Haddock Low limekilns

A panorama of earthen kilns remains. Peak Forest was a large limeburning centre with earthen sale-kilns supplying lime on a commercial scale over a large area. The limekilns and their associated quarries and water heaps of this complex cover just over a square kilometre of ground. They are distributed in irregular clusters on either side of the 1751 turnpike road (A623). In total there are around 130 kilns on the site. The first records of limeburning in Peak Forest date from 1707 and it is known that the last kiln closed in 1823. New kilns tended to follow the quarrying across the hillside as old ones closed. It is likely that some burning was being undertaken here in the late 17th century. It has been suggested that there were normally no more than five kilns working at any one time.

Best viewed LARGE.