Old Cements

Known locally as "Old Cements" - this is the ruined site of a very early English cement works:The Site Layout
As you enter the site today (the main western entrance) you are walking down what was the original railway line through the site to the jetty (which has all-but washed away now). This line linked the cement plant with the New Cliff chalk quarry just to the south-west of the site and the clay pits which were behind the site. This railway line was a three-foot gauge and the first locomotive used was named Adamant, after the cement brand (it was originally called Isabella). To the west of this path are the remains of what was probably the cement storage area, passing from the main kiln structure to the east. To the north of the site is the remains of the wharf, where the sloops would have been loaded to deliver the cement. Behind this are the remains of the cement bins. Behind the cement bins well hidden in the undergrowth lie more ruins which may well have been to do with slurry preparation. Halfway along the path you came in on is the entrance to the main body of the site. You will immediately notice four large brick structures with a fifth smaller one just to the north. The four large brick structures (the furthest two looking like a brick Stonehenge structure) are the piers which would have supported the rotary kiln, and somewhere round here should be the remains of chimney stack. The largest one in the centre would have accommodated both a support tyre and the kiln's drive gear. The smaller pier to the north carried the main drive-shaft of the kiln which would have connected with the motor which is probably the ruins to the east of this structure. Following the path to the south east you will come across a little well, where the water for the cement manufacturing process came from. Next you will find another brick structure. Just behind this brick structure is another rather long brick structure, probably over 180 foot long, and mostly hidden. This would have been a row of kilns, with arches underneath acting as "draw-holes", spaced around 18 foot apart. There would have been about ten of these. These would have linked to the four pier structures you have just passed and the chimney base were you first entered. There are more ruins dotted around the site which are still a mystery.cementkilns.co.uk/cement_kiln_barton.html