MSO7481 - Lime Kiln Quarry, Luxborough (Monument)

Extensive quarry and excavation to the south of main quarry. There is a limekiln at SS 9659 3884. The quarry was closed in the early 1920s. [1] The waterwheel is situated beside the kiln at SS 9653 3888 and was used to haul tubs up incline (still partly visible). The wheel pit and pond still extant. The waterwheel has an overshot wheel 15 feet by 30 feet, reputedly made by Hawke's of Taunton. It was fed by leat from a small stream around the side of pit to a small head pond. The waterwheel was still in use in 1932. [2] The nearby lane is called "Kiln Lane" on the Ordnance Survey Archaeological Division 6 inch map. [3] The kiln is in fairly good condition, although vegetation is beginning to threaten the masonry structure. To the south is a slight depression which may mark the site of an earlier kiln. On the north side of the kiln is a wheel pit, which formerly housed a 15 foot overshot wheel. The bearing mountings survive as do parts of the laundering. The wheel was used to power a single track incline from the quarry. [4] The Kiln is 3.8 metres in diameter and 5 metres high. The waterwheel has a width of 0.9 metres and a diameter of 4.3 metres. The sides of the wheel pit remain at their original height and the pit contains the remains of the timber baulks which supported the axle. Other significant artifacts found during field investigate were metal sleepers and the winch handle. The Luxborough Tithe map of 1843 shows a circular kiln in a plot refered to as 'Lime Kiln Quarry'. The kiln on the 1902 Ordnanace Survey map is not in the location of the current kiln but further east in the location of the possible older kiln. The 1902 map also shows a range of building to the north-west,but there is no remaining evidence of these. In the 1840's the kiln was operated for and by Nurcott Farm, however by the late 1870's the lime was being produced for use across the estate. By the late 1930's the quarry site was abandoned. The machinery was recovered for scrap during the Second World War. The combination of a kiln and waterwheel located so close together may be virtually unique. [5] Documented. [6] 19th century lime kiln built of random rubble with a sloping front face, 4 metres high, with a broad segmental draw arch. There is a single draw eye with an iron lintel. [7] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [8,9] The quarry is mentioned in a publication on the industrial archaeology of Somerset. [10]