Chaplin films shown in historic Shropshire limekiln

Hundreds of visitors ventured inside the historic Hoffmann kiln in Llanymynech, near Oswestry – one of only three left in the county – to watch The Chaplin Revue, as the comedian's Little Tramp also reaches its centenary this year.

Joan Zorn, from the Llimeys – friends of the Llanymynech Limeworks and Heritage Area – said visitors to the heritage area enjoyed the experience of watching the film in such an unusual venue.

"It was fantastic. The film went down really well. It's a super building, and showing a film in there is quite atmospheric," she said.

"It was a lovely day and we lost count of the number of people who came along. It was a beautiful day and we couldn't have asked for better weather."

The screening was organised by Kinoculture and included three classic silent comedies from Charles Chaplin – A Dog's Life, Shoulder Arms and The Pilgrim – strung together to form a single feature length film with new music by Chaplin himself.

Ian Garland, from Kinoculture, said: "A very big thank you to everyone at the Llanymynech Heritage Area for such a lovely family friendly event this Sunday afternoon, the sun was shining and there were beautiful walks to be done, demonstrations of lime burning, local groups like the the wonderful Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Underhill Farm.

"We would like to give a huge thanks to everyone who came along to see the three Charlie Chaplin films which formed the Chaplin Revue. We had a great day out."

During the afternoon on Saturday, visitors to the heritage area were treated to a demonstration of lime slaking, which took place on a huge scale in the kiln when it was operational.

Mrs Zorn said: "We had our demonstration kiln going and showed how lime was slaked, which lots of people found fascinating. We sent some smoke up the chimney as well, burning some leaves at the bottom, and that went down well.

"When you think it was 100 years ago it was a really nasty, dirty, smoky, industrial, smelly area, and now it's beautiful."

Younger visitors spent the afternoon exploring the site around the kiln as they went on an Easter egg hunt.

And the Llimeys used the afternoon as a chance to launch a new mobile phone app and ebook which contains a guide to the site alongside some of the history of the area.

"The app has been developed as part of the Trails Mid Wales app, with Powys County Council," Mrs Zorn said.