Floors

Our upstairs floors (which look a bit like cracked concrete) are made of lime ash and form one of the key features in our Grade II listing. Lime ash as the name suggests is the residue from lime kilns and the material is then laid on laths supported by joists and beams.

Lime ash floors were an economical form of upper floor construction and had the advantages of being strong, warm underfoot and a good material for insulation against sound. The floors were constructed of the hard composite material (lime ash) laid over a supporting bedding material which was secured to timber joists. Today this type of flooring is no longer used in building construction but was commonly found up until the last century in many counties including Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and some parts of Yorkshire (Bonsers Building Restoration).