Dear Michael,
Thankyou for your messages. I recently bought the Ken Isham book and read with interest the notes on the Moorswater kilns. The date of construction of the eastern kilns is not mentioned, but as the lease began in 1830, I would assume that this was the date of construction, and therefore the plane was of the same date as the surviving kiln on the west side. This could I suppose mean that both kilns were copied from the Tavistock one, although if I understand the book correctly, the eastern ones were built into the hillside. I am currently studying the Tavistock, Morwellham and New Quay kilns, only the Tavistock kiln being free-standing; the others being hillside kilns. The Tavistock kiln is known to have been built in 1817-18, but the others can only be placed into the period c.1817-1832. My personal interpretation is that they were all built between 1817 and 1820, but cannot at present prove this. I also suspect that John Taylor had a hand in their design, but again c!
an't prove it. I will be surveying the kilns over the next Winter, with the intention of putting the resultant article in the Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings.
I would like to look at any old maps of the Moorswater kilns, to see if any details of their layout is discernible for a comparison with the West Devon kilns. Do you know of any suitable maps, and where they are to be found?
Robert Waterhouse
>
> From: Michael Messenger <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Sat 12/Jul/2003 16:36 GMT
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Lime kilns with inclined planes
>
> At Moorswater, on the west side of Liskeard, there were three limekilns all
> served by waterwheel powered inclines, close to the head of the Liskeard &
> Looe Union Canal. Of the two on the east side of the valley only on bank
> survives and there is no trace of the incline or wheel.
>
> The kiln on the east side, however, is not only fairly intact but has the
> remains of the undershot water wheel and winch, and has a plateway
> turntable at the head of where the incline reached it. The track was
> carried up from the canal side and one of the supporting pillars can be
> seen. This kiln was built about 1830 by William Hodge, in consultation with
> Robert Coad, the canal engineer. It appears that Hodge based the design on
> kilns he had seen at Tavistock, belong to Gill and Rundle, which also had a
> waterwheel powered incline, which he describes in detail. Ken Isham's
> excellent book "Lime Kilns and Limeburners in Cornwall" (Cornish Hillside
> 2000) goes into it in some detail. There are pictures of the kiln showing
> the ramp in my "Caradon & Looe; the canal, railways and mines" (Twelveheads
> 2001).
>
> Michael Messenger
>
>
> At 16:53 07/07/03 +0000, you wrote:
>
> >Dear List,
> >
> >I am currently researching a small group of limekilns in the Tavistock
> >area in west Devon, which were served by inclined planes, powered by
> >waterwheels. I am looking for other examples, in the UK I assume. Can
> >anyone help? The examples in Devon seem to have been built circa 1816-18,
> >but remained in use until circa 1870. They may have a connection with the
> >engineer John Taylor, and I wonder if there are any examples in the
> >Grassington area for example? Are there any inclines associated with
> >blast furnaces?
> >
> >
> >_______
>
> -----------------------------------------
> Michael Messenger
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.twelveheads.com/
> -----------------------------------------
>
>
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