"Old Bricks - history at your feet"

England - Page 15, Letter M.

Ma to Me below       Mi to My


M & M, Carbrook



Origin not known - from the Carbrook area in the east end of Sheffield.  Photo by Frank Lawson.

S Machin

Origin not known - probably from the Sheffield area.  Found Crookes, Sheffield by Frank Lawson.


Machine Pottery & Brick Works

Made in Walthamstow. Photo by Simon Hurst.


Madeley Coal & Iron Co

Found in a Macclesfield reclamation yard. The Madeley Coal and Iron Company Limited, and then Madeley Coal, Coke and Brick Company Limited, was at Little Madeley, Staffordshire from 1905 to 1924 when the business became Madeley Collieries Limited. Photo by Martyn Fretwell.


Madeley Collieries

Madeley or Leycett Colliery was sunk 1880 and closed in 1957. It was located 5.5km west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, adjacent to the current M6 motorway - Paul Deakin, Collieries in the North Staffordshire coalfield, 2004. Image PRBCO.

Photo by David Kitching.


Ann Maden, Bacup

Ann Maden, Hogshead Colliery, Gauther Fold, Brittania, Bacup. Mining began in the late 18th century.Brick making started in the 1840's when the principal owners were Maden & Lord. By the mid 1860's Maden had died and his widow Ann Maden had taken over the business. She was succeeded by Henry Maden & Co. - her son. The brickworks closed in 1873. Info courtesy of Colin Driver.


Madeley Wood



Found in Madeley Road, Ironbridge by Mike Shaw.

Magnesia : see General Refractories


H Mainwaring

Henry Mainwaring was the proprietor of the Wolviston Tilery near Billingham in 1851 when he employed 15 people there and was still there until his death in 1861. This brick was found by Sarah Fawcett in south west Durham and is possibly a product of this works.

Photo by Mike Graham.


H J & C Major, Bridgwater



Found near the old RAF Andover airfield by Andrew Farthing.

The Major business is listed in trade directories from 1872 - 1939. Photo by Ian Williams.


Malago Colliery and Brick Works



Found in Wiltshire.  Located in the Bedminster district of Bristol; the Malago colliery itself was possibly also known as the West Street pit and /or the Red Cow pit, and the brickworks straddled the main GWR line and was located north of the Malago Vale carriage sidings. The colliery closed in 1897 and the brickworks closed in 1918. Thanks to Phil McMullen for the photo and info.

Malden, Surrey



Photo by Richard Symonds.



Photo by John Packham, who found this example on his allotment.  John adds: The brickworks were in Blagdon Road, New Malden (now a leisure centre) and apparently took the clay from the tunneling of the Northern Line's extension of the Underground to Morden in the early 1920's.  The houses around my allotment site were built then which is why it's not surprising that I now have some residual ones lying around.  I've no idea whether the brickworks existed before or after the Northern Line clay was available but local 'knowledge' seems to suggest that it existed only to use the raw material while it was available.

Maltby Metallic

Maltby Metallic Brick Co., Rotherham Road, Maltby, S.Yorks. Photos by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Spotted in Derbyshire by Simon Patterson.


Malton

 

Manufactured at Malton Colliery, County Durham. Photos by Steven Tait.

Photos by Chris Tilney

Photo by Tony Gray.

Photo by Steven Tait.

Photo by Vicky Carr.

Photo by Nigel Dodds.

Photo by Ben Coult.


William Coverdale Malton

Photo by Nigel Furniss.







All three bricks are products of the Scalby Road Brickworks in Scarborough. This was one of four brickworks in the town with quarries working the soft shales of the Upper Estuarine Series which were crushed for brick making.  Scalby Road brickworks were set up by a local building and civil engineering contractor William Coverdale Malton (hence WCM) in the 1880s (I dont have an exact date yet). On his death in 1891 they were run by his wife Ellen until his sons entered the businesswhen ity became Wm Malton and Sons. Brick production ceased in 1956 and the site is now built over (Malvern Crescent, Scarborough).  Photos and info by Chris Hall



Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.  Found in Ravenscar, N Yorks.

Photo by John G de Nobriga.


Malton & Driffield Railway



 This railway in east Yorkshire existed from 1836  until amalgamated with the North Eastern Railway in 1854.  Photo by Alwyn Sparrow.

