Lime Kiln, Bighouse, Co.Antrim

Lime Kiln, Bighouse

A single-pot lime kiln of later 19th or earlier 20th century date, built on the north-west side of Murlough Road near Ballycastle in County Antrim. This is a typical example of the small rural lime kilns that once served local communities across the region.

The kiln is constructed of random rubble basalt with an admixture of limestone rubble on its frontage. It is of square plan, cut into the slope with its frontage facing south-east. The draw hole at the base of the facade comprises a keystoned segmental arch which opens into a splayed reveal containing three arches of diminishing size, the smallest positioned directly over the actual hole. All arches are built with roughly dressed basalt voussoirs. The draw hole is now partially buried under sediment accumulation. On either side of the front arch are small rectangular damper holes that controlled the rate of burning in the pot. A narrow string course runs across the facade just above the crown of the outer arch, above which sits a semicircular blind arch. This blind arch appears to be decorative rather than structural, as the drawhole opening beneath it is arched rather than flat-headed. The top of the kiln is flat, with a single circular stone-lined pot at centre. Stonework around the pot is consolidated in places with cement. The pot tapers slightly towards its bottom, though the draw hole is not visible due to sedimentation.

The kiln stands on exposed, treeless moorland high above Murlough Bay, within the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Approximately 40 metres to its north-east lies a limestone outcrop with a small quarry from which the stone was extracted. The slope directly behind the kiln has been levelled to facilitate filling of the pot. The single-lane road in front would have been used to transport lime to points of use.

The structure has group value with another nearby kiln located north-east, and is situated within a scheduled zone. The fabric of the kiln is original and intact. Prior to the advent of cement and artificial fertilisers, such kilns held considerable economic value to local communities in producing burnt lime for use as fertiliser, building mortar and whitewash.

Cartographic evidence provides two possible developmental sequences for the kiln as it now stands. The 1832 Ordnance Survey map shows a lime kiln at this location along with a small quarry behind it. The 1855 edition shows only the quarry. A disused lime kiln appears on the 1904 map, and 'L.K.' is marked on the 1922 edition, with the quarry shown on both maps. The evidence suggests either: (1) the kiln was constructed in the later 19th century as a replacement of an early 19th century example, then became disused but was back in operation in the 1920s, or (2) it was erected between 1904 and 1922 as a replacement of the disused kiln shown on the 1904 map. By 1971, it was disused again. The kiln remains of local interest as a prominent roadside landmark on this desolate moorland.