Holme Coke Ovens - Holme, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

HOLME COKE OVENS

On the opposite side of the canal are the remains of a bank of five coke ovens, although the central kiln has now collapsed. Coke, produced by the partial burning of coal, was freed of volatile impurities such as sulphur, making it an effective fuel for the iron smelting industry and lime burning. Coke was first made in low mounds or clamps until around 1750 when the coke oven was introduced. This was a closed brick or stone structure, shaped like a beehive, and usually built in groups of at least three. It is common to find them along the banks of canals for the convenience of transporting the coal to the ovens and the finished product to industries needing coke.

Following the opening of the Lancaster Canal from Preston to Tewitfield in 1797, and the extension from Tewitfield to Kendal in 1819, communication between coalfields of southern Lancashire and the limestone areas of North Lancashire and Westmorland was improved. This allowed for coal, stone and timber to be traded at a lower cost than transport by road or sea.

There is no record of when the coke ovens at Holme were built, but it was probably soon after the opening of the northern end of the canal in 1819. These ovens were certainly in place by 1841 when they were marked as cinder ovens on a tithe map. However, with the opening of the Lancaster to Carlisle railway line in 1846, traders had a quicker and cheaper way of transporting coal and stone. The canal became much less important and the coke ovens would soon have gone out of use. By 1898 they must have been so ruinous that they are no longer shown on the Ordnance Survey map.

The Method of controlled burning of coal is a slow process, and hence there is a bank of ovens to allow for their charging and emptying while the others are still burning. The first stage would be to fill the oven with coal almost to the top, in order to minimise the amount of air in it, then the coal would be lit and the entrance bricked up so as to restrict the influx of air.

The exhaust gases would escape through a small aperture at the top of the oven, or through an aperture left in the brick blocking. After a period of about three days the blocking would be removed, and any residual burning extinguished. Following a period of cooling, the coke oven would be emptied.