Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Mid 19th century cement kiln. This was built by William Aspdin in 1846, to the patented design of his father, Joseph Aspdin of Leeds. During the 1850s the works had nine bottle kilns and produced a Portland ement called `Nine Bottle Cement'. The works closed in the early 20th century. There are remains of a flare kiln and two buildings. Aspdin's Kiln is a circular bee-hive shaped structure on a base approximately 25ft. square.

Location accurate to 2m based on available information.

Monument Types

• CEMENT KILN (Built 1834 or 1846, Post Medieval to Modern - 1830 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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[TQ 6175 7489] Kiln [NAT] (1)
[TQ 618 749] Aspdin's Kiln. (2)
Aspdin's Kiln is a circular bee-hive shaped structure on a base approximately 25ft. square. It is constructed of brick which encloses a dome shaped chamber surmounted by a cylindrical chimney. A tablet situated nearby states that it was built by William Aspdin c.1845. It is in good condition being partly rebuilt in 1947 after war damage. Scheduled (3-5).
Cement mills were established on the site in 1834, now part of Blue Circle Industries cement works (6).
May have been on the site of James Parker's Roman cement works dating from 1792. Remains of a kiln bank also survive between modern warehouses, and parts appear to continue under adjacent buildings (7).

From a 2017 assessment report of structures around Robins Creek:

"The site around Robins Creek at Northfleet was a major centre for the production of cement in
the C19. A manufactory was first established here by James Parker in the 1790s, making
Roman cement, one of a number of proprietary types of cement, mainly used as stucco on
buildings. In 1846 the works, from 1798 the company was known as Parker & Wyatt, were
taken over by William Aspdin. Aspdin had set up in business after working for his father,
Joseph Aspdin of Wakefield, who had patented a ‘Portland cement’ (in fact similar in
composition to Roman cement) in 1824. William Aspdin is generally credited with the invention
of true Portland cement by heating the raw materials of limestone and clay in kilns at higher
temperatures to produce ‘clinker’ with alite crystals, a key characteristic of modern Portland
cement. The clinker was then ground and gypsum added. This new form of cement was
substantially stronger than existing ‘Roman’ cement. William Aspdin’s first works were at
Rotherhithe from 1842 before moving to Northfleet, initially under the name Maude, Jones and
Aspdin and later as Robins, Aspdin and Co. However, Aspdin, a somewhat shady
businessman, fell out with his partners and left to set up works in Newcastle with a new
partner around 1852. The Northfleet works continued under the name of Robins and Co, in
partnership with John Henry Cox who had joined the firm in 1850. In this period the works are
thought to have had a total of nine kilns, rising to twelve by 1876. In 1865, after Cox died, the
company became Robins and Co Ltd until bought out by Associated Portland Cement
Manufacturers Ltd (Blue Circle) in 1900, shortly after which the works were closed, in 1910.
The 1865 Ordnance Survey Map shows the cement works on the south side of Grove Road
with some buildings at the head of the creek on the west side of the road adjoining the mill
pond at the end of the Ebbsfleet River, labelled as a cement mill. By the 1898 OS map the
works on the west side of the road had greatly expanded and the area was amply supplied
with tram tracks and gantries linking the two sites. The area opposite the main site, on the
north side of the road, was also developed and later known as the Stave Yard. The 1909 OS
map shows the western site still largely intact but no longer marked as a cement works. A
much larger cement plant is now shown to the north-east. By the 1939 OS map most of the
buildings on the site at the head of the creek have gone and those on the south side of Grove
Road are much reduced in size. The buildings in the Stave Yard remained largely unchanged
but by the 1953 OS map the remaining buildings are marked as ruins. " (9)




From the National Heritage List for England:

List entry Description
Summary of Monument
A 19th century downdraught kiln known as Aspdin’s Kiln 224m NNW of Chaplains House.



Reasons for Designation
A downdraught kiln is a type of kiln in which air rises up inside the oven to be forced back down and out through the base of the oven. It was commonly used in the production of pottery during the post medieval period and was often termed ‘Beehive Kiln’ given its domed shape in resemblance to a beehive.

Aspdin’s Kiln produced an early form of Portland cement, essentially a calcined mixture of limestone and clay. Technical progress in the manufacture of cement in the later 19th century, specifically; the development of rotary kilns, the addition of gypsum to control setting and the use of ball mills to grind the raw materials, led to widespread production of Portland cement used by the modern construction industry. This is made by heating limestone with other material, such as clay, to 1450 degrees centigrade in a kiln. The resulting substance, ‘clinker’ is then ground with a small amount of gypsum into a powder to make the cement. Portland cement is a basic ingredient of modern concrete, mortar and grout, and a major component in the construction of buildings, dams, tunnels and other infrastructure.

The 19th century example at Northfleet is a well-preserved example of a downdrought kiln used in the production of cement. It is thought to be the oldest Portland cement kiln in the world and as such is of considerable historic interest. The site will contain below-ground archaeological information relating to the construction of the kiln, as well as deposits of the material it produced.

History
See Details.

Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 17 March 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a mid-19th century downdraught kiln, known as Aspdin’s Kiln, surviving as upstanding and below-ground remains. It is situated on low lying ground near the south bank of the River Thames, south of Grove Road at Northfleet.

The circular, beehive-shaped kiln is built of brick and set on a base about 7.5m square. It is surmounted by a short cylindrical brick chimney and has three arched openings; two in the south face of the base and one in the south-west face of the circular chamber. An underground opening leads off to the north.

The downdrought kiln was built by William Aspdin in about 1846, to the patented design of his father, Joseph Aspdin. It is thought to be the oldest Portland cement kiln in the world. Joseph, a Leeds builder or bricklayer, had gained a patent for what he described as ‘Portland Cement’ on 21st October 1824. This was a calcined mixture of limestone and clay. The choice of name was due to its resemblance in colour to Portland stone. In actual fact its mineralogy and hydraulic activity was quite different from modern Portland cement. However William Aspden improved the manufacturing process; introducing a higher firing temperature allowing the formation of alite crystals, a key characteristic of modern Portland cement. This new form of cement was substantially stronger then existing ‘Roman’ cement. The benefits were recognised by Marc Isambard Brunel who employed it in the construction of the Thames Tunnel. Having left his fathers’ business in 1841, William set up a cement firm at Northfleet in 1846.

The surviving kiln is part of a much larger 19th century cement works which extended along the south bank of the River Thames. During the 1850s the works had nine bottle kilns and produced a Portland cement called ‘Nine Bottle Cement’. The works closed in the early 20th century. (8)

Location accurate to 2m based on available information.

<1> OS 1:1250 1970 (OS Card Reference). SKE48182.

<2> DOE(IAM) AMs Eng 2 1978 113 (OS Card Reference). SKE41415.

<3> Portland Cement 1948 (Sir C Davis) 96-107 (OS Card Reference). SKE48529.

<4> The Chemistry of Portland Cement 1947 (RH Bogue) (OS Card Reference). SKE50267.

<5> DOE(IAM) Record Form Plan (OS Card Reference). SKE41446.

<6> RCHME, 1994, The Lower Thames in 1994, a photographic survey from the river Blackwell to Tilbury and Greenwich to Gravesend, Neg. AA94/3430 (Photograph). SWX9333.

<7> Eve, D., 1999, A guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Kent (Monograph). SWX9293.

<8> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<9> Historic England, 2017, Unprotected infrastructure associated with Aspdins Kiln and cement production at Robins Creek, Northfleet: ocnsultation report (Unpublished document). SKE32357.

Sources and further reading

Related thematic articles

• Industrial Kent (Thematic Essay)