Mandall



In 1840 T R Mandall, the owner of Sandall brickyard near Doncaster announced that he was making bricks by pressing them into a polished steel mould which turned out the most perfect brick imagineable. Machine made pressed bricks soon superseded this process. Found at Barnby Dun. In 1840 Photo by Frank Lawson.

Manners, Eastwood

In 1920 the Manners Brick Company was formed from the Eastwood Brick and Pottery Company and the Erewash Brick, Pipe and Pottery Company. The site being next to the Great Northern Railway line, on its Derbyshire extension and the Erewash Canal. The brickworks closed in 1977. Photo and information by Martyn Fretwell.

A 1927 photo taken inside the works can be viewed here

Stamped No. 3, photo by Richard Harvey.

Photos by Martyn Fretwell.



This one is shaped - the back is chamfered - probably therefore for use as coping on top of a brick wall. photo by Glynn Lowth.

Manor Potteries

The Manor Pottery, Undercliffe Road, Eccleshill was established by Jeremiah Rawson, Lord of the Manor of Bradford, in 1837. It was purchased by Mr William Woodhead, a good geologist and chemist. Woodhead's eldest daughter Hannah married William Marshall who in turn owned the works. By 1867 the products had been switched from pottery to brick, firebricks and sewer-pipes. In June 1873 a valuation of the works described a 12 acre site consisting of: manor house, cottages, engines, sheds, land, Hoffman brick kiln and two other kilns were worth £8587. The first block of houses in Undercliffe Road, Eccleshill ('Terracotta Row - 1854') were linked with the works being, unusually for Victorian Bradford, brick built. Bricks marked [ECCLESHILL] and [WW] are known in addition to the above. According to trade directories the Undercliffe Road kilns were still in operation in 1912. At some stage in the early 20th century the works were closed; the chimney was felled on 12th November 1921. Information by Derek Barker, photo by Frank Lawson.

Photos by David Kitching.


J P Mansell, Netherton



James Philip Mansell was originally a blacksmith and then invested in a range of pubs, a brickworks and a colliery in the Dudley and Netherton area. He also held a significant interest in the Dudley Empire Music Hall. J. P. Mansell is listed as brickmaker in Kelly's 1899 edition as James P. Mansell, (blue bricks a speciality), The Dixon's Green Endurance Brick Works, Netherton, Dudley. This works opened in 1898. Mansell died suddenly in May 1906 at the age of 43. Photos and info by Martyn Fretwell.


Mansfield

The Mansfield Brick Company, a subsidiary of Mansfield Sand Co. produced calcium silicate bricks from 1926 to the mid 1990's at its Sandhurst Avenue site. This brick came from a 1930's/40's house recently demolished, situated very close to were it was made. In 2010 the Company relocated  to Crown Farm Way, Mansfield and now produces bespoke concrete bricks and products.  Photos and info by Martyn Fretwell.

Photo by Frank Lawson.

Photo by Phil Burgoyne.


Mansfield Stone & Brick Works

Photo by Greg Sirdifield.



This brickworks was located at the end of Moor Lane, Mansfield, on land running down to the railway. It now has flats built on it, with a football field where they dug the clay. Photos by Martyn Fretwell.

Photos by Jonathan Light.


H. R. Mansfield, Whitwick

Horace Rendall Mansfield, Hermitage Works, Whitwick, Leicester is recorded as brickmaker in Kelly's 1899 to 1912 editions. Mansfield was an MP for the Coalville Area  The works was famous for Terra Cotta mouldings. It was eventually sold to National Star from South Wales.  He also had a salt glazed pipe works at Church Gresley.  Thanks to Peter Harris and Martyn Fretwell for the info.

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Photo by Andy Farthing.



Found in Bolsover by Simon Patterson



Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.



Photo by Peter Harris.

Photos by Martyn Fretwell.


W Mansfield, Patent, Birm



Photo by William Whitehead.



William Mansfield is listed in Kellys 1867 & 68 editions at the Atlas Works, Garrison Lane, Birmingham. William Mansfield went bankrupt in 1872 & his yard was taken over by George Savage.  Photo by Frank Lawson.


Manvers Main Colliery



Manvers Main Colliery Brickworks, Wath-on-Dearne, South Yorks.   Manvers, as it was known, was named after Earl Manvers of Nottinghamshire, who owned much of the freehold on the mineral property.  Manvers Main Colliery was one of, if not the, largest collieries in South Yorkshire producing coal, coke and associated chemical by-products.

