tarboat's photos

The Avonbridge Brick Works in Avonbridge, Falkirk were established about 1952 by Afton Brick Co Ltd. It lay about 2 kilometres to the east of the village and was known locally as 'the Tinplate'. There was a single Hoffman KIln with 28 chambers. The works closed in 1977 and has lain derelict ever since. Image courtesy of Alan Fleming

The works of the Cleghorn Terra-Cotta Ltd was situated alongside the Caledonian Railway just north-west of Cleghorn in Lanarkshire. It was connected to a claypit some distance away by a tramway. High quality red facing bricks were produced and used on many prominent buildings and structures in Scotland. These included the Rispen Cleuch Viaduct on the Wanlockhead Light Railway, and the Bonded warehouses, Seagate, Dundee. Established c1895 the company was wound up in 1918 when the following notice was posted in the EDINBURGH GAZETTE, OCTOBER 22, 1918. THE CLEGHORN TERRA-COTTA COMPANY LIMITED. AT an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Members of the above Company, duly convened, and held at 45 Hope Street, Glasgow, on the 25th day of September 1918, the following Special Resolutions were duly .passed ; and at a subsequent Extraordinary General Meeting .of the above Company, also duly convened, and held at the same place on the 16th day of October 1918, the following Special Resolutions were duly confirmed :;— 1. "That The Cleghorn Terra-Cotta Company Limited be wound up voluntarily," and 2. "That Mr. William M'Lintock, Chartered Accountant, Glasgow, be, and is hereby appointed Liquidator to conduct the winding up." DAVID RANKINE, Chairman. Image courtesy of Alan Fleming

This water tower in the Parish of Charlton, east of Malmesbury is surprisingly unpolluted by aerials and dishes.

The old Hartleys Brewery in Ulverston dates back to 1755, but the Hartley family only became involved in 1896. In July 1982 Hartleys (Ulverston) Ltd was acquired by Robinsons of Stockport and brewing ceased on the site in November 1991. Today it is used as a distribution depot by Robinsons, but a planning application has recently been submitted to develop the site as a supermarket.

Winding was in full swing when I last popped over to Hatfield for a peek at the pit. After the demise of owners Powerfuel Mining the coal business, Hatfield Colliery Ltd, has now been sold to Entero BV, a recently established holding company.

Networker 466 005 arriving at Snodland with train to Strood. I wonder how much longer the signalbox with its natty little extension will survive.

Remains of the coal mining industry are to be found all over the moors around Axe Edge above Buxton. The collapsed shaft has filled with water at this particular site. That's Buxton in the distance. Great place for an evening walk.

The Houthalen Collliery in the Limburg region of Belgium was operated along with that at Heusden-Zolder in its later life and closed with it in 1992. What remains is rather pointless, as the headframes are entirely out of context without the rest of the buildings that were once here. The scene kept making me think of the tripods in H G Wells' War of the Worlds. This is what it used to look like .

Early morning shift change at Tianzhuang shed on the Pingdingshan Coal Railway. The coal gleaners are hard at work as the JS class locomotives pass over the ashpits and onto the servicing and water point. All gone now as the diesels have arrived.

This interesting commercial premises is Nos 69-73 Stafford St, Hanley. The brick structure is ornamented with sandstone lintels, bands and decorative plaques on the upper storeys. The tower is dated 1911 and the flanking panels are lettered LTD with the 'T' much taller than the other letters. This represents the original owners - Teetons Limited , who were listed in the 1904 trade directory as: Wholesale & retail drapers, house furnishers, milliners, mantle warehousemen, & boot & shoe factors. The rear section along the left side has a decorative datestone on 1901. The firm occupied nos 75 & 77 Stafford Street too, where the Leek United Building Society office now stands. Looking at the raised section, I reckon that was once the centre of the building, and the right hand side has been demolished. The full impressive effect is consequently somewhat spoiled.

Prudential Assurance Buildings, Union Street, Oldham. This office building was erected in 1889 by Alfred Waterhouse, who designed a number of offices for the Prudential. The plinth is polished granite and there is plenty of terracotta decoration, particularly on the upper storeys. Again no indication as to the manufacturer of the terracotta, although there were a number of works in the Rochdale area that would have been capable of producing to this quality. The end wall around the corner on the left of this view is faced in white glazed brick, whereas the right side is red brick.

JS 8040 pushes spoil out of the opencast pit at the Sandaoling coal mine. It's a steep climb and the sound of the thrash was always great to hear.

Terracotta decorations on The Hen and Chickens, Constitution Hill, Birmingham, dating from c1880. The building is listed Grade II.

Another Lyth Valley limekiln. This time a small early kiln that must have produced lime just for local use.

What a load of nonsense. What they actually do is repair public/housing association properties in return for lots of money.

The metal curtains are up at the Shoulder of Mutton Inn on Sun St, Hanley. Another closed pub that nobody wants.It will be a great shame if it is demolished and this fine piece of terracotta is lost.

An astonishing building in the little market town of Ulverston. The use of at least four different colours of bricks on this late 19th century building creates a very striking effect. The whole building may appear to house an estate agency, but the ground floor is actually a cafe!

Kriegslok 33-503 bursts out of the tunnel shortly before arriving at Ljubace with coal empties for the mine at Banovici.