Coastal Limekilns in South-West Wales

Abstract

In the Welsh History Review (1988, No. I, pp. 54–77) I discussed in some detail various aspects of the historical role of lime on the Welsh farm, in addition to considering the economics of the coastal trade in limestone between the Carboniferous Limestone areas of Pembrokeshire and other parts of the Principality. The present contribution considers some technical aspects of the business of lime burning, with details of some of the surviving kilns on the north Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire coasts.

In its various forms lime has been applied to the service of man since antiquity. While the fashioning of statuary, the manufacture of parchment, the preparation of skins for tanning, and the concoction of a wide range of cosmetics and medicaments were among the minor uses of lime, it was, of course, as a vital component in building construction that the material was primarily prized.