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This Otherworldly Ruin Was Once a Giant Industrial Machine!

Rails & Revolutions

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Hidden beside the railway in the Yorkshire Dales is an enormous structure that seems completely out of place.
Its walls stretch for more than 100 metres, strange openings disappear deep into the interior, and traces of railways and machinery reveal that this was once a huge industrial operation.
But what was it built to do?
In this film, I explore the remains, uncover the story behind this remarkable site, and discover how limestone, railways and human labour transformed this quiet corner of North Yorkshire.
And eventually, we discover exactly what this enormous structure was built for.

#YorkshireDales #IndustrialHistory #IndustrialHeritage #Langcliffe #Settle

This is the Hoffmann lime kiln at Langcliffe, near Settle, one of the most remarkable surviving examples of nineteenth-century lime-burning technology.

0:00 Hidden Industrial History of the Yorkshire Dales
1:33 Exploring the Mysterious Industrial Ruin at Langcliffe
2:43 Hoffmann Lime Kiln: What Was It Built For?
4:07 How a Victorian Hoffmann Lime Kiln Worked
7:04 The History of Hoffmann Kilns in Yorkshire
8:07 Langcliffe Lime Works and the Settle-Carlisle Railway
9:52 Exploring the Triple Draw and Spencer Lime Kilns
13:50 Life and Work at a Victorian Lime Works
14:32 The Decline of the Langcliffe Lime Industry
15:32 The Strange Story of the Langcliffe Kiln Chimney
16:09 The Industrial Heritage of the Yorkshire Dales

17 Comments

@RailsAndRevolutions Creator 17 hours ago Pinned

This has to be one of the strangest industrial ruins in the Yorkshire Dales! But what really surprised me was the sheer scale of the operation that once took place here.
I'd love to know, had you ever heard of these structures before, or did you have absolutely no idea what this place was?
And here's another question: if you could explore any forgotten industrial site in Britain, where would you go?

@MilesRowanVlogs 17 hours ago

The Hoffmann kiln is one of those structures that makes you wonder how something that huge can be almost unknown outside the local area. I’ve been filming places where the landscape still carries the old industry, so this sort of site is completely irresistible to me. The way the railway, quarry and kiln all worked as one system was the bit that really clicked. Brilliant job making a pile of stone and brick feel like a machine again.

@billykershaw2781 17 hours ago

Wow, new to me, fascinating 👍

@tomtom4405 17 hours ago

Very nicely lit and shot.

@ALEXALEX-nw6tw 17 hours ago

Very interesting
Steve Thankyou 👌

@robertkhan6947 13 hours ago

I pass this place quite often and never knew it existed! Now I accidentally found a place above Grassington today on Grassington Moor; you will probably know it it's set over a couple of square miles of lead mines with many artefacts still preserved, and I immediately thought of you... assuming you have not already discovered it!

@freeheartnow 11 hours ago

Fascinating history of lime production and so well researched and filmed. Thank you, Steve. I learn new things with each of your videos.

@rowancrafts 16 hours ago

Mysterious demolition must be a thing in that area. In the 1990's Horton in Ribblesdale church was due to be reroofed which meant taking the lead covering off and working on the timber roof. The night before work was due to begin the old lead roof covering mysteriously disappeared. The only clue was a set of very deep tractor and trailer tracks out to the field gate. I don't know if any of the lead was recovered but bearing in mind the age of it there would have been a high silver content and the scrap price would have been considerable.

@CindyHopkins-b4r 11 hours ago

It is an amazing place. I visited a couple of months ago and could not believe the size of it. Thank you for your very knowledgeable explanation of how it worked.

@jw5723-p4q 11 hours ago

Great video and well researched. Thank you

@someoneelse-uy2us 17 hours ago

Thanks for a great video tour! I'll never see it in person, but I wonder what maybe on my side of the pond.

@malcolmhill691 9 hours ago

Thank you for another fascinating broadcast. Your work is a treat I look forward to.

@Bernard-n7s 9 hours ago

Superb !
If only all YouTube contributers were as fluent, concise & precise..

@elvissgrandma3215 11 hours ago (edited)

Well this is new to me! Immediate thought was a prototype for the Large Hadron Collider but common sense prevailed soon enough. This channel has become unmissable and never fails to surprise and intrigue. What an interesting structure and what a great time of year to be filming it when Mother Nature nudges us into appreciating the colour and beauty of her wild garden.

@SprocketN 9 hours ago (edited)

There is a Hofmann Kiln a few miles from my house. With an inclined plane truck mechanism to bring the limestone from the quarry on the other side of the main road. It is next to a canal which took the process limestone away. It’s interesting to see the same setup in a completely different part of the UK.
The whole area has been signposted and the whole process is explained. I don’t know who set the area up but, the explanation is excellent.
Plus, it’s a lovely area to take my dog for a walk.

@jackpayne4658 12 hours ago

We think of the Industrial Revolution as a real step forward in cultural evolution, and the archaeological remains are fascinating. But for the majority of unskilled workers, it must have been little better than the Egyptian slaves building the pyramids.