'That important branch of rural science': historical geographies of lime burning in Scotland

Mitchell, Douglas (2020) 'That important branch of rural science': historical geographies of lime burning in Scotland. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Lime burning was an essential resource in the development of Scottish agriculture and industry during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Lime was produced by burning limestone at high temperatures using kilns. Lime kilns, which ranged widely in form and scale, became important features of the rural economy, and their remains are a common sight in many parts of Scotland today. Despite this importance, lime burning has been largely overlooked in historical and archaeological studies of Scottish industry and agriculture. This thesis addresses this omission by broadening the thematic and geographic scope of current narrow conceptions of the industry, thereby constructing a national historical geography of lime burning in Scotland. Employing a wide range of methods and sources, including historical GIS and traditional archival scholarship, this research explores several aspects of the lime industry: the distribution and spatial patterns of lime kilns; kiln types and their usage; the movement of materials and their influence on transport infrastructure; the changing ownership and operation of kilns; the production and dissemination of knowledge; and the connections between lime and the development of agricultural science. As such, this thesis makes a substantial empirical contribution to our understanding of the lime industry, whilst also contributing to broader histories and geographies of agricultural change, industrialisation, science and Enlightenment in Scotland.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Lime burning, lime kiln, agriculture, knowledge, science, improvement, enlightenment, historical GIS, symbology.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain; G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Naylor, Dr. Simon and Bishop, Prof. Paul
• Date of Award: 2020
• Depositing User: Dr Douglas Mitchell
• Unique ID: glathesis:2020-81481
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 24 Jun 2020 15:56
• Last Modified: 14 Sep 2022 07:52
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.81481
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/81481