Three historic limekilns alongside the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal are to be restored, conserved, and made part of a heritage trail as a way of recording the important part the lime industry played in the history of South Wales and its canals – as well as teaching heritage skills to volunteers.
Lime mortar for buildings and burnt lime for agricultural fertiliser were important cargoes carried by the canal and the various horse-drawn tramways connecting with it – as was the limestone that was fired in the kilns to make lime. So it made sense for the kilns to be sited on the canalside, and there were many of them along the route. Thanks to £90,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Watton Kilns in Brecon are to be conserved and a Lime Kilns Trail created, with much of the work done by volunteers.
Head of the HLF in Wales Richard Bellamy said that thanks to the grants, the Trail would “tell an important story of Welsh industry, a period of change in our culture and in our ways of working.” The Canal & River Trust is looking for volunteers to learn the traditional skills to help with the conservation work. See canalrivertrust.org.uk for details of CRT volunteer coordinators in the area.