The colliery was expanded and developed after the Second World War, but even before then it had masses of buildings, by-product plant and miles of railway sidings lined with full and empty coal trucks. There were two pits, No.1 and No.2 collieries, some 650 yards apart; a brickyard producing 120,000 bricks a week; a small power station; a plant for making benzol and toluol; huge spoil heaps to which spoil was transported by iron skips on overhead cableways and batteries of coke ovens that produced so much gas that in the 1930s Manvers was able to supply the Wath, Bolton & Thurnscoe Gas Co., the Swinton & Mexborough Gas Co., and several local companies besides.  The site is now a massive industrial estate with modern offices and warehouses. Photo by Frank lawson and by courtesy of Caphouse Mining Museum, Overton, Wakefield



A brickyard attached to the colliery had a capacity of 120,000 bricks per week in the 1940s. 'A. Hill, The South Yorkshire Coalfield, 2001'. Image PRBCO.

Marbrow





Front and back of a Marbrow Newton brick. In 1871, John Marbrow of Newton Solney near Burton was employing 6 men & 1 boy at his Newton brickyard. He produced bricks, tiles, drainpipes & kiln tiles until 1890. The works had been founded by John's father-in-law, William Hopkins in 1811. Photos & Info by Martyn Fretwell.

Mar Hill



Mar Hill, Carlton, Nottingham.  Photo by Mike Chapman.

Market Harborough



Photo by Peter Harris.

Marland



Made at Marland Moor, near Petrockstowe, Devon.  The works closed in 1940.

Photo by Simon Fogg.

Photos by Ian Williams.



Photo by Martyn Fretwell courtesy of the Bill Richardson Collection at Southwick Hall.

Found in Bodmin. Photo by Ian Williams.

Photo by Bruce.



Found on the River Dart near Totnes. Photo by Ian Forrester. There is still some debate about the actual provenance of these bricks marked with a circular 'H' and which are found in Devon and Cornwall.


Marley Minehead

Kelly's Directory 1914, John B Marley, Irnham Road, Minehead & Victoria Brick Works, Alcombe, Taunton. Photo by Drew Dickson.

Photo by Mike Chapman.


Marley Hill

Made at Marley Hill colliery, County Durham. Photos by Chris Tilney.

Marple: see Tymms


Marple Brick Co Ltd

This brickworks in Marple, Cheshire was short-lived due to the poor quality of the raw material used to make them. The bricks tended to return to dust rather quickly when faced with the weather.

Photo by Henry Lisowski.

Reverse of brick. Photo by Alan Hulme.

Marriage, Hatfield



Hugh Marriage is listed in Kellys 1899 to 1922 editions at Hatfield, Witham, Essex. Photo & Info by Martyn Fretwell.

Marrian



Found Sheffield, South Yorks. 2016. Origin not known.  Probably from the Sheffield area. Although I can find no reference to a brickmaker with the surname Marrian there is a brewer with the name Thomas Marrian at Royds Mill Street, Sheffield in the 1881 directory however I can find no evidence that he also had an interest in brickmaking. Photo and info by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

J Marriott



No info. Photo by Martyn Fretwell.

Marshall Green

Photos by Chris Tilney.

Marshall Green Brick Works of Witton le Wear. Photo by Frank Lawson.


Marshall Sons & Co.

Marshall Sons and Company were an engineering firm who made traction engines, etc. at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. The factory was built from bricks made from clay out of the hillside where the factory stood. On the other side of the brick it is stamped Clayton Patent, this was the brick making machine.  Photo and info by David Rogers.

Photos by Frank Lawson.


George Backhouse Marshall & Sons

This boldly lettered brick was made by George Backhouse Marshall & Sons, Church Garforth, listed as masons, builders and brickmakers in White's Clothing District directory, 1875. Photo by Alan Tomlinson.


Thomas Marshall (Loxley) Ltd

Photos by John Bramall.

Thomas Marshall was first in partnership with William Crapper at the Storrs Bridge Brickworks, Loxley, Sheffield & the duo are listed as claiming compensation after the 1864 Great Sheffield Flood which devastated their brickworks. Whites 1879 edition is the only listing found for Marshall & Crapper at the Storrs Bridge Works. We then find that Marshall & Crapper had gone their separate ways by 1893 as Crapper is listed as operating the Wisewood Brickworks further down the Loxley valley in that year. Meanwhile Thomas Marshall continues to run the Storrs Bridge Works mainly producing fire bricks & products for the steel industry, hence the TMFB Co. bricks. White’s 1901 edition lists Thomas Marshall & Co. at Storrs Bridge. Thomas Marshall & Co. are listed as exhibiting their products at the 1937 British Industries Fair in Birmingham. After the death of Thomas Marshall (I am taking this to be the son or grandson of the 1864 Thomas Marshall) in 1965, the Storrs Bridge works was being operated by Hepworth Refractories. Photos & Info by Martyn Fretwell.


