NU 122432 Outline of the limekiln structure still visible, but very ruinous. Possibly three pots. Dressed stone. A well-defined track to a loading bay and then to kilns is visible. (1)
NU 122432. The Links lime kilns. In a ruinous condition. Active erosion by rabbits. See slide W3.
NU 123430. Holy Island limekilns. In a ruinous state, outer wall only survives. Active erosion by rabbits. See slide W2.
NU 121431. The Links, cropmark[?] of linear features. Seven short linear features parallel with one another. (2)
Structure at NU 121431 is divided into ten bays facing north-east; visible on aerial photographs. Measure c.70m-80m long. Centred at NU 12204309. (3)(4)
The limeworks at Lower Kennedy are one of two limeworking sites marked on the first edition OS map in 1866. Three groups of limekilns are shown:
i) the most northerly group comprised two kilns side by side, with curved frontages and single pots. These are probably the oldest kilns in the group and are bisected by a tramway from Coves Bay;
ii) the most southerly group of kilns are located c.300 yards further south by the side of a tramway. They comprised a single bank of kilns with three pots;
iii) between these two structures are further structures marked 'limekilns' although they are of an unusual form [presumably that at NU 12204309. It is possible this structure was associated with kelp pits, kelp burning noted as an activity on the Island.
Tramways supplied limestone from Coves Bay to the north and carried burnt lime southwards to a jetty near Tripping Chare (NU 14 SW 32). Coal was brought back from the jetty.
Other structures associated with the works were a crane, smithy and cottage. (5)
The Kennedy Limeworks are overgrown and covered by sand. Two collapsed bottle kilns at the north end of the site were built by Messrs Gibson and Lumsden of Belford and were in use in the 1840s. The limestone was supplied by wagonways from Nessend and Snipe Point quarries to the limeworks and then transported to a jetty south of Chare Ends. In the 1850s the two northern kilns were replaced by three kilns to the south and built by William Nicholl, a Dundee merchant, and were only in use for two years. They survive as a rectangular shell at the terminus of a wagonway. A number of buildings associated with the limeworks survive as earthworks in the area between the two groups of kilns. They include a cottage/smithy, a rectangular enclosure, and a row of walled open bays (probably stables or storage). (6)
Mid 19th century limeworks consisting of two banks of kilns with a row of lime storage bays, linked to Nessend limestone quarry and a wharf by a railed wagonway. The remains of the earliest kiln bank,dating from 1846, are situated at the north end of the site. The remains of two circular brick-lined pots protrude from sand and fallen masonry. However, the top of a ?barrel vaulted arch which protrudes from the central area of the bank suggests the presence of a central vaulted cross passage. The second bank, situated at the south end of the site, dates from the late 1850s and consists of three circular pots within a rectangular block. The main body is buried beneath vegetation, sand and material from the decay of the upper structure. Their location proved a disadvantage and they were soon replaced by the Castle Point lime works in the 1860s.
The remains of masonry features protruding from overburden suggests stratigraphic survival of a substantial part of the kiln structure. (7)