Standing Stone	Ring Fort	Castle	Weir	Inniscarra Bridge
Oriel House	Gunpowder Mills	Lime Kiln	Military Barracks	St Mary and St John's Church

Lime kiln at Rockfield

Lime Kilns

Lime kilns were once the commonest type of industrial archaeological sites in the landscape. Most of the lime kilns around the country have been destroyed and only rare examples survive. A large number of limekilns were recorded in Ballincollig in the 17th century but today there are the remains of only four in the area. The limekiln at Maglin lies on private land and is a protected structure It is however very overgrown. The most accessible kilns can be seen at Coolroe, on the main N22 and on Wood Road. Another stands on land owned by O'Flynn Construction, east of Oriel House.

Limestone was burnt in kilns to produce the mortar used in the construction of the buildings in the area. It was also used as fertiliser and for making a lime wash to apply to the outside of houses. A culm yard usually stood nearby. Culm (coal) provided the fuel to burn the limestone.

The lime-kiln was a square stone building, 16 to 20 feet high and about the same width. It had an open top approached by a ramp to enable the loads of lime stone to be dropped in. The inside of the kiln was egg-shaped and it operated by gravity almost like the modern solid-fuel cooker. One wall had an arched opening at the bottom to allow the lime-burner to take out the lime. Above the opening was the floor of the kiln made of spaced iron bars.

Click here to read about lime kilns in the Ballincollig area.