kiln

Freestanding single-bay lime kiln on rectangular-plan, erected c. 1860. Now out of use. Constructed of roughly coursed rubble stone masonry. Round-headed opening to front (south) having roughly squared rubble stone voussoirs. Former loading chamber to top having rubble masonry construction. Built into sloping ground with former quarries adjacent to the north. Earthen embankment to rear, formerly giving access to loading chamber. Set back from road in rural location to the east\south-east of Manorcunningham. Additional lime kiln to the south (see 40905432) and double lime kiln to the south-east (see 40905422).

This interesting former lime kiln, probably originally erected during the mid-nineteenth century, survives in good condition and retains its early character. It is well-built using local rubble stone masonry and is an appealing and unassuming element of the agricultural/industrial and social heritage of County Donegal. The embankment to the rear was built/modified to allow for the easy loading of stone through an opening in the roof structure, while the aperture to the front was used to fire the oven to burn the stone and produce lime. Lime kilns appear to have come into popular use in Ireland during the eighteenth century and were a very common feature in the rural landscape up until the first decades of the twentieth century. They were used to burn limestone to produce lime, which was used as an agricultural fertilizer and spread on agricultural land, or in construction as a mortar and a render. Lime was also used for lime-washing buildings, particularly farm buildings, as it was regarded as a cleansing agent at the time. This small-scale kiln was probably in use by a local farmer and probably provided lime to small farmers etc. in the immediate environs. Small rural lime kilns started to go out of common usage during the late nineteenth-century with the advent of industrial-scale lime production facilities and improvements in the transport network, particularly the development of the railways. This simple feature is an interesting feature in the rural landscape to the east of Manorcunningham, and is an integral element of the built heritage of the local area. It is one of a number of former lime kilns in close proximity at Lismoghry (see 40905432 and 40905422 for other sites) that were associated with a quarry adjacent to the north, which indicates small-scale local industrial activity at the time of use.