Monument record 0677700000 - PITSTONE CEMENT WORKS AND CHALK QUARRIES

English Heritage survey of 1997 described the site as preserving the typical layout and buildings of a 20th century works and worthy of preservation by record. The cement works and associated quarries were established in the 1930s and closed in 1992. The cement works has 11 buildings/structures of particular note; a chalk store, clinker store, laboratory, rotary cement kiln, clinker grinding mill, conveyor, hoist, silo, packing plant, tramway and a washmill - plus many other subsidiary structures and maintenance buildings (canteen, supervisors office, electrical workshop, fitting shop, stores, weighbridge, etc) (2). There are 5 rotary kilns. Kilns 1-4 are grouped together, the oldest pair date from 1937. The 1937 rotary kilns are apparently early surviving examples (despite being partially dismantled) and impressive in their scale. They are built of riveted steel plate and had an output of 400 to 700 tons per day. The other two kilns are later and still complete. Kiln 5 was built in the 1960s and is substantially larger, being over 100 m long. It was apparently the first kiln it the country using the ‘semi-wet’ process and had an output of 1500 tons per day. Each kiln has its own chimney. The many of the buildings are linked by railways or conveyors. It is probable that majority of buildings date from the first phase of construction. The site was described as extensive and imposing on the landscape. At that time, of the first 1997 survey was still almost complete. The site was reported as demolished in 2000. Report includes photographs (B1).
NGR to centre.
Chalk Pit No2 contains the SSSI and sedimentary depositions containing fossilised animal bones (B3-4).