"St John Lee, Acomb and Hexham Area Area"

"Hexham and Northumberland Area"

"St John Lee is a parish, comprising the townships of Acomb (West), Anick, Anick Grange, Bingfield, Cocklaw, Fallowfield, Hallington, Portgate, Sandhoe, and Wall.  It is bounded by the parishes of Thockrington, Chollerton, Simonburn, Warden, Hexham, Stamfordham, and Corbridge, and forms part of the liberty of Hexhamshire.   It is about seven miles in length, by four in breadth, and comprises an area of 15,090 acres.  Population in 1801, 1,802; in 1811, 1,910; in 1821, 1,952; in 1831, 1,962; in 1841, 1,947; and in 1851, 2,073 souls.  The soil of this parish is very rich, and the surface both varied and beautiful.  Coal and lead are found in large quantities, and the district is well watered by the northern branch of the Tyne, and intersected by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway."  [From History, Topography, and Directory of Northumberland, Whellan, 1855].

A lime burner is described as one who burns limestone, shells, etc to make lime.    Lime was heated in the kiln to change its chemical composition so that it could be used as a combining agent in mortar and plaster.  Kilns were tended by lime burners who usually lived nearby.  The lime burner would thrust a bundle of burning twigs into the 'eye' or fire grate which was usually covered with a heavy iron door.  The door would be shut fast and sealed to ensure slow burning.  One ton of limestone would produce 11cwt of high quality lime after eight hours burning.

During the 19th Century lime burning was so widespread across many areas of England that whether regionally or locally the entry "lime burner" would be an extremely weak indicator of the likely place of residence.  The term "lime" applies to two different products with greatly differing properties and uses: Quicklime and Slaked (or hydraulic) lime.  Both were produced and used in vast quantities, quicklime in building, slaked lime in agriculture and many other minor uses.  The lime burning itself was carried out (usually) in tall stone towers called lime kilns and used large amounts of coal.  The positioning of the lime kilns depended on the economics of transporting both coal and limestone but also on the way in which the resultant lime was to be used.  The primary product of lime burning (apart from a great deal of smoke and heat) is quicklime (CaO) a whitish powder with an enormous avidity for water which gives it ferociously "caustic" properties, making it really nasty to handle.  When "slaked" with water it gives out huge amounts of heat but remains a dry powder with much gentler causticity: Slaked lime, Ca(OH)2, is the form in which it was used in vast amounts in agriculture for "sweetening" acid soils.  It was relatively easy to handle and did not degenerate in damp air or in ordinary sacks.  Limestone was a prime ingredient in the making of Iron and Steel.  Blast furnaces need three main ingredients Coal, Limestone and Iron Ore.

Comment:  The earliest ancestor of Branch 30A is described as a "Lime Burner and Road Labourer".   Although rather small, the Branch is interesting and may be the forerunner of branches 30AA and 29M.   The researcher believes that 30AA is in fact "another version" of this Branch (probably influenced by the chronology, the similarity of names and the fact that the earliest ancestor was also a "Lime Burner") but more data is required before this can be confirmed.

You may view the family tree for this Branch here. 

You may view the family tree for Branch 30AA here. 

You may view the family tree for Branch 29M here.