Marshall, S Shields

Adam & Peter Marshall, builders and brickmakers, Claypath Lane, South Shields, 1879 & 1881. 1881 employing 6 men, 4 boys and 3 women. 1889 Peter Marshall, Lee Street, South Shields. Photo by Steven Tait.


Marshall & Gray (Guiseley)

Photo by Kevin Moyles.

Marshall & Gray were once owners of Guiseley Brickworks.  

A later product of the works.  Photos by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.



Photo taken near Leeds/Bradford airport by Melanie Harriman.





M M - Maurice Marshall of Guiseley, photos by Frank Lawson. The works was worked by John Marshall Barwick and Maurice Marshall under the title Barwick and Marshall until the partnership was dissolved in July 1889.

William Marshall

William Marshall, Stone Hall Road, Eccleshill, Bradford, West Yorks - Post Office Bradford Directory 1887. Photo by Frank Lawson.


Marshalls



A concrete brick made by Marshalls of Nottingham. The company was taken over by Hanson in 2005. Photo & Info by Martyn Fretwell.

Marston

Marston Valley Brick Co, Lidlington, Bedfordshire.
The original Marston Valley Brick Company was formed in 1929 with Mr Whitehouse as the Managing Director. He had previously been the Manager of The London Brick Company in Peterborough. Marston Valley Brick Company and London Brick Company became rivals. In a bid to control the progress of Marston Valley Brick Company, London Brick brought large areas of land around Lidlington and other local villages. In 1968 London Brick Company took over Marston Valley Brick Company, this was completed in 1971 and Marston Valley Brick Company ceased to exist. At the height of the industry's production there were 167 brick chimneys in the Marston Vale. Photo and info by Frank Lawson.

Photos by Martyn Fretwell.

Photo by Trevor Stringer.


Martin, Lee Moor





Photo by David Kitching, part of the collection at Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum.

A product of Martin Bros, Lee Moor, Porcelain Clay-Bricks and Architectural Works. Photo by Mark Cranston.


Martyn : see Porth


M'port (Maryport)

Photo by Chris Tilney.



Found on the beach at Carsethorn on the Dumfriesshire coast just across the Solway Firth. It is uncertain where the brickworks was but situated but there is an unnamed Brick & Tile Works on the southern edge of Maryport just west of Ellenborough Colliery which looks a likely candidate. It might have obtained fireclay from the colliery. It was active in 1867 but absent from the 1899 OS map. Photo and info by Ian Suddaby.

A Mason, Horwich

Adam Mason, Pearlbrook & Winter Hill Fireclay Works, Horwich, Lancs. Worrall's Horwich Directory 1871: - Mason Adam, coal proprietor, and manufacturer of fire clay and terra cotta wares, Winterhill and Pearlbrook works. Mason was proprietor of Montcliffe Colliery, Horwich, Bolton. Photos and information by David Kitching.

Photo by Alan Davies.

Photo by Bill Fielding.


James Mason, Exeter

An advert in 1853 by Mr Mason's Brickmaker at the brick field indicates they could supply bricks from the 25 April under his supervision. James Mason would run the works until January 1859, when he resigned just before the
works went into private ownership. Information by David Cornforth and photo by Simon Fogg.


Richard Mason & Sons, Tipton

Richard Mason & Sons, Crown Brick Works, Toll End, Tipton.  Richard Mason & Sons are first recorded in Kelly's 1884 edition, then the entry from the 1896 edition to the 1916 edition is Mason Ltd, (blue & red), Toll End, Tipton. Present day Bayleys Pool on Toll End Road is where they dug the clay from for the Crown Brickworks. Info by Martyn Fretwell.

Photo courtesy of the the Chris Thorburn collection.

Photo by Elizabeth Thomson.


Thomas Mason

Thomas Mason appears in Kellys trade directory for 1876 and 1880 at The Leamington Steam Brick Works, Lillington Road, Leamington. Photos and info by Nigel Furniss.

