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| The Settle - Carlisle Railway | |
| Langcliffe Quarry and the Hoffman Kiln | |
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The
Hoffman Kiln.
OS grid reference SD663824 (View taken from the quarry waste tips above the kiln). The Hoffman kiln was developed in order to allow continuous operations. Lime production involved charging part of the kiln with limestone lumps, calcining them and then drawing off the quicklime produced. The design of the kiln with its 22 chambers allowed two continuous firing sequences to take place at once. The sequence of operations included chambers being loaded, pre-heated, burning, cooling and then unloading. The Craven Lime Company also operated a smaller Hoffman Kiln at Meal Bank Quarry, Ingleton. |
| Langcliffe
Quarry was worked by the Craven Lime Company which was working some time
before the Settle-Carlisle line was opened, construction of the Hoffman
Kiln being started in 1872 and completed in 1873. Product was despatched
by rail right from the start of operations on the line and continued until
the 1960's although the Hoffman Kiln ceased operations in 1939, lime production
then being from more modern Spencer Kilns.
Part of the quarry site was then used as a council depot and the quarry excavations used for refuse disposal. The refuse disposal site is now closed and the area has been landscaped. The quarry sidings were controlled by a signal box known as Stainforth Sidings but little evidence remains of the once extensive rail connections. |
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The
Hoffman Kiln.
OS grid reference SD663824 The quicklime produced from the calcining process would then be treated with water (hydrated) to produce slaked lime (also known as hydrated lime). The kiln was designed so that, at the same time as lime was being produced, in other parts of the kiln loading or discharging could also be taking place. The energy from the fuel used was conserved and used for pre-heating and drying the stone for calcination. |
| The chimney which bore the date of 1873 is no longer in place and was demolished in 1951 but the main kiln structure is intact and is in quite good condition. | |
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The
Hoffman Kiln - Inside the kiln
Photo taken in April 2000 On the left hand side of the photo are a series of access portals set into the kiln chamber. The chamber continues in the shape of an oval all the way around the perimeter of the kiln. |
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The
Triple Draw Kiln
Photo taken in April 2003 Also on the site is the Triple Draw Kiln, a remnant from the Murgatroyd's Lime Works, built in 1872 and almost obsolete when completed. the three kilns, built in a single bank, were partially cut into the limestone bedrock. They have brick-lined bowls. |
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The
Triple Draw Kiln
A
view of one of the kiln bowls
Recent improvements in
access to the various structures on the site make this early kiln much
more accessible, as the drawing points are close to the adjacent railway
line.
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| For further reading, see "Limestone Industries of the Yorkshire Dales" by David Johnson, containing an exhaustive treatment of the limestone industries of the Dales with a wealth of detail of the different types of lime kilns. | |
| It has been proposed that the kiln should be fully restored and made the centre of an interpretive centre at the site but as yet no firm progress has been made on the project. | |
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