Description and History of Site:-
The site consists of a large quarry with three discrete components, one now filled with landfill material, a Hoffmann continuous kiln, the remains of a twin battery of Spencer 1900-patent steel-clad kilns, remains of crushing plant and ancillary buildings, the site office/manager's house/workshop, the engine shed and former stables, one main incline, one smaller incline, several tramway beds, one tramway tunnel, remains of one incline drumhouse, and a buried network of railway sidings and two linear rail docks. The 22-chamber-Hoffmann kiln is more of less intact and is accessible to public view as is most of the site. This Hoffmann is the best preserved such lime kiln in the country.Clark, Wilson & Co. expanded their operations from Mealbank Quarry (q.v.) by leasing the site that beame the Craven Limeworks in 1872, changing the company name to the Craven Lime Co. Ltd, and taking full advantage of its position adjacent to the Settle-Carlisle Railway then under construction. The Hoffmann kiln was built with 16 chambers, extended to 22 in the late 1890s when the kiln's flue system wad substantially modified according to the Sercombe principle of 1895. The kiln roof was removed at the same time and the water-balance hoist system for lifting coal wagons on to the kiln top was also rebuilt to a more efficient design. The kiln was in continuous operation from 1873 to the General Strike in 1926 when it went down to 1 fire instead of 2 for a short period; the kiln was decommisioned in 1931 but re-commissioned with 1 fire in 1937 to meet the demand for agricultural lime, but closed down for good in 1939.
Meanwhile, a battery of twin Spencer kilns was erected at the south end of the site between 1900 and 1907, but these were decommissioned after only 20 years with the steel cladding being sold as scrap in World War II.
The site as a whole was then just used as a stocking ground for crushed stone from the Ribblesdale Limeworks' Arcow Quarry (q.v.) at Helwith Bridge, for up to 20 years. In 1967 it became a landfill site and remained thus until 1989. Either side of the 2001 Foot and Mouth crisis the Hoffmann kiln and other structures were consolidated and opened as a low-key visitor attraction.
Further Reading and References:-
Johnson, D. Limestone industries of the Yorkshire Dales. Amberley, 2010. pp. 112-47.
Johnson, D. 'Friedrich Edouard Hoffmann and the invention of continuous kiln technology: the archaeology of the Hoffmann lime kiln and 19th-century industrial development'. "Industrial Archaeology Review" XXIV, 2002, pp. 119-32; XXV 2003, pp. 15-29.
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Key Words :- limestone quarry hoffmann lime kiln spencer
Viewing the Site :- publicly accessible with a visitor trail
Address :- B6479, Langcliffe, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9NU
Grid Ref :- SD 82378 66335
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.092613 , Long -2.270919
Local Authority :- Craven District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Scheduled Ancient Monument SAM
Historic England List No - 1020888,
Site Condition :- Site conserved
Site Dates :- 1872 - 1940
Contributor :- David Johnson - 28 April 2016
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © David Johnson
Grid Ref :- SD 82378 66335
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.092613 , Long -2.270919
Local Authority :- Craven District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Scheduled Ancient Monument SAM
Historic England List No - 1020888,
Site Condition :- Site conserved
Site Dates :- 1872 - 1940
Contributor :- David Johnson - 28 April 2016
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © David Johnson