Post-Medieval Lime Kiln at the former Mount Pits, Brandon Road, Thetford. Suffolk

On 13th June 2011, Oxford Archaeology East conducted an archaeological survey of the
remains of an upstanding lime kiln located at Mount Pits, Thetford Road, Brandon. The
kiln is located on the edge of a housing development site on the former Mount Pits quarry
which has been subsequently in-filled to allow for the construction of a residential estate
of up to 70 houses.
The kiln is intended to be retained within the development area, to be protected through
infilling and burial with the possible inclusion of an information board. The results of this
survey will assist Suffolk County Council Archaeology Service to determine the strategy
for clearance, infilling and burial of the kiln and its long-term preservation.
The survey revealed the survival of part of a chalk-built kiln, depicted on early 20th
century ordnance survey maps as an “Old Lime Kiln”. Despite its basic and traditional
style of construction, the kiln is thought to date to the mid to late 19th century and to have
fallen out of use by 1905. Cartographic evidence suggests it was one of two lime kilns
associated with the chalk quarrying in the immediate area and is the last surviving
evidence of the quarrying activity on the Mount Pits site.
The shape of the structure in plan would indicate that the truncated chamber originally
curved around a central void where the kiln “pot” would have been located. The openings
on the south and western sides are where part of the chamber has been demolished. The
original opening is likely to have been the square-headed opening recorded on the
eastern side.
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