Lime was a crucial resource both for farming and building.
The limestone bedrock that is prevalent throughout the peninsula was burned in these limekilns to produce powdered lime which was in high demand elsewhere.
In the early 1800s, large scale commercial production was in place with the limestone being ferried by boat to many limekilns throughout the county and even as far away as Pembrokeshire.
Powdered lime was used in farming to improve the land and in building it would be mixed with sand to produce a lime mortar as well as making the whitewash that adorned the exterior of many old houses.
The process involved lining the bottom of the central hole with straw and kindling then the kiln was filled with alternating limestone rock and coal dust mixed with clay. The fire was then started through a small gap in the side called the eye (Which is on the seaward side of this kiln). Once the limestone had been reduced to powder it was then raked out through the eye.
The limekiln photographed here is next to the road just north of the Hook Lighthouse. It was one of the last to be constructed on the peninsula as it is the only one not present on the 1841 Ordnance Survey map.