Today, Mark was working with two tutors from the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute, technical college, to build a small trail lime kiln, at Lears Quarry, Barbados. From the quarry, we used rubble coral stone and bedded it on a mortar made from hydrated lime and cement at a 1:1:6 mix. The aggregate consisted of the quarry’s crushed coral stone sands, their ¼” down and fine dust free grades. Tomorrow we will finish the build and burn the coral stone in the foreground of the picture using wood, charcoal, and a little coal.

Quicklime production stopped on the island in the early 1960’s, and M Womersleys on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth II, Platinum Jubilee Commonwealth Heritage Skills Training Programme, funded by the Hamish Ogston Foundation, working with the local college is trying to develop appropriate conservation mixes for the island’s historic buildings. The lime burn will give us the quick lime to slake, so that later on this month we can trial different mixes for building, plastering and render repair.