Building record MWX3800 - Cement Factory, Charmouth

A cement factory was built on West Beach, Charmouth to exploit the Lower Lias cement stones from the cliffs. It was built in the 1850s and operated until about 1867. The building later became derelict but in 1985 it was converted into the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.

The factory was built for John Morcombe and Son of Plymouth, probably in 1854. The factory was housed in a two storey stone building with storerooms and the engine and boiler room on the ground floor with a chimney at the northwest corner of the building. The upper floor was the grinding room with two large grindstones and was accessed by an external stone stair at the northwest corner of the building. The grindstones survive and are now placed just to the west of the building. To the rear of the factory were two lime kiln and the remains of one are still visible. The factory was closed by 1867, when it was put up for auction. (1)

The factory produced cement from the cement-stones of the Lower Lias cement beds in the cliffs at Charmouth (2).

The ownership of the factory building reverted to the landowners, the Pass Estate, after 1867 and was sold to Charmouth Parish in 1938. The building remained derelict for many years and was used as a fishing store, Scout hall, deckchair store, beach café, etc. Emergency repairs were undertaken on the building in the early 1950s, when the chimney and stone steps were removed, the upper floor reduced and the roof line shortened. (1)

In 1985 the building was converted into the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.

<1> Press, P M, 1999, 'The Old Cement Factory' The Village Echo: The Newsletter of the Pavey Group of the Village of Charmouth, 8-13 (Article in serial). SDO11288.

<2> Woodward, H B and Ussher, W A E, 1911, The Geology of the Country near Sidmouth and Lyme Regis, 84 (Monograph). SDO11298.

<3> 2000, Monuments Protection Programme Industrial Monuments Step 3 Report: Lime, Cement and Plaster, Dorset 2 (Unpublished document). SDO17226.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1465260 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

'Remains of an early-mid 19th century cement crushing mill and kiln at the South end of Sea View. There was apparently a lime kiln here in 1828 which was replaced by a cement works in the 1850s which used septaria, or `cement stones' gathered from the sea shore. This would have been ground and then burnt in the two adjacent kilns. Cement making ceased in 1867, and the site is now a fossil shop and visitor's centre. It has been extensively restored and no internal features survive. The burnt stone was crushed in the crushing mill by two millstones driven by a steam engine. This survives as a two-storey building of random rubble. The lower part of the brick pot of one of the kilns and a section of stone retaining wall have been preserved to the rear of the building.'

Record last edited

Aug 5 2021 3:26PM