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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 76 SW 68
Type of record:Monument
Name:Lee's Cement and Lime works, Halling

Summary

A lime and cement works was established at Halling prior to 1846 when it was purchased by William Lee. From 1855 it was run by the company Lee, Son & Smith until at least 1900. In 1868 the works consisted of several large banks of limekilns. All the kiln banks were connected to branch lines from the main line railway and by standard gauge railway from Lee's Pit, to the west of Holborough House. By the end of the nineteenth century the southern banks of lime kilns were still in opperation but the northern part of the works had expanded dramatically and had been rebuilt as a cement works. A series of large processing buildings were situated at the centre of the site. By 1938 the old lime kilns at the site's southern end were disused as was the dock at the northern end. A derelict engineering shed related to the railway is all that remains now at the site.


Grid Reference:TQ 7074 6319
Map Sheet:TQ76SW
Parish:HALLING, MEDWAY, KENT

Monument Types

  • CEMENT WORKS (Post Medieval - 1846 AD? to 1846 AD)
  • LIME KILN (Post Medieval - 1846 AD? to 1846 AD?)
  • LIME WORKS (Post Medieval - 1846 AD? to 1846 AD?)
  • TRAMWAY (Post Medieval to Modern - 1850 AD? to 1960 AD?)

Full description

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A lime and cement works was established at Halling prior to 1846 when it was perchased by William Lee. From 1855 it was run by the company Lee, Son & Smith until at least 1900. In the 1860's Lee gained a licence to produce Scott's patent selenitic lime (which would harden, not slake in water) at the works. (1) In 1868 the works consisted of several large banks of limekilns, two banks at the south and western sides of the works dock and one or two more banks further to the north on the western side of a large building at right angles to the pier. All the kiln banks were connected to branch lines from the main line railway and by standard gauge railway from Lee's Pit, to the west of Holborough House. By the end of the nineteenth century the southern banks of lime kilns were still in opperation but the northern part of the works had expanded dramatically and had been rebuilt as a cement works. A series of large processing buildings were situated at the centre of the site with washbacks on their western sides and three banks of intermittent kilns on the river side and facing a new dock added at the northern boundary of the site. By 1938 the old lime kilns at the site's southern end were disused but the rest of the site was intact with some expansion in the centre of the site. The dock at the northern end was disused by this point. South of the main building were several small tramway engine sheds and other structures (2). One of these survives and is the last surviving structure at the site. a large brick shed with steel beams set into the wall and a substantial platformat one end. Although the shed does not seem to have been directly connected to a works tramway it seems most likely to have been an engineering shop for the railway. It is presently derelict.(3)
There is some trace of the brick built kiln dating from the 1850s to the south of the barge dock, and also some trace of a concrete structure (kiln) to the west of the dock [2009].(4)


<1> AJ Francis, History of the Cement Industry 1796-1914, Page Nos. 241 (Bibliographic reference). SKE6454.

<2> N/A, Ordnance Survey Map. Old Monarch record with attached monuments, OS 1ST 2ND 3RD & 4TH ED. 1868, 1897, 1908 & 1933 (Map). SKE6458.

<4> Jim Preston Personal Communication (Verbal communication). SKE13236.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>Bibliographic reference: AJ Francis. History of the Cement Industry 1796-1914. Page Nos. 241.
<2>Map: N/A. Ordnance Survey Map. Old Monarch record with attached monuments. OS 1ST 2ND 3RD & 4TH ED. 1868, 1897, 1908 & 1933.
<4>Verbal communication: Jim Preston Personal Communication.

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