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Figure 66: Block Plan of Southorn's Kiln, Broseley.


The kiln is still standing at the pipe works in King Street. The site is known to have been used for the manufacture of pipes since 1881, first by Rowland Smitheman and after 1923 by the Southorn family (Higgins et al 1988, 5). A kiln is shown in the same position on the Ordnance Survey map of 1882. The kiln shown in plan was built as an updraught bottle kiln; the four fire boxes are probably original features. At some stage the kiln has been converted to operate as a downdraught design; the internal sunken flues, external subterranean flue and freestanding square chimney all relate to this later phase. The wicket threshold is above ground level. The "arrowhead" features indicated by dotted lines inside the chamber adjacent to each firebox are the bag walls standing about 1.2m high to direct the flame upwards to the crown before being drawn down through the floor vents. The floor of the chamber is made up of loosely placed fire clay slabs bridging the flues but leaving spaces between for the downward passage of the fire gasses.