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Summary

18th century limekiln on the east side of the West Okement River. Structure was consolidated by Dartmoor National Park Authority in 1985.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/20/2

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LIME KILN (XVIII - 1780 AD to 1790 AD)

Full description

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV262994.

Des=griffiths as above. Vis=10/8/1982 (griffiths) Remains of limekiln on east bank of west okement. Granite-built structure recessed into rock face. Semi-circular arch, 4m wide at base, with shaft to rear. The left hand side of the kiln has partially collapsed.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV262995.

Des=greeves, t. /archaeological sites within okehampton park and its vicinity/(1978)no e.7 in smr. On right bank of west okement just above meldon viaduct. Shown on 1780 courtenay map (greeves).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV262996.

Born, a. /tda/123(1991)224/limestone,limekilns and the limeburning industry north and west of dartmoor. The oldest of 2 surviving limekilns. Probably 18c. Restored by dartmoor national park authority (born).

Fletcher, M. + Newman, P. + Probert, S., 1997, The Meldon Industrial Landscape, Okehampton, Devon. An Archaeological Survey, 6-7 (Report - Survey). SDV346364.

Kiln has been built up against the solid rock face that forms the northern edge of the site and may mark the edge of an earlier quarry. Kiln is of the continuous draw type (introduced in the mid-18th century). Stabilised by Dartmoor National Park Authority in 1985. Earliest surviving on site; established by at least 1790, when depicted on the estate map for Okehampton Park (Devon Record Office). The now overgrown platform adjacent to the north side of the kiln is now occupied by a small structure depicted (but not described) on the Tithe Map.
The separation of this kiln from the 1839 workings and the possibility of contemporary west bank kilns suggests that it was disused at the time of the Tithe Map though its depiction implies it was still regarded as a serviceable asset. Reuse can be inferred from the fact that the expansion of the western quarry in the period between 1839 and 1885 subsumed most of the structures depicted on the Tithe Map including the kilns leaving the east side kiln the only source of processing on the site.
This kiln also serviced the quarry west of the river; apparent from the fact that the later dumping immediately to its east side created an incline, providing a clear passage from the West Okement to the charging platform at the kiln top. The incline is steep and evidence of some form of mechanical haulage is present in the form of a short channel visible from the top of the incline to the nearby remains of a small stone-built structure. From this the line of the channel is carried through a spur of dump material by a stone-lined conduit. Form and exact function of these features is unclear.
Original ramp and platform relating to this kiln are no longer visible and have been obscured by later activity. It is likely that after the decommissioning of this kiln, sometime between 1874 and 1885, there was no further large scale dumping on this side of the river.

Keene, P., 2007, Exploring a Dartmoor Valley. The Meldon Beneath Our Feet (Monograph). SDV360586.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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