later-C20 modifications.

MATERIALS: the lime kilns are constructed of coursed-grit stone with two internal brick-lined chambers. The attached building is brick with a slate pitched roof.

PLAN: the lime kilns have a rectangular footprint, orientated roughly north-south. An L-shaped building is attached to the south end, with lean-tos attached to its east and south sides.

EXTERIOR: the pair of LIME KILNS has battered stone walls with an upper course of larger, more regular stones, beneath a flat roof, now (2018) covered in scrub. More regular stones have also been used at the corners to form quoins. The front (west) elevation contains two brick-lined round-arched openings topped by double-row brick voussoirs. The north-west corner of the kilns has suffered partial collapse and the top of one of the brick chambers is visible. The rear elevation has an attached C20 painted-brick platform and a metal shoot.

The ATTACHED BUILDING is two-storey with a pitched roof. The main (west) elevation has window openings with blue moulded-brick cills. To the ground floor are a central segmental-headed window (covered by a metal sheet), a double-leaf metal door with a large timber lintel to the left, and a timber door to the right. On the first floor is a central taking-in door which has been slightly lowered and widened, flanked by a pair of three-light windows, with early-C21 concrete lintels. The rear elevation has a large brick lean-to with a side entrance. The right return has a concrete-block lean-to; it replaced an earlier pitched-roof wing, the roof scar of which is still visible in the brick-partition wall.

INTERIOR: the ATTACHED BUILDING'S ground floor has been subdivided by plasterboard partitions. There are two blocked arched openings in the original southern gable-end wall, and the brick wall between the main range and the eastern lean-to retains openings of various dates. The ground-floor ceiling is supported by.

These kilns are relatively small-scale examples of industrial kilns. They have a largely functional design with battered walls, two arched draw-hole openings, and a line of stones placed at the top of the
structure to create a rudimentary parapet. They were originally built as a free-standing structure which is somewhat unusual as kilns are more commonly built into a bank with a slope reaching up to the top to facilitate the loading of the kiln pots. The lack of a bank suggests an alternative mode of loading; however, the evidence for this is no longer extant. The kilns have been subject to alterations, most notably the recent partial collapse of the northern end which has resulted in significant damage to one of the two kilns. The rear elevation has also been modified with the addition of a C20 brick platform and metal shoot that partially obscure the rear elevation. Although the kilns have an unusual form, this is not of sufficient structural interest in a national context to compensate for the overall modesty of the late-C19 kilns and the level of alteration.

The attached late-C19 building is a brick construction, possibly built as a small warehouse or workshop. It is a relatively plain structure with a main elevation (west) that includes a central first-floor taking-in door which has been slightly widened, and windows, some with C20 replacement lintels. Following the closure of the lime works in the early C20 the building was reused as a mechanics and a timber workshop; this led to the blocking of doors, the insertion of further openings, the replacement of the southern pitched-roof wing with a concrete-block lean-to, and the subdivision of the ground floor. Most of the original openings have widened, altered or blocked, and the king-post roof is a standard C19 construction. It is utilitarian industrial building which has been subject to later attentions that have affected the legibility of its original function.
The Astbury Sidings lime kilns and attached building are of local interest, particularly the kilns which are tangible evidence of an area with a strong association with the lime industry. However, both are late structures which have been subject to significant alterations and neither demonstrate sufficient architectural or historic interest to merit listing.

The pair of lime kilns and the attached building at Astbury Sidings, Newbold Astbury, Cheshire were not recommended for listing. A planning application to demolish the structures and build houses ion the site was submitted in 2018.