Mason & Dall

Mason and Dall were the first, brief, proprietors of a new brickworks in Kenilworth starting operations in January 1889. The only found examples of their named produce are decorative bricks such as this one.  A railway siding was installed from the outset.  The works became the Cherry Orchard as featured elsewhere on this site.  Thanks to Robin Leach for the photo and info.


Mason & Watson, Napton





1878  Thomas Mason (brickmaker) and Charles Watson (carpenter & builder) established a brick & tile manufacturing site near the canal at Napton. They supplied bricks for the Sheffield, Manchester & Lincolnshire Railway ( later G.C.R.) in 1894 for contract No.4, that section being built by Thomas Oliver & Son. Earlier they supplied bricks to the L.N.W.R. Weedon - Marton Junction section 1888 onwards (opened 1895).

1896  (10th December) Partnership dissolved by mutual consent. Trading as Charles Watson Brick & Tile Makers until 31/12/1901.

1902 (1st January) Watson Nelson Ltd. Brick & Tile Manufacturers (Windmill Brand - T.M.) with Watson as managing director. The Nelson connection was Charles Nelson & Co. Ltd. cement manufacturers of Stockton. Sold to Allied Brick & Tile Works Ltd., head office 13, Stratford Place, London W1 in 1934. Work continued at Napton until the 1970's, when they closed in 1973.



The company emblem on some of their bricks and tiles was a WINDMILL, as there is one on the 500' hill above the works, built in 1543 and restored in the 1960's. It was a landmark for all the old boatmen transporting the bricks and tiles in narrow boats, and can be seen for miles around. The windmill emblem can be faintly seen on the brick above.  Photos and info by Chris M Jones and Nigel Furniss.

Matthews (Barrow): see entry for Furness, Barrow


H Mathews Co. Wordsley



Photo by Martyn Fretwell who adds:  Howard Mathews & Co. are listed at Buckpool, Wordsley, Kingswinford in Kelly's 1860 edition. This works was adjacent to Naggersfield Colliery & was later owned by William Richardson in 1872.  See W. Richardson entry.

H M L - Henry Matravers

Henry Matravers is listed by Davison at Longlands, Middlesbrough in 1877. This brick was found in the Tees and is most likely to be his product. Photo by Mike Graham.


Matthews, Blackburn



William Matthews, Royshaw Brickworks, Blackburn. Started in 1887. The works was rebuilt in 1932 by the Royshaw Brickworks Co. and later taken over by John Woods Brick & Tile Co. Ltd. of Bog Height Darwen. It closed in the early 1950's. Info by Colin Driver, photos by David Kitching.

Photo by Frank Lawson.


Henry George Matthews



Founded in 1923 by Henry George Matthews, his descendants still make hand-made & machine-made bricks in Buckinghamshire today. A family run business, the clay is still dug from original deposits around Bellingdon & Chalfont St. Giles. Photographed at a reclamation yard on the outskirts of Aylesbury. Photo and info by Nigel Furniss.

Photo by Michael Chapman.


John Matthew & Son

John Matthew & Son , Ingram Road / Shafton Lane, Holbeck, Leeds. Listed in Kelly 1900 to 1916, after which the site appears to have been owned by A N Braithwaite & Co ( A N B & Co ). Photos by Frank Lawson.

Photo by David Fox.


Maud

George Maud of Thorne, Yorkshire is listed as a farmer & brickmaker in Kelly's West Riding Directory of 1881.  Photo and info by Frank Lawson.


Maughan

John & Henry Maughan. The Maughan brick and tile works at Blyth was offered for sale in 1899 after the bankruptcy of John Vaughan, builder and brick manufacturer. By November 1899 the works was run by the Blyth Brick Company. Photo by David Kitching.


Maw

Maw Limited were primarily tile producers in Benthall & Jackfield, Shropshire. It is known that Maw made bricks from time to time, but it's not known where this brick was made. Photo & Info by Mike Shaw.


C & J May

Charles and Joshua May were colliery proprietors at Sneyd Colliery in Burslem where they are listed as running the brickworks from 1851 to 1873.

