Charlestown - built on Lime
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Charlestown is a planned ‘model’ village created by Charles Bruce, the 5th Earl of Elgin in the 1750s.
Charles Bruce had little land comparatively, but it was rich in Coal, Limestone, and Ironstone.
The limestone was needed to be burnt for lime to ‘sweeten’ the soil to reduce acidity; for the making of mortars for building, rendering and as a flux in iron and glassmaking.
The above co-ordinates are for Parking - at N56 02.267 W003 30.065 near to the Scottish Lime Centre, we will go for a stroll around Charlestown. This is also a good starting point to walk to the ‘Losing one’s Marbles’ and allieballie’s ‘Fife Rocks- Crinoidal Limestone’ caches.
You find yourself near to The Sutlery. The name goes back to the era of the village’s build. Wild West Pioneers would be familiar with it – The Sutlery comprised the team of camp followers who provided goods and provisions.
This was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Scotland. Two and a half centuries ago, the scene here was of the sound of chisels cutting sandstone and blasting in the Quarries. The pungent smell of burning coal, sulphur and ammonia from the lime kilns in the air…
To your NW, the houses are on the site of the Laundry. Their work was dried on the Bleaching Green you may have passed on the way here. It was well away from the fumes and smoke of the Kilns on the prevailing wind. At night, the glow from the Kilns could be seen from miles away as the limeburning was a 24hr process, much as the Grangemouth works is seen today. The sounds of foreign tongues were heard in the Inn as this was the major industry on the Forth. Charlestown increased the production hugely from the small works along the coast at Limekilns and supplied most of Scotland’s lime. Indeed, many exports went to Europe and further.
The Limestone used, as you see in Allieballie’s cache, is Calcium Carbonate or Chalk. Unlike many English deposits, the stone here is harder and is full of fossilised shells, coral and creatures which are easily seen. The ‘Gellet Rock’ above Limekilns is the only remnant of the original level of land . It is reckoned that 11 million tons were removed. You will see the Gellet rock in one of these caches…
The limestone seam here is around 30 feet (10m) thick but shelves steeply down to the west and this ultimately caused problem for the industry as it had to cut adits into the rock to get access to the limestone.
Limestone is not Lime – that results from the process used here.
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Let’s go and see how Lime was made!
Walk from the Sutlery past the old School (looks like an old Mill) on Rocks Road. The houses on your left are on the site of the Laundry business and prior to that, stables for draught horses. On your right in a little while, you will find a gate and you can see the ELK project – the Experimental Lime Kiln. In essence, they are re-inventing it as there is a demand for ‘breathable’ renderings for buildings, especially historic ones such as at Culross, Stirling Castle etc. The renderings can be dyed and have a different appearance when wet. At the Kiln, you can see the supply of Limestone to the left and the lift taking the stone up to be dropped into the kiln.
Once it has been burnt, the lime is drawn out the bottom.
How many horizontal girders are there on the left side of the kiln? _ (a)
Return back to the Sutlery and turn right onto West Road. Travel west. You will pass abutments for a railway bridge which sloped steeply. There were two arches here, demolished in the 1930s as buses could not pass through. This was one way that limestone was taken down from the quarries to the harbour, down the steep incline and through a shallow tunnel to the Kiln heads. This was for mining trucks, not ‘trains’. Pass the houses named ‘The Cairns’. Their name comes from the innumerable mounds of ‘spoil’ left as the unwanted rock was cleared away to get at the Limestone. Walk on past the Cricket ground. The mine workings extend below the Cricket Ground!
At the end of the Cricket ground, look at the sign. Part of the sign shows a 'segmented' design. How many pieces are there? _ (b)
Turn left and then take the wooded path which borders the Cricket ground. This track is part of the former Elgin or Charlestown Railway. The smooth gradient was created in 1795, the 3 arch viaduct that you soon walk on was completed in 1810.
It is thought to be the first specifically built for rail. Other bridges of the time were converted wagonways. This viaduct allowed the harbour to be reached directly. From the viaduct, can you see the little bridge over the spring? As you reach the bottom, you see two track beds. The left leads to the Kiln heads and the other to the harbour – onto the modern road. This road is on the remains of a modern railway line - it stops a few hundred yards away to the west, the track is still there.
Walk along the road till you reach the huge Charlestown Limekilns. Notice the compartments on your left until you reach the information board. Have a look around and into the tunnels in front of you! Try to imagine the noise - the roar of the fires and the constant sound of stone and coal being tipped into the top and lime being removed from the openings you see here. Imagine the heat! At the notice board, look at the ‘lowest’ arch straight ahead of you. How many small tunnels can you walk through from it? _ (c)
How many round wooden posts are there across the gap between the sign and the road? _ (d)
Walk along a little to the East past the tidal harbour. The roadway here once was the railway with timber jetties on the edge of the harbour to load the Lime and coal, also a valuable export. The land jutting south into the Forth is known as the Ballast Bank. It’s made from stone unloaded as ballast from ships travelling from abroad prior to being loaded with Lime or Coal. After the Great War, this area was used for ship breaking. Much of the German fleet from Scapa Flow was broken here. An interesting vessel was the ‘Grace Harwar’. A Finnish sailing ship, she was the first Clyde-built metal sailing ship and the last sailing vessel to be broken at Charlestown in 1935. The last vessel was a submarine in 1963.
Walk out on the ballast bank with its views of the Kilns and the Forth from Rosyth to Grangemouth. Look for the wooden post. Which number is on it? _ (e)
Return back to the road and turn left (west) until you pass House No.10 with its white chain fence. Find the track and follow ‘The Roparee’ uphill. This used wagons on wooden rails to take coal down the steep slope to the harbour. The full wagons were used to return the empties up the incline! Once through the bridge, look back at the span. How many shallow brick archways are there above the girder? _ (f)
It’s said that more than a few boys ended up in the harbour after sledging on The Roparee!
The Roparee takes you past a private house to the side of the Estate Office. It’s open on Fridays from: _ (g)
Walk along the Bleaching Green to the Phone box. It’s number is: 0 1 3 8 h 8 i j 5 9 6
Walk back to the Sutlery, look for ‘diamonds’ on the south gable. How many? _ (k) and solve the puzzle.
The cache can be found at:
N56 (c – e)e . (b-e) d b
W003 h (g-i-j) . c k (a+f)
Once you enter the cache location, do not follow the arrow at this stage! Walk along the main road at first, then take to obvious pathways for safety. However, the cache is in a hazardous area and YOU must look after your safety. It is not suitable for children.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Yrsg bs qbbejnl