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

DA Great Britain;G Geography (General)

Mitchell, Douglas ; Naylor, Simon

University:University of Glasgow

Department:School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

关键词: Lime burning, lime kiln, agriculture, knowledge, science, improvement, enlightenment, historical GIS, symbology.;   

Others  :  http://theses.gla.ac.uk/81481/1/2020MitchellDPhD.pdf

来源: University of Glasgow

【 摘 要 】

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.