Kilnsey Town’s Piece – Dr Roger Martlew and Dr David Johnson

On behalf of the Yorkshire Dales Landscape Research Trust, Roger presented the first part of this joint presentation to UWHG members on the work undertaken at Kilnsey in Upper Wharfedale. Many members of both UWHG and our friends at Ingleborough Archaeology Group have been actively involved in this project, so tonight’s talks were of special interest to everyone. 

Roger kicked off the evening by emphasising the importance of considering the lime kiln and corn drying kiln on the site – which were the focus of the project during 2007 and 2008 – as part of a wider historic landscape.  Even within the small area represented by the Kilnsey Town’s Piece itself, aerial photographs, topographical and geophysics surveying have revealed that the two specific sites (the kiln and the mill) were part of a very busy archaeological landscape – including possible medieval field systems, prehistoric enclosures, and settlement sites. Yet even the aerial photos are themselves now historic documents. Taken in the 1940s, half of a large enclosure, clearly shown on the photos, now lies outside the town’s piece, under a trout farm.
The topographical and geophysics surveys revealed several features not visible on the surface, including possible bank and ditching, and rectangular enclosures. The remains of a rectangular building, the water powered mill which is known to have once stood in the field, and a building platform are also suggested by these surveys.

David followed with his report on the excavations of the lime kiln (2007) and the corn drying kiln (2008).
His emphasis lay on the importance of excavation as an archaeological method – without the decision to dig, the full implications of these two small sites would not have been realised. His photographs of the excavation, showed how, step by step, the bowl of the lime kiln had been revealed – at first unpromising, once fully excavated it proved to be a very fine example indeed, adding considerably to David’s already extensive knowledge of lime kilns in the Dales. Archaeomagnetic dating by the Northern Mines Research Society placed a date for the kiln’s last firing at probably between 1620 and 1670, which ties in very nicely with the rebuilding of Kilnsey Old Hall c.1648.

The finds, from the backfill of the kiln, included a variety of medieval and 17thC pottery, some of the latter possibly originating from the West Midlands. There was also some 18thC glazed ware, and some small 17thC metal items such as a spur, buckles and large door key. Most exciting of all were the small pieces of leaded glass which support the theory that the small building behind the Old Hall was a former chapel. The unstratified nature of this jumble of infill from a range of periods poses a problem – was this material used in a single “job lot” of infill? If so, where did it all come from, and why did it contain everything from medieval stained glass to 18thC pottery, which did not show signs of being badly abraded or repeatedly recycled?

The Corn Drying Kiln, a few yards away, excavated the following year, was even more puzzling. Again, using a series of photographs, David showed how excavation revealed new features. The presence of a later rectangular structure within the earlier circular kiln, was unexpected and had caused much excitement amongst the excavation team. Of particular interest is the similarity of the circular kiln to examples in Scotland, Wales, and at Otterburn, while the smaller rectangular structure bears some similarities to corn drying kilns of a type found in the Lake District. Unfortunately there was not enough material to provide dating evidence from either structure.

The finds were a source of some amusement – amongst the mostly 19thC infill of pottery sherds, were part of a large drain pipe and an old iron bedstead – the latter may have seemed like rubbish to us, but the local schoolchildren were fascinated by the rusty old bedsprings!


Further reading:

Johnson, David – “The archaeology and technology of Early-Modern lime burning in the Yorkshire Dales: developing a clamp kiln model” (Industrial Archaeology Review, XXX, 2, Nov 2008, 127-144)

Johnson, David – “Excavation of a seventeenth-century lime kiln at Kilnsey, North Yorkshire” (British Mining, No.86, Memoirs 2008, Northern Mine Research Society, 31-46)

David Johnson, Roger Martlew, Pat Carroll, Phil Carroll – “Report on the Excavation of a Corn Drying Kiln at Kilnsey Green, Kilnsey, North Yorkshire” (2009)

Martlew, Dr. Roger – “Kilnsey Town’s Piece (The Green); Report of a topographical and geophysical survey for the Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group” (also available online to UWHG members here )

Excavation photographs – Corn Drying kiln here
http://www.uwhg.org.uk/reports/cdk08_photos/cdk08_photos.html

Jane Lunnon, UWHG Archivist