The Rey lime kilns

A land of limestone, Normandy was a strategic extraction location to meet the growing demand for lime in various industries at the time. Thanks to its ideal geographical position, Regnéville-sur-Mer was the perfect place for lime production in the 19th century. Its port was one of the busiest in the Cotentin region, and its lime production was to maintain this maritime vocation for decades to come.

The four kilns were built on the former quarry face of the Rey limestone quarry, according to the plans of engineer Pierre Simoneau. The kilns were used to calcinate limestone to produce quicklime. This was then transported to the Channel Islands and the Brittany coast for liming.

Used less and less over time, lime production only lasted around 30 years, coming to a halt in the late 1880s.

One hundred years later, Jean-Claude Énault, mayor of Regnéville, and Luc Macé-Maulaurie, director of the Conservatoire de Musique, convinced the Conservatoire’s choristers to clear this abandoned site and launch cultural activities. On June 21, 1983, the day of the music festival, the inaugural concert of the Rey lime kilns was produced with the support of the Conseil Général de la Manche, and thanks to its success, the site was revived.