T A May



T A May - Found Sheffield, South Yorks. 2016.  Origin not known.  Photo and info by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

T & H Mayo, Willenhall, Coventry

A search of trade directories reveals Thomas & Henry Mayo, Willenhall, Coventry, owned this works in Kelly's 1880 to 88, then Henry Mayo 1892. The 1881 census shows Thomas Mayo - Builder. employing 25 men & 5 boys. (Father), and (Son) Henry - Builder & Brickmaker employing 5 men. From 1900 Stanley Brothers operated this works and made only red tiles. Info by Martyn Fretwell, Photo by Nigel Furniss.



McCallum Langley Mill



Photo by Frank Lawson.

McCarthy's Bulwell

McCarthy's brickworks was at the end of Thames Street in Bulwell, on the opposite side of the then Midland Railway line to Sankey's Brickworks, but now the path of the railway line is Sellers Wood Drive. These internal bricks were stamped either McCarthy's or MAC and were very absorbent. A bricklayer friend has told me, that he had to soak them overnight, before he layed them the next day. If not the bricks would draw the moisture out of the mortar and the wall would fall down. A picture of the works which closed around 1977 can be seen on picturethepast.org.uk Photo & Info by Martyn Fretwell.



Martyn Fretwell writes: I have found from Kelly's 1941 Notts. edition that Special Purpose Whites (S.P.W. Brand) was a Brand Name owned by M. McCarthy & Sons Ltd, sand lime bricks, Bulwell Lime Works, Thames Street, Bulwell, Nottingham. Photo by Frank Lawson.

McCarthy & Co, Coventry



Photo by Alwyn Sparrow.

A McGill, Whitehaven



Photo by Martyn Fretwell from the Chris Thornburn Collection.

Photo by Chris Graham.


McLachlan & Co

McLachlan & Co were proprietors of the Cold Knot firebrick works at Crook from the 1880s until it closed in 1897. Photo by Chris Tilney.


John McLaren

Photo by Steven Tait.

John McLaren, Shotton, County Durham whose business went into bankruptcy in 1869. Info by Mark Cranston, photo by Chris Tilney.

Photo by Nigel Bryson.


Meadow Hall Brick Company



Meadow Hall Brick Co., Lower Wincobank, Sheffield.  White's Sheffield & Rotherham Directory 1879. Info by Frank Lawson.

Meadows Kettering

Like many towns Kettering expanded in the last quarter of the 19th Century.  Two businessmen called William Meadows and John Bryan bought 70 acres and laid out streets and sold building  plots.  There was a huge demand for house bricks and in 1872 Meadows built a brickworks just off Stamford Road. The 1885 map shows it but the 1900 map does not.  Photo and info by Dave Clemo.

William and Thomas Meadows

This business is usually listed as T & W Meadows in the trade directories from the 1870s at Georges Road, Heaton Norris, Stockport. In 1881 Thomas Meadows is listed as a timber merchant and contractor employing 200 men. The timber yard and sawmill was on Georges Road but the brickworks seems to have been on Garners Lane in Davenport. By 1902 it was trading as the Davenport Terra Cotta, Brick & Tile Co still under Meadows' ownership. The works disappeared some time after 1910 and before 1914. Photo by Steve Biddulph.

See also Davenport.


R Meakin, Newton Burgoland, Ashby



Richard Meakin & Co. had a brickyard at Newton Burgoland in 1881. There are two disused brickyards near Newton Burgoland and I think Meakin used the one to the east of the village.  Photo and info by Richard Gamble.

Measham Terra Cotta Co.

Photo by Phil Burgoyne.





The Measham brick and Terra Cotta works was just off Atherstone Road, starting around 1883. The works are recorded in Kelly's for 1895 and in 1899 the company sank the Measham Newfield pit to extract coal & clay, its manager was John Tomlin. A railway siding was also built to the pit. On either side of the main railway line, there were two other brickworks - Coronet & Redbank on Atherstone Road, each with its own clay pits. The Measham Brick & Terra Cotta works closed in 1925 & was demolished. Photos and Info by Martyn Fretwell



Photo by Ray Martin.


Medley



Found near Huddersfield in W. Yorks by Frank Lawson.  Made by Jesse Medley at Brownroyd Brickworks, Kilner Bank, Moldgreen, Huddersfield, and listed in trade directories between 1889 and 1939.  Thanks to Phillip Rothery for the history.

Meek Spence & Wilson, Leeds

This was recovered from the Ferrybridge Pottery in Yorkshire, which closed down in 2003 and was demolished later that year. It came from the early (1795) group of buildings.  Photo and info by Alan Tomlinson.  Philip Rothery writes that it is a product of Meek, Spence & Wilson.  Listed in Slater's Yorkshire/Leeds 1848 and in White's Clothing District/ Leeds 1861.


