Heard of this place a few years back but never had the ability to travel over to it , silly really as it's only about half an hour away from where I've been living for the last few years! Teamed up with some friends and headed off to hit this place up, my first proper explore! (Be kind guys, I'm still rather new to this but the bug's bitten me good!)
History: The site was the source of lime used in the production of Midhurst White Bricks and also for agricultural purposes. The earliest known mention of workings at the site was in 1715, when two flared lime kilns were reported to be in use. Over the years the works developed into the industrial site we see today with a roadway between the quarry and site and a group of large buildings housing machines for processing the chalk into lime. All work ceased at the site in 1999.
The buildings consist of a large grinding machine and hopper, that feeds directly onto a conveyor leading into a two storey building housing further grinding machines and conveyors. There's a lot of interesting things to look at, mostly fuse boxes, switches, levers, and machinery. The lower level contains a large storage barn area and a rusting truck, as well as a small hut and remains of a garage area. A bank of kilns runs along the right hand side, accessed by steps tucked away to one side. I didn't go up there due to the tops being unstable but you can climb the steps and look down into them. The site has a quarry associated, but we didn't visit that due to light fading and having another explore planned.
Without further ado, here are the photos!
History: The site was the source of lime used in the production of Midhurst White Bricks and also for agricultural purposes. The earliest known mention of workings at the site was in 1715, when two flared lime kilns were reported to be in use. Over the years the works developed into the industrial site we see today with a roadway between the quarry and site and a group of large buildings housing machines for processing the chalk into lime. All work ceased at the site in 1999.
The buildings consist of a large grinding machine and hopper, that feeds directly onto a conveyor leading into a two storey building housing further grinding machines and conveyors. There's a lot of interesting things to look at, mostly fuse boxes, switches, levers, and machinery. The lower level contains a large storage barn area and a rusting truck, as well as a small hut and remains of a garage area. A bank of kilns runs along the right hand side, accessed by steps tucked away to one side. I didn't go up there due to the tops being unstable but you can climb the steps and look down into them. The site has a quarry associated, but we didn't visit that due to light fading and having another explore planned.
Without further ado, here are the photos!
