Lime Kilns, Knocknadona Quarry, Moneybroom Road, Lisburn, Co Antrim, BT28

Lime Kilns at Knocknadona Quarry

This is a freestanding bank of five cylindrical lime kilns aligned east to west in the centre of an extensive disused limestone quarry on Moneybroom Road, Lisburn. The structure is a rare surviving example of 19th-century industrial lime burning and illustrates the industrial scale of operations at Knocknadona Quarry.

The kilns were built in three distinct phases. The earliest phase comprises three contiguous kilns along the eastern half of the bank, constructed from random rubble stone with brick quoins at both corners. The south and east elevations are slightly battered in profile; the north elevation is buried in the surrounding bank. At the base of the south elevation are three splayed draw holes with segmental brick arches for recovering burnt lime. The easternmost draw hole contains a steel bogey into which burnt lime was discharged. The arch of the third draw hole (from the east) is taller than the other two. The east side is braced with mass concrete buttresses.

The second phase comprises two additional kilns at the west end, which abut but are slightly inset from the original three. These are also random rubble construction but lack brick quoins. The draw hole of the eastern kiln of this pair has been rebuilt with a steel girder head replacing the original arch, with mass concrete repairs to the stonework above. The westernmost draw hole retains its original form. Markings indicate a former lean-to roof over this end, and vestiges remain of an adjoining roofless random rubble building, probably an office or store. Both phases of construction date from the 1800s, though precise dating is uncertain.

The third phase, probably dating from the 1920s or 1930s, involved doubling the height of all five kiln pots and constructing a reinforced concrete loading platform level with their tops. The heightened cylindrical walls are of cavity wall construction, comprising a firebrick inner lining, an air gap, and a concrete block outer skin. The lower halves of the raised sections (except at the east end) are enclosed by concrete block walls. The east kiln is surrounded by a brick wall with concrete piers rising to support the platform. A reinforced concrete ramp approximately 2.5 metres wide, rising from the north, provides access to the platform at its east end. This ramp rests on square concrete block piers and bridges an accommodation track, with mass concrete and concrete block abutments retaining the bank. A narrow passage between the first and second kilns provides access to a balcony across the front, with a metal safety rail but no protective railing around the overhead platform. At the top of each kiln pot is an open circular loading pot.

The structure is in reasonably sound condition but is heavily overgrown with ivy. To the north stands a brick chimney (HB19/03/065B) with which the kilns have group value. The remainder of the site comprises deep quarry pits with exposed limestone faces and basalt overlay, partly flooded and heavily vegetated.

Historical Context

Documentary evidence indicates that a small quarry and lime kiln existed at Knocknadona by 1832, shown on the Ordnance Survey six-inch map. The 1837 Ordnance Survey Memoir for Magheragall Parish recorded four lime kilns constantly in operation, producing lime sold to the public at between tenpence and one shilling threepence per barrel, with a yearly tax of ten guineas per burning kiln payable to Lord Hertford, the quarry owner. The 1859 Valuation book identifies Bennett Megarry as lessee from the Marquis of Hertford. By 1873, Megarry had abandoned quarrying operations and removed machinery including a pump engine. The site is marked as Knocknadona Quarry on the 1901 Ordnance Survey map with a block of four or possibly five kilns shown, suggesting the quarry had restarted in the later 19th century, although it remains uncertain whether these kilns date from the 1857–73 period or were erected after recommencement. The kilns appear on the 1920 map, with William Belshaw noted as taking over the quarry around 1919. He operated several quarries in the area and was likely responsible for enlarging the kiln pots. A ramp at the east end is shown on the 1971 map. Operations ceased during the later 20th century.

This intact structure represents the evolution of rural industrial construction techniques in Northern Ireland during the 19th and early 20th centuries and is of considerable industrial archaeological interest.