tarboat's photos

Joseph Hewitt & Co, Fenton Low Brick and Marl Works, first appears in the trade directories in 1872 and was working until after 1940. Thia brick marked J Hewitt and Son probably dates from before 1872.

Shawforth Brick Company Ltd, Near Rochdale. This brick was found in a wall at the Goyt Mill, Hawk Green, near Marple.

From the brickworks close to Poynton Station. Poynton, Cheshire, once had an extensive coal mining industry that lasted until 1935. Ancillary to this were the brick and gas industries which served the local area and population. The brickworks and gasworks were located next to each other and both served by the colliery railway system. Brickworks In 1875 the colliery agent described the brickworks in his annual report: "Extensive brickworks have been erected near the railway junction just named They have been established mainly for the purpose of utilising the pit shales drawn in the course of coal work and also for the manufacture of ordinary bricks The works comprise a steam engine with a 16 inch cylinder, Boiler, Crushing and Grinding Machinery, pug mill and brick making machine (Morands). The machinery was made by Messrs. Easton and Tattersall of Leeds. It is now making good bricks but has been very troublesome chiefly owing to its parts not being sufficiently strong and to other defects in construction. These have apparently been remedied and I hope there will be no more drawbacks. The machine will by fair going make 2 million bricks, per annum, at a labour cost of 10s per thousand. A brick drying shed in which the drying is effected by the exhaust steam of the engine has also been put up: the application of the steam has been quite successful. A patent brick kiln (Pollock & Mitchell) with 8 chambers has also been built with a chimney 120 feet in height- This is not yet in full operation but the burning has been commenced: it will probably have to be burnt off a time or two before the bricks will be as hard as they ought to be. The cost of the brickworks has been about £3000" The brickworks had closed by 1920 when it was offered for sale along with most of the Vernon Estate. The 1:10560 O.S.map of 1910 shows that a third circular kiln had been added. By 1920 the kilns and railway siding remained but the building which housed the machinery had gone. Today the main site is a mixture of scrub, water filled pits and some foundations, whilst the clay field on the other side of the railway has been levelled and made into a park.

Even on a wet day the Elite Cinema building in Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham looks impressive. It was designed by the London architects Adamson & Kinns and opened in 1921. Closed as a cinema in 1977 it operated until 1990 as a bingo hall it is now a night club with office and retail uses. The building is listed Grade II*.

I find a lot of interest in the shapes and structures of concrete and aggregates plant. This particular example I happened upon whilst looking for brickworks remains at Chickerell near Weymouth. The brickworks had long been demolished and replaced with this works and the council refuse department garage and workshops with an enormous stockpile of wheelie bins at the back.

Sidings and loading areas at the Lafarge cement works at Hope. The locomotive in the distance is in the coal stocking area with a number of hopper wagons.

Limekilns of Capital Iron and Steel Group on the outskirts of Beijing at Dahuichang. This is a confusing site with old stone built running kilns on one side and these more modern steel cased kilns amidst a complex range of buildings and other processes.

My first visit to China was in October 1992 and one of the highlights of the trip was the Jalainur opencast mine. The layout of the mine at that time was very different from today and the coal trains had to be hauled right out of the pit to reach the washery by the exchange sidings rather than the conveyor system from the low level unloading point now in use. Traffic was very heavy and slipping to a halt on the curves and gradients appeared to be a regular occurrence. Here a train that had set back after stalling is preparing to be banked out by the following working. The main power plant for the area can be seen on the horizon.

In China most villages seem to have their own brickworks to supply local demand. In this area between Daban and Chifeng in the Mongolian Autonomous Region was the valley of the brickworks with many kilns making pipes, tiles and bricks. The straw covering is essential to protect the green pipes from night time frosts.

The external doors ("wickets") on the Hoffman kiln at the brickworks in Reshui, Mongolian Autonomous Region.

The external doors ("wickets") on the Hoffman kiln at the brickworks in Reshui, Mongolian Autonomous Region.

Shunting the yard at Breza Colliery.

USA 5197 on the level crossing at Cheddleton as it arrives with a train from Leekbrook.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station against a typical summer 2008 sky.

Terracotta dragons are very scarce but today I found two on a building in Heathcoat St, Nottingham. Quite different from this one , the Nottingham dragon cheekily curls his tail through one of the holes in the vertical section of the tile and also requires a prop for his neck! A lovely piece as is the one on an adjacent gable.

The Lafarge Cauldon works has a capability to produce 1 million tonnes of cement a year. The company has recently investing 3 million Euros in new storage and packing facilities at the site.

Safety valve weights hold down the lagging covers on the boiler backs at the Claymills Pumping Station.

Evening in the yard at Oskova on the Banovici coal railway. 0-8-2 locomotives 83-158 and 83-159 simmer by the water column.