These curious structures, situated next to the line of an old railway track immediately west of Wakerley, are the remains of calcining kilns at the short-lived Wakerley iron ore quarries, which were active only from 1916-21 as the ore was of a lower quality than had been hoped. The village website assumed a connection with the steel industry at Corby:
Link (
Archive Link ) . However, there was no direct rail link to Corby, and according to the industrial historian E S Tonks, Wakerley quarry was owned by the Partington Iron & Steel Co, the ore going to its Irlam Steel Works in Manchester. Calcining at the quarry reduced the volume of the ore and made it cheaper to transport. (Thanks to John Sutton and Katy Walters for providing this information).