8.4.9 Extractive Industrial Activity

Lime was increasingly used during the post-medieval period – both for buildings and in agriculture. During the period of agricultural improvement, considerable quantities of lime were employed to improve the quality of acid soil. By the end of the 18th century, lime kilns were a common feature in Perth and Kinross; at least 352 lime kilns are noted in the region’s Historic Environment Record. However, it is likely that the familiar stone-arched draw kilns have been noted to a greater extent than the, perhaps equally productive, temporary clamp kilns (Bishop et al 2017). There is a particular concentration of lime kilns in the north of the region, especially around Kirkmichael, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy, and Bridge of Tilt (Mitchell 2020, 99–100). Several of these kilns supplied lime for communities some distance away, a process that was facilitated by improvements in transport during the late 18th century (Mitchell 2020, 141–2). Further study of the wider economic and transport networks associated with lime kilns might be of interest. There has been increasing recognition in recent years of the importance of lime kilns for 18th- and 19th-century agriculture, but much more work on their typology and dating in Perth and Kinross would be desirable.

No fewer than 339 stone quarries are recorded in the Historic Environment Record for Perth and Kinross. These provided a range of materials, including sandstone (at least 24 quarries), limestone (at least 16 quarries) and slate (at least four quarries). Most of these sites have received very little physical or desk-based investigation and have not been securely dated. Analysis of the materials used in standing buildings could perhaps provide some insights into the history of quarrying in the region (Gauldie 1981). Yet stone from Perth and Kinross was not simply used for local construction work. In the 1790s it was remarked that the quarry at Kingoodie sent ‘considerable quantities’ of stone to England and had recently provided materials for the construction of canals near Ipswich and in Essex (Anonymous 1797, 464). Further interdisciplinary research into mining and quarrying in Perth and Kinross would be highly desirable, and should draw on the Building Stone Database for Scotland, a joint project by Historic Environment Scotland and the British Geological Society.

Research Priorities

PKARF Agenda 8.79: Further research into mining and extractive industries in Perth and Kinross, (including slate and stone quarries).

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PKARF Agenda 8.80: Investigation of the role of water power, (ranging from 17th-century mills to 20th-century hydroelectric projects).

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Research Questions

PKARF Qu 8.109: How do industrial buildings evolve over the post-medieval period?

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PKARF Qu 8.110: What industrial sites are currently at risk from dereliction or demolition?

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PKARF Qu 8.111: What role has water power played in the region?

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PKARF Qu 8.112: Where was limestone extracted in Perth and Kinross?

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PKARF Qu 8.113: What was the nature of the relationship between rural and urban communities regarding the exploitation and transport of limestone, sandstone and slate?

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PKARF Qu 8.114: How can detailed standing building recording help to trace the evolution of industrial buildings through time?

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