Garnbwll Limekiln

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of two limekilns, in which lime is made by calcining limestone. The main kiln is just over 4m high and built into a gentle slope. It is constructed of well coursed rubble limestone in an unusual curving form. A long wing wall forming the access ramp to the top of the kiln curves gently to the front of the kiln, then turns more sharply back towards the hillside, forming a comma or tadpole shape overall. The front contains a single slightly pointed drawing arch with a domed rear and single drawing hole. The top of the kiln has the remains of a low parapet and the partially filled depression of the charging hole, which appears to have been without any brick lining. The adjacent kiln survives only as a depression in the bank with remnants of vitrified stonework, and may have been of a more primitive intermittent type.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of industrial manufacturing processes. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. A lime kiln may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is a circle and measures 15m in diameter.