Bricks

Joseph George Alcock appears in the 1871 census as a brick and tile manufacturer at the age of 23. By 1881 he was a tile manufacturer at Trentham and had moved to London by 1891. The trade directories show J & J Alcock trading at Sutherland Street in 1869-70, Alcock and Emery at New Basin, Fenton, in 1875, and Alcock and Forshaw at High Street, Fenton in 1879. From all this information I deduce that this brick is from the period before he went into partnership and made at a works in the Sutherland Street area.

A product of George Woolliscroft's Canal Tileries in Etruria.

The Grane brickworks opened in September 1895. A newspaper report of the opening described the plant: "The present works consist of a boiler house, engine house, machine house, and grinding house. They are erected in red brick, and are easily accessible, facing the turnpike. The boiler is 37ft by 7ft. No.1 Grinding mill is 9ft in diameter. The engines which can be worked up to 90 horse power, are by Bellhouse of Manchester. The machinery is of the latest patent and is applied by Messrs. C. Whittaker & Co. of Accrington. It is expected as the works now stand, a turn out of 500 bricks a hour can be effected. There is now only one machine, but another four are expected."

In 1870 William Hammond went into partnership with his brother-in-law Robert Gardiner to work fireclay in Pott Shrigley and they established their brickworks on the north side of the Bakestonedale road opposite that of George Lambert. 1875 saw Mr Lawrence Gardiner succeeded his brother in the business. He died in 1886 and Mr Hammond took over the works entirely, so this glazed brick must date from 1870-1886.

In c1820 George Lambert and Abraham Bury started a small brickworks near Brink Farm with one kiln to fire the bricks. When they needed to expand they moved to the site in Bakestonedale.By 1848 George Lambert was operating a coal and fireclay mine with associated Pott Brickworks on the south side of the road at Bakestonedale, Pott Shrigley. Lambert was still working the Pott Shrigley coal mine in 1884 but had relinquished the firebrick works to James Hall before 1878. By 1896 all had been absorbed into the business of William Hammond on the north side of the road. This firebrick must therefore date from between 1848 and 1878.

Gadbury brickworks, on the south side of Wigan Road from Gibfield Colliery, was named after the old Gadbury Fold Farm nearby. It was established by Fletcher Burrows and Co, owners of Atherton Collieries around 1914. The works closed around 1964 shortly after the colliery finished working.

I found this in Higher Poynton. It may well have been produced by James Downing, Defiance Brickyard, Chesterton.

The Micklam brickworks at Lowca also produced large quantities of refractory bricks for the steel industry.

Milton Brick & Tile Works, Carluke, Lanarkshire, operated from c1897 to 1978. Scottish Clay Hollow-Ware Limited were incorporated on 15th July 1937 with registered office at the works. Final closure came with the voluntary liquidation of T B Gibson & Co Ltd t/a Milton Tile Works, Carluke on 14th August 1978.

Meadow Brickworks, Carluke, South Lanarkshire, 1889 - 1920. The business of John McDonald, Son, & Company, Composition Brick and Fire Clay Manufacturers, Meadow Brick Works, Braidwood, Carluke. Partners Charles McDonald and William Barr dissolved partnership 30th April 1910. It was also known as the Nellfield Brick & Tile Works.

Kersland Brickworks, Dalry, Ayrshire. On the site of the former Kersland Ironstone Pit, the works operated from around 1900 to c1939.

Littlemill (Knockshinnock) Colliery and Brickworks at Rankinston, Ayrshire.

The Castle Brick Works was in Birchills, just off Upper Green Lane, and first appears on the 1902 OS map with five rectangular kilns. In 1924 it was operated by J Griffin, Jones and Company, and in 1940 it was the Castle Brick Co. The works seems to have closed and been swallowed up in extensions to the tube works by the early 1950s.

The Castle Brick Works was in Birchills, just off Upper Green Lane, and first appears on the 1902 OS map with five rectangular kilns. In 1924 it was operated by J Griffin, Jones and Company, and in 1940 it was the Castle Brick Co. The works seems to have closed and been swallowed up in extensions to the tube works by the early 1950s.

St John's Colliery was at Normanton near Wakefield and was operating a small brickworks just south of Newland Lane in 1892. By 1907 the works had been moved to a site on the north side of the road. It continued to appear on OS maps into the 1970s, but had been demolished by 1985.

Edwin Glossop appears to have established his brickworks at Ambergate, just south of the railway junction at Bullbridge, in the early 20th century. Glossop's siding is listed here in the 1912 handbook of railway stations. Raw materials for the bricks came on a tramway from quarries up the hill to the east with an incline down to the main line sidings. The works appears on maps until the 1980s. The burning to the right end of this example is due to it having been used to line a limekiln at Ilam in Staffordshire.

Daniel Platt & Sons specialised in tiles at their Brownhill Tileries in Tunstall and also at Harpfield Tileries in Newcastle. They also made facing and paving bricks along with specialist items such as copings, ridges, and finials. Daniel Platt first appears in the trade directories in 1875 listed at Harpfield Tileries. BCM is a mark means 'British Clay Manufacturers' which was a marketing arrangement between a number of manufacturers. The 1931 Directory of Clayworkers lists BCM \ DP&S along with 18 other firms.

Hewitt appears in the trade directories between 1904 and 1912 at Bradwell Hall where he advertises as manufacturing bricks and tiles along with ornamental roofing, ridge and garden tiles.