Smardale Gill Lime Kilns

Overview

The Smardale Gill lime kilns, near Kirkby Stephen, are among Westmorland’s most significant 19th-century industrial sites.

These Grade II listed stone structures were once on Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk’ register, identified as one of the at-risk monuments within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

This conservation project, led by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, aimed to restore the kilns and secure their future as part of the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme.

Challenges and Solutions

The Smardale Gill Lime Kilns presented several structural and logistical challenges that required specialist conservation techniques and careful project management:

• Structural deterioration: our team identified significant structural issues, including cracking and bulging in the stone facework, along with invasive vegetation, including large trees, growing within the firing bowls and along the complex’s walls. We developed a stabilisation and repair methodology to address these issues, ensuring the structural integrity of the kilns.
• Restricted site access: access to the remote and ecologically sensitive site was heavily limited, with additional complications from nearby viaduct works and prolonged periods of adverse weather. We carefully coordinated site access to minimise impact on the surrounding ecology and archaeological remains, allowing the work to proceed without disruption to the site’s delicate environment.

MCA's Contribution

We played a pivotal role in the conservation and stabilisation of the Smardale Gill Lime Kilns. Our contributions included:

• Structural condition assessment and methodology: we updated the structural assessment and created a detailed repair methodology, advising on techniques such as deep grouting of the rubble core, packing voids and stone face repairs to ensure the structure’s longevity.
• Project management and quantity surveying: our Project Management team handled contract administration, assembled contract documents and obtained tender prices from specialised heritage contractors, ensuring that the project stayed on budget and met conservation goals.
• Long-term preservation: We also advised on a monitoring and maintenance programme for the kilns, supporting the site’s ongoing conservation needs and reducing future risk.

Results

The restoration of the Smardale Gill lime kilns successfully removed the structures from the ‘Heritage at Risk’ register, marking a significant achievement in the National Park Authority’s conservation efforts.

By managing the project’s funding effectively, we were also able to extend conservation work to adjacent sections of the historic Engine House, which had initially been excluded from the project scope.