Trustworthy, administrator
6,720
edits
Changes
m
Link edited
[[File:OS_Bower_Yard_1927.jpg|thumb|300px|right|OS Map of 1927 showing Bower Yard siding (top left)]]
'''Bowers Bower Yard Lime Kilns''' were located approximately ¼ mile upriver from [[Ironbridge and Broseley]] station, between that station and [[Buildwas]]. The kilns processed limestone into lime, rock having been quarried from the steep sided Ironbridge gorge at '''Benthall Edge'''. The quarries were busy in the 18th and 19th century, providing flux for use in the iron industry around Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale,<ref name="SevernGorge">[http://www.severngorge.org.uk/things-to-do/places-to-visit/benthall-edge-lime-kilns/ Bower Yard Lime KilnsLimekiln], Severn Gorge Countryside Trust, accessed 7/12/201516 July 2021</ref> but fell into disuse during the 1870s,<ref>[http://www.cbsconservation.co.uk/projects/bowers_yard_lime_kilns/ Bowers Yard Lime Kilns], CBS Conservation, accessed 7/12/2015</ref>. These original kilns may have been served by the railway<ref>[http://search.shropshirehistory.org.uk/collections/getrecord/CCS_MSA3885/ Shropshire's History], accessed 7/12/2015</ref> although OS maps show no evidence of a siding at this date.
The kilns were brought back into use during the 1920s,<ref name="SevernGorge" /> with "1928" being inscribed in one of the kilns,<ref>[http://www.lynnemorgandesign.co.uk/portfolio.htm Lynne Morgan Design], portfolio showing information boards on the kilns, accessed 7/12/2015</ref> a rail siding being built at this time. Limestone from the quarries near the top of Benthall Edge was brought down to a terminal near the siding by a self-acting incline plane, from where it was moved to the kilns for burning. For some years, the GWR brought coal to the kilns and transported the lime to various areas of the country; they also used large quantities for cement in their own civil engineering operations.<ref Name="Beddoes"> SVR News 84, “For Broseley, see Ironbridge” (article by Keith Beddoes)</ref>.
