"Old Bricks - history at your feet"

English bricks - page 4b-2

Brill to Brooke

Brill

Brill bricks were used in Oxford as early as the middle of the 15th century. Maps show that by 1878 there were 3 brickworks operating and the Oxford & Aylesbury tramroad had been built. By 1898 there were 4 brickworks operating in the area, the latest addition was owned by the Duke of Buckingham, and named The Brill Brick & Tile Works. This works had a siding on the tramroad. The opening of the London Brick Company works at Calvert, some 7 miles away,in 1905, was the end of brick making in Brill. This site was, by 1919, a Hay Loader Works. Brill is a village in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, famous for it's pottery made from Roman times to within living memory. Photo and info by Nigel Furniss.

Brimington

Thanks to Simon Patterson for the photo

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Brinsley

Found by R.Coleman in Selston, Notts. Photo Martyn Fretwell.

Photo by Frank Lawson courtesy of the Phil Sparham Collection.

Martyn Fretwell adds ;- I have now found that the Brinsley Brick & Tile Co. operated this brickworks which was situated next to Clinton Colliery on Stoney Lane, Brinsley, Notts in the 1880's & both were owned by John Beardsley. The colliery & brickworks had a tramway which ran down to the nearby Cromford Canal to distribute their coal & bricks. The colliery is recorded as closing in 1887, so the brickworks may have followed suit.

Bristol Brick & Tile Co Ld

Bristol Brick & Tile Co. Whitehall Rd. Speedwell, Bristol. Photo by Eric Taylor.

Bristol Fire Clay Co

Photos by John Elliott.

The brickworks was at Crew's Hole, St George's, Bristol from the early 1800s to 1913. In 1890 the company advertised as 'Manufacturers of all kinds of sanitary ware' They also manufactured chimneypots and pavers. Photo by Eric Taylor.

Bristow

Photo by John Elliott.

Found in Hulcote, on the Easton Neston estate, near Towcester by Nigel Furniss.

Britannia

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.Made at Britannia Brickworks, Pildacre Lane, Ossett, West Yorks

This one was found a long way from home! It was in the ruins of a now closed animal processing and freezer complex in Puerto Bories in Chilean Patagonia. Many thanks to Robert Runyard. It is unlikely to have been made at the same works as the above one.

Britannia Brick Co Ltd

Kelly's Directory for Cheshire, 1906 - 1914. The Britannia Brick Co. Lim.; reg. office, Westminster Buildings, Mill Street; works McLaren Street, Crewe. Photo by Gavin Paget.

British Steel

The S is actually the British Steel logo. Found at the site of Workington Steelworks by Richard Cornish.

Broadbent & Co. Leicester

Photo by Peter Harris.

Benjamin Broadbent first owned the Victoria Brickworks from at least May 1857 to 1862 when it was put up for sale. Benjamin Broadbent died aged 47 in 1887 & his builders merchants business then became Broadbent & Co. which eventually acquired the Victoria Brickworks, Humberstone again in 1901.

Broadbent & Co. are listed in Bennett's 1901 edition as builders merchants; brick & pipe manufacturers; slating & tiling contractors, Head Office - Erskire Street, Humberstone Road, Leicester. The 1901 edition of the Clayworkers Directory also records Broadbent & Co. as brick manufacturers at this address. The company is next recorded in Kelly's 1908 & 1912 editions as brick manufacturers with the address of 36, Humberstone Road. Victoria Works was the works which was situated at the end of Morton Road in Humberstone & adjacent to Victoria Road previously run by the Humberstone Brick Co. who are last recorded in Kelly's 1900 edition. Broadbent & Co. are next recorded in the Brick & Tile section in Kelly's 1912 edition however in the same section in Kelly's 1916 to 1925 editions the entry is Broadbent & Stephens who were primarily builders merchants Broadbent & Co. may have only manufactured their own red bricks up to 1912. Info by Martyn Fretwell, photos by Tim Sayers.

Broadmoor, Cinderford

Still in business today in the Forest of Dean.

Found near Tintern by Michael Kilner.

Brockham

The Brockham brickworks in Sussex seems to have been established in 1860. In 1875 the Brockham Brick Co Ltd was formed to take over the brickworks. In about 1910 the business went into liquidation, due to the expiry of their lease, and the brickworks plant was offered for sale on 19th October 1910.

William Bromley-Davenport

William Bromley-Davenport of Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire owned a brickworks at Woodford, Cheshire. This works was in use before 1850 and continued until at least the mid-1870s. The 1897 OS map shows the site cleared and planted with trees. This brick was found not far from Woodford in the adjoining parish of Adlington. Photo & info by David Kitching.

William Bromley-Davenport, Marton

Made at Marton brickworks, Capesthorne Estate, Cheshire. William Bromley-Davenport was the estate owner.

Bromsgrove

Simon Patterson photographed this one at Avoncroft Museum

Edward Brooke & Sons, Huddersfield

Photos by Frank Lawson.

Photo by Jason Stott.

Photos by David Kitching.

Photo by Martin Fretwell.

Found in Huddersfield by Martin Fretwell. Photo by Phil Burgoyne.

Edward Brooke & Sons owned the Fieldhouse fire-clay works at Fartown, Huddersfield. Listed in trade directories from 1857 to 1917 and owned by Leeds Fire Clay from around 1890. Thanks to Derek Barker and Phillip Rothery for the information.

Henry Brooke, Bradford

Made by Henry Brooke & Co at Denholm Fireclay Works, Bradford. This special product has been part of a glassworks and the end is still coated with glass. Measures 12" high x 6-12" wide x 12" thick.Photo and info by Ian Suddaby.

Joseph Brooke

This famous company owned several quarries, including one in Scandinavia, a mine and a brick-works, in the 1840s. Joseph Brooke died in 1876 and his sons took over the business. They were certainly making bricks and firebricks by the end of the century. In the 20th century the company was known as Brooke Ltd and in 1910 many local authorities used their 'Silex' stone non-slip flags. The business later declined and closed in the 1960s. The firm constructed Brookeville, Hipperholme in 1911 using their products. Thanks to Derek Barker for the information.

photo by Darrell Prest

Found in Halifax by Simon Patterson.

photo by Darrell Prest.

Photos by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection, found at Clayworth, Notts.

Photo by Phil Burgoyne.

Photo by Darren Haywood.

Front and back of Joseph Brooke brick by Robert G Farmer.

Found at Tockwith airfield in North Yorkshire by Sue Wright.

Photo by David Kitching.

Photo by Martyn Fretwell.

Photo by Jason Stott.

The two above photographs by Danielle Watson show a Brooke brick with a geometric pattern on the side. I had not previously seen anything other than plain glazed bricks from this firm.