Kiln - lime, Glenaknockane, Co. Cork

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Kilns

Kiln – lime, Glenaknockane, Co. Cork

At Glenaknockane in north Cork, a lime kiln sits half-swallowed by the hillside, its front wall still holding at roughly four metres high despite the slow collapse of its flanks.

A circular funnel, nearly two metres across, remains visible at the overgrown top, and a lintelled recess in the front elevation, framed by sloping slabs at the rear, marks where the burned lime was once raked out. The whole structure measures about thirteen and a half metres east to west, built directly into the natural slope on the western side of the road, which is exactly how these kilns typically worked: the incline gave access to the top for loading, while the draw arch at the bottom allowed the finished product to be extracted.

Lime kilns were once a common feature of the Irish agricultural landscape, used to burn limestone at high temperatures and produce quicklime, which farmers spread on acidic soils to improve fertility. They fell out of general use as industrially produced lime became widely available, and most were simply abandoned in place. The construction here is typical of smaller rural examples: a random-rubble front wall with an earthen core providing insulation, and looser stonework on the sides that, without regular maintenance, has gradually given way. The dimensions suggest a kiln of reasonable local ambition rather than an industrial operation, serving a farm or cluster of farms in the area rather than a commercial market.

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Pete F
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