Beadnell Lime Kilns

Beadnell is a lovely little town on the Northumberland coast, possibly lesser well known than places such as Bamburgh or Craster, but it is still a beautiful little spot.

The Beadnell Lime Kilns are situated on the harbour and were built in 1798. By lighting fires with coal in the kilns and adding crushed limestone, lime was produced and used as fertilizer in the nearby fields.

The kilns were built by Richard Pringle in 1798 for the landowner John Wood. John Wood from whose estate the coal and limestone were extracted, completed the rest of the harbour there and maintained it in good repair.

The first kiln was built in 1798, and the lime sold so well, that another 2 kilns were built soon afterwards. The kilns are around 8 metres tall and at the time, produced at least 1,000 carts of lime each year. The lime from the kilns was mainly exported to Scotland.

By 1822 they had fallen out of use as kilns. They were used by local fishermen for curing herrings and today they house hundreds of lobster pots. The pots make a good spot for sparrows to hide in and we spotted a few hopping about when we visited.