Ovengebouw, Ringovenstraat 12

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Introduction.

Situated at the western edge of the core of Panningen, a former ring kiln building, consisting of a RING KILN, an outer structure and a crowning chimney. The ring kiln building originally formed part of the 'N.V. Heldensche Steenfabriek'. At the commission of W.H. Janssen from Helden, architect A. Vostermans from Tegelen designed the ring kiln in 1909 in a craftsman-traditional building style. In 1940, architect P. Jacobs partially renewed the outer structure. Architect H. van den Hombergh modified the front facade in 1956. The chimney, destroyed during the Second World War, was rebuilt shortly after 1945. The ring kiln remained in use until the early 1990s and was at that time the last traditionally functioning ring kiln in Limburg.

In 1957 and 1964, shed extensions were erected on the rear (west side) of the ring kiln building. Outbuildings on the former business premises, including a former director's house with adjoining coal shed and an elongated drying shed, fall outside national monument protection. The character of the coarse ceramic industry changed fundamentally when, from 1900 onwards, several new kiln types were developed. The ring kiln was by far the most prominent representative of this. Traditional kilns were all periodically fired kilns. That is to say, the kiln had to be re-ignited each time and had to cool down again after firing. This took a long time, produced relatively many misfires, and considerable heat was lost in the process. The introduction of the ring kiln represented a major and remarkable improvement in this field. With this kiln, brick production could be considerably increased, bricks of higher quality could be fired, production could be conducted much more efficiently than before, and a substantial saving in fuel costs could be achieved.

Description.

The brick ring kiln building occupies a rectangular floor plan and features a basilical layout. In the predominantly half-bonded central section is the ring kiln with an overlying firing floor under a saddle roof covered with red pantiles. Internally a collar-tie roof truss. The supporting roof timbers and solid-wall building timbers rest on wooden posts placed against the inside of the floor breastwork. Between the posts, six wooden windows on each facade wall provide lighting for the firing floor. On either side of the central section are lower business rooms under sloping lean-to roofs, also covered with red pantiles, supported by wooden timber-framed roof trusses. These rooms, accessible via wooden entrance doors, are built in cross bonding. They served primarily as temporary storage and transhipment areas for green bricks or already fired products.

The rebuilt brick chimney is located slightly west of the centre of the building. On a square base rises a high chimney pipe, reinforced with iron bands, with a slight taper. The chimney, inseparably linked to the ring kiln, guaranteed strong draught, and thus a high firing temperature. For the production of bricks, the kiln had to be capable of reaching 1250 degrees. The ring kiln, situated in the interior, occupies an elliptical floor plan. It is a coal-fired ring kiln with a maximum capacity of 15,000 bricks. The heart of the kiln is formed by the main flue, which connects with various small exhaust channels and is directly connected to the chimney. Surrounding it runs the ring; an oval-shaped, three metre-wide kiln shaft with a barrel vault. The ring and exhaust channels are built of refractory bricks. In the ring, these bricks have been nearly glazed by the heat. The masonry of the recessed outer walls consists likewise of brick. The inner structure of the thick kiln walls consists of 'koëten': pieces and fragments of stone, worked with clay. The ring is accessible via sixteen arched-topped, numbered loading ports. Each loading port provides access to a so-called chamber. From a business organizational perspective, the ring was divided into sixteen chambers, each four metres long and three metres wide at the longer sides. During the firing process they were separated from each other by clay paper walls. When a chamber was stacked full of green bricks, the loading port was temporarily sealed up. Once the fire in the kiln was lit, it burned for the entire season. The firing zone moved from chamber to chamber through the shaft and circled several times in a season. Two crews worked in the ring kiln. The loaders worked ahead of the fire and continuously stacked the next section of the shaft with green bricks. The unloaders worked behind the fire and continuously emptied the next section of the shaft. In this way, a continuous firing process was created. The air required for firing was drawn in through that section of the shaft where products that had already been fired were located, and could warm up on them. The combustion gases released during firing were drawn out through the chimney with its aid. But before they reached the chimney, they were drawn through that section of the shaft where the green bricks still to be fired were stacked, which thus became preheated.

The combustion process was regulated from the firing floor located above the ring. From here, the stoker dropped coal through firing holes between the stacked green bricks. Furthermore, the stoker could regulate the draught in the individual chambers by means of dampers and valves. On the firing floor, equipped with a sturdy brick floor in connection with the intake and discharge of coal, various remnants of valves and firing pots have been preserved.

Valuation.

The ring kiln building, consisting of ring kiln, outer structure and chimney, is of general importance. The object possesses great cultural-historical value. It is important as a distinctive expression of the socio-economic developments in the North Limburg brick industry in the early twentieth century. As an essential part of a larger industrial brick factory, where the former capital-extensive and very labour-intensive character has been replaced by a capital-intensive and less labour-intensive enterprise, the object is also important for the typological development of brick factories. In this respect, the ring kiln illustrates an innovative phase in business development. The object possesses architectural-historical and industrial-archaeological value. The ring kiln can be considered important for the history of building and kiln technology.

The object possesses ensemble values because of the still legible historical-spatial coherence with various other components of the former 'N.V. Heldensche Steenfabriek'. Furthermore, the object possesses ensemble values because of its urban planning situation at the edge of the village core facing open countryside, formerly very characteristic of the coarse ceramic industry. Moreover, the ring kiln building with its striking chimney silhouette forms an image-defining component of the historic buildings on Ringovenstraat and thus also helps determine the appearance and character of the neighbourhood. The object represents considerable rarity value. Of the ring kilns once so frequently used within the Limburg coarse ceramic industry, the present object is the only surviving example in North Limburg.