The arched recess at its base, just over two metres high and two metres wide, is the most recognisable feature of this type of structure; it is where the burned lime would have been raked out once the firing was complete. The funnel at the top, through which layers of limestone and fuel were loaded, has since been filled in, which gives the structure a slightly truncated appearance from above.

Lime kilns were once a common sight across rural Ireland, used to convert local limestone into quicklime by sustained burning at high temperatures. The resulting material was spread on fields to reduce soil acidity, mixed into mortar for building work, or used in whitewashing. They were practical, localised structures, usually built into a slope precisely as this one was, so that carts could deliver raw stone to the top while the processed lime was collected from the arched draw-hole at the front. The Bengour kiln fits that pattern closely. Its front elevation of 4.85 metres is a reasonable indicator of a working structure built to handle meaningful quantities of material, not a small domestic affair but something serving a farm or a wider agricultural community in west Cork.