Meek Spence & Wilson, York

Found in the Kirkstall area, Leeds. In the Victoria Country History for York there is a reference to James Meek of the York Flint Glass company making firebricks. He had 11 men making bricks in 1851. Photo and info by Sandra Garside-Neville.


Meir Brick Works, Longton

Photo taken at Apedale Heritage Centre by David Kitching.





Photographs at Corris by Martyn Fretwell.


John Meir

John Meir & Son are listed as brick manufacturers at Greengates, Tunstall in a trade directory for 1869-70.


Melbourne

Possibly have been made by Richard Bennett of Kings Newton, Melbourne or John Evans, Melbourne.  Photographed in Derbyshire by Martyn Fretwell.


Mellodew & Co, Oldham



Thomas Mellowdew & Co, Besom Hill Brick & Tile Works, Moorside, Oldham. The business appears in the trade directories as Mellodew & Clegg in 1879 and 1880, in 1889 and 1895 as Thomas Mellowdew & Co. Photo by David Kitching.

Photo by Ian Sneyd.


Meltaxe: see Burn Fireclay Company


Messenger & Healey

Messenger and Healey had a brick yard near to Wigston railway junction in Leicestershire. Messenger is listed alone in a trade directory for 1877. In about 1880 he is joined by Ebenezer Healey who previously had a brick works on the Saffron Lane nearer to Leicester. By 1888 the Wigston Junction Works was owned by Orson Wright which means that this brick dates from 1880-88. Photo and info by Dennis Gamble


Messer & Co

John Messer established his timber merchant business in Reading in around 1863. Many newspaper adverts reveal he also sold cement, tiles, pipes, sanitary ware & slates, but in his June 1883 advert he advertised paving bricks, which this is an example of. I am assuming he had these paving bricks made for him in the West Midlands. John Messer died in 1900 & his business was then run by his sons who advertised bricks for sale in 1901 & 1907. Photo & info by Martyn Fretwell.


Metal

"Metal" and "Metal Brand" was the trade brand used by The Metallic Tile Co. (Rowley Bros.) Ltd.  They operated the Metallic Tileries in Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs. Trading ceased in 1977.  This is believed to be is a late example of their pressed bricks. Bricks marked Metal" were also produced at Rowley Brothers Hanford Tileries which operated from 1936 to 1954.

Thanks to Darren Haywood for information and Frank Lawson for the photo.

Found in Lincolnshire by Simon Patterson.

Found in Hucknall by Martyn Fretwell.



Photo by Nigel Megson, spotted in Earlsheaton, Dewsbury.

Photo by Phil Burgoyne.



Photo by Malcolm Adlington.

Photo by Michael Kemp.

Photo by Michael Brown. Found at Milton Country Park, near Cambridge.

Photo by Beverley Pearson.


Metallic Plastic, Accrington

Photos by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Photo by Jason Stott.



Photo by David Kitching.

Baxenden Metallic Brick Co., Baxenden, Accrington, Lancs, which according to the London Gazette went into liquidation in 1909. Some of their bricks were stamped "Metallic Baxenden", though strictly speaking the works was at Catclough in the village of Rising Bridge. Info by Colin Driver.


Metric



Found in Todmorden, photo by Colin Driver.

Metropolitan Brick & Tile, Irthlingborough



Metropolitan Brick & Tile Co Ltd., Irthlingborough, Northants. Kelly's Northamptonshire Directory 1903 & 1910 The Metropolitan Brick & Tile Co. (Irthlingborough) Ltd., was founded during 1899 at the instigation of G.C.W. Fitzwilliam, the landowner in the area. His reasons for doing so, apparently included helping to alleviate the unemployment in the area at the time. The works continued to lose money and up to 1905 the loss had reached £5,000. How long the works survived after this is not known but probably not beyond 1910. The site was taken over in 1918 by Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Co. when iron ore mines were opened on the site. Nigel Furniss who writes:  the works were in existence by 1890 and had a large continuous kiln of 30 chambers plus a chimney stack. Demolished in 1919. Photo by Hayden Banister.

Photo by Jeremy Peake.

Mexboro/Mexbro

Mexborough Brick Works Ltd., Dolcliffe Road, Mexborough, Rotherham. White's Sheffield & Rotherham Directory 1901. Photos by Martyn Fretwell.


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