Old Burghclere Lime Quarry

Overview

Old Burghclere Lime Quarry lies south of the village of Old Burghclere in Hampshire, between Beacon Hill and Ladle Hill on the edge of the downs above Watership Down. The quarry and its lime kilns were opened in 1885 by Messrs Forders and taken over in 1913 by British Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd, who installed two new kilns of German manufacture from which the lime emerged cold; it was bagged and taken out by rail over the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton line from a siding behind Burghclere signal box. The quarry appears to have closed in April 1938 for want of demand. Left to itself since, its steep sheltered sides have become chalk grassland rich in rare plants and butterflies, notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1979.

History

The quarry and kilns were opened for operation in 1885 by Messrs Forders, and the quarries were taken over by British Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd in 1913. That company brought in two new kilns of German manufacture, from which the lime emerged cold — an advantage for handling, since it could be bagged directly. The lime was taken out in sacks and carried away by rail on the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway, the siding running from behind Burghclere signal box to the quarry and kilns. The quarry appears to have closed finally in April 1938 through a lack of demand for the product. Nothing has been worked here since, and the site was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1979.

Geology

The quarry cut the Chalk of the north Hampshire downs, on ground between Beacon Hill to the west and Ladle Hill to the south-east. The chalk was burnt for lime rather than dressed as building stone. What the working left is as significant as what it took: steep faces of bare, lime-rich ground, sheltered and warm, on which chalk grassland has since established.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

An open chalk quarry with lime kilns beside it, served by a rail siding rather than by road. Under British Portland Cement from 1913 the kilns included two of German manufacture from which the lime came out cold, allowing it to be sacked on site. Traces of the arrangement survive: the posts that carried the gate closing off the siding to the quarry, and a brick archway passing beneath the siding embankment. A further structure on the site has been tentatively identified by visitors as a gunpowder magazine, which would be consistent with a quarry using explosives, though nothing consulted confirms it.

Closure

The quarry appears to have closed finally in April 1938 due to a lack of demand for the product.

What remains

A nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest of about 4.6 hectares, notified in 1979 for its biological interest and cared for by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. The steep sides make the quarry sheltered and warm, which has given it good populations of butterflies; scrub is controlled to keep the grassland open. Fly orchids grow on the quarry floor, and small blue butterflies breed here, their caterpillars feeding on kidney vetch. Access is by permit from the Wildlife Trust because of the sensitivity of the site, and the circular path around it is uneven, steep and slippery when wet.

The quarry faces themselves, now grassed, together with the gate posts of the former railway siding, a brick archway under the siding embankment, and a further structure tentatively identified as a magazine.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Old Burghclere Lime Quarry is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest of 4.61 hectares at Burghclere in Hampshire, notified in 1979, at grid reference SU473573 south of the village. ¹
• The Derelict Places account states the quarry and kilns were opened in 1885 by Messrs Forders, taken over by British Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd in 1913, and closed finally in April 1938 for lack of demand. Wikipedia instead says the quarry was actively worked only until the beginning of the 20th century. (disputed) ^1,2
• British Portland Cement Manufacturers introduced two new kilns of German manufacture from which the lime emerged cold; it was taken out in sacks and transported by rail via the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway, from a siding running behind Burghclere signal box. ²
• The steep sides of the quarry have provided ideal conditions for rare plants specialised to chalky rough ground, and make the site sheltered and warm, giving good populations of butterflies; fly orchids grow on the quarry floor and small blue butterflies breed here, their caterpillars feeding on kidney vetch. Scrub is controlled to maintain the open grassland. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Old Burghclere Lime Quarry — Wikipedia
2. (observational) Burghclere Lime Kilns — Derelict Places urban exploration forum
3. (secondary) Old Burghclere Lime Quarry (reserve guide) — Basingstoke Countryside Volunteers

Record created: 4 September 2026 · Last researched: 4 September 2026