Secret Ironbridge: Lime kilns on the Wharfage

Set back from the road, on the Wharfage at Ironbridge, are these three arches which, from studying a map from 1882, are most likely to be lime kilns.

Limestone was commonly used in iron smelting as a flux to remove impurities. However, only the highest quality limestone was used for this purpose and the lower quality was burned in kilns, such as these, to produce quicklime which was used in building mortar and lime wash. The kilns operated at 900 degrees Centigrade and would have filled the air with noxious fumes that would have hung over the river, making it an unpleasant place to be.