Lime Kilns, 1049 Crumlin Road, Belfast, County Antrim

Lime Kilns, 1049 Crumlin Road, Belfast

These are a pair of derelict shaft-type lime kilns dating from the 1920s, located in an abandoned limestone quarry on the south-eastern slopes of Squire's Hill, just west of the junction of the Crumlin and Hightown Roads, in the townland of Upper Ballysillan. They were built to produce quicklime by burning limestone with fuel, typically coal or coke. The quarry from which the limestone was obtained lay on higher ground above the kilns; it is now infilled and capped, though high, steep banks of earth and stone still surround the kilns, which are reached along a concrete road from the Crumlin Road.

Architectural Description

The two kilns sit within a substantial brick base aligned north-east to south-west, held together with three metal tie rods secured to angle-irons running up each corner. The base is built mostly of red brick set in cement-rich mortar, with some yellow brickwork to the draw hole façade on the south-east elevation — this could indicate a later repair, or simply reflect a different source of brick used during original construction. The base is presumably solid, designed to retain the heat generated by the two kilns contained within it.

On the south-east elevation there are two draw holes, both now heavily overgrown. Each has a shallow segmental-arched concrete head that slopes inward and downward into a square, brick-lined room directly beneath each kiln. The ceilings of these rooms are of cast concrete, and from the centre of each ceiling — projecting in the direction of the draw hole — hangs a square metal chute, now in poor condition. The other three sides of the base are largely exposed and without openings; the north-east elevation is also heavily overgrown. The top of the base is flat and capped with concrete.

A reinforced-concrete platform originally bridged the gap between the north-west side of the base and the ground beyond, providing access to the tops of the kilns for loading. Large fragments of this platform now lie on the ground; it was probably deliberately broken up to prevent access after the kilns were abandoned.

Projecting above the top of the base are two cylindrical stacks. These are constructed of firebrick and are clad externally with riveted metal sheeting. One of the firebricks is indented with the mark "Thistle / 12", identifying them as refractory bricks manufactured by J.G. Stein of Scotland. The top of each stack narrows to a smaller circular brick flue, though that of the south-west stack has largely collapsed. On the north-west face of each kiln is a large square hinged opening through which limestone and fuel were loaded into the shafts. Vestiges of what may be a draught-control lever survive at the top of the north-east stack.

Type and Significance

The kilns are probably of the type known as "continuous draw" kilns, in which burnt lime was produced on an ongoing basis: as burnt lime was extracted from the bottom of the kiln, fresh layers of limestone and fuel were added at the top. There is no clear evidence that they were of the more efficient "regenerative" type, in which both shafts were worked simultaneously with the exhaust gases from one shaft used to pre-heat the other before the cycle was reversed.

Shaft-type kilns are rare in Northern Ireland, and this pair represents an unusual survival. Their architectural interest lies in their structural form, which differs significantly from traditional lime kilns. They are also largely unaltered, making them an authentic reflection of the continued industrial use of burnt lime during the earlier part of the 20th century, before cement became the dominant building material.

Earlier Kilns on the Same Site

A short distance to the north-east of the shaft kilns stands a bank of four earlier kilns of traditional design, aligned east to west across the slope and dating from the later 19th century. These make an interesting contrast with the 1920s kilns in terms of scale, construction materials, and structural form. The continuous front wall of this bank is of random rubble, now partly buried under soil and collapsed along its western half. Only the left-hand draw hole remains visible amid the overgrowth; it has a segmental-arched head sloping down to a large horizontal stone lintel over the extraction hole. Behind the façade, all four circular pots are still discernible, though all have partly collapsed and are largely infilled. Notably, the pots are lined with random rubble rather than brick. A loading terrace runs level across the back of the pots, from which quarried limestone and fuel were layered into the pots for burning.

Historical Background

The 1857 Ordnance Survey map shows a small quarry and several single-pot kilns on this site. The 1859 Valuation book records them as belonging to Thomas McCullough. By 1880 ownership had passed to David McCullough, and from 1884 to James McCullough, though the kilns are recorded as "not worked" from 1889 onwards. The bank of four traditional kilns to the north-east first appears on the 1901 Ordnance Survey map without any notation as "disused", suggesting they were operational at that date and had superseded the earlier defunct kilns.

In 1905, Samuel McGladery leased ground in Upper Ballysillan from the Earl of Shaftesbury for the purpose of quarrying limestone, with two leases signed in March and August of that year. The August lease was conditional on McGladery winning a contract to supply Belfast Corporation Gasworks with lime, which was used in the purification of coal gas. McGladery also entered into agreements with neighbouring landowners in both Ballysillan and Upper Ballysillan for them to supply him with dressed quarried limestone ready for burning.

The two shaft kilns under review first appear on the 1931 Ordnance Survey map and again on the 1937 edition, where they are marked "L.K." They were therefore built during the 1920s, most likely to meet demand generated by the building boom of the inter-war years.

A return of the quarry's output for 1935, submitted by Gerald McGladery and Co., recorded the production of 11,500 tons of limestone for the manufacture of lime and cement, a further 50 tons for the fluxing of blast furnaces, and 5,750 tons of lump and/or ground white lime. The fuel consumed — 1,110 tons of coke and 430 tons of coal — suggests substantial lime burning was taking place, as it is unlikely all this fuel would have been used solely for steam-powered bucket excavators removing blasted stone from the quarry face. For 1936, output was 6,600 tons of limestone for lime and cement, 50 tons for fluxing, and 3,300 tons of lump and/or ground white lime, with 700 tons of coke consumed — approximately one ton of coke per ten tons of burnt lime. The 1936 Valuation entry also records Gerald McGladery as the owner of the limestone quarry.

Ownership passed to Herbert McGladery and Co. around 1941. The Belfast Street Directories do not cover this locality until 1951, when McGladery and Co. are listed as "lime burners", indicating the kilns were still in use. By 1960, Herbert McGladery and Co. are recorded in the Directory as "hydrators and lime burners." The 1966 Ordnance Survey map marks the pair simply as "Kiln", suggesting continued use at that date. By 1973 the street directories record a change of ownership to Casting and Engineering NI, implying that lime burning had ceased. By 1990 this firm had also disappeared from the directories, suggesting the site had been abandoned for quarrying purposes as well.