Brickworks

[RobertS]

Questions about Bricks.

I am having trouble locating the Brick Industry!

In the victorian expansion there must have been a huge demand for bricks. I have Irish ancestors who were employed as brickmakers, brickburners, brick carties and brickyard labourers. They lived in central Birmingham so where were they at work?

I have read that mechanisation in the Brick Industry was patchy up to World War 1 and only faily universal in the 1930's. Was Birmingham making bricks with steam power fairly early?

Apparently brickmaking was often seasonal. Was this the case in Birmingham where the demand was so high? If it was, what did the workforce do in the winter?

Anyone know of any work that has been done on this?

Thanks

 

[Wendy]

Hello Robert, I don't know much about the brick makers only that it was a hard job and poorly paid it often involved the whole family. There is a piece in my great grandfathers obituary which mentions he bought the last stock of bricks from Lewis's brick works, this would have been around 1860's. He lived in Lozells so I would presume this brick works would have been in this area. I am sure someone will know more on the subject.

 

[lencops]

There was a large clay pit & brickworks in the Hay Mills district it is remembered in the names of the roads around there, and Nocks brickworks & clay pit in Erdington.

 

[Lloyd]

According to old maps, there was a claypit and brickworks on Maypole Lane, about where Mayberry Close is now. I think there were many small pits and ovens dotted about at that time, possibly just family businesses or employing a few men.

 

[RobertS]

Thanks Lloyd, lencops and Wendy.

I've also found Brickworks on the Yardley side of Greet. I'm 'spotting' them in on a map.

Its starting to look like they made bricks close to the development they were building at the time. The one out in rural greet was fairly early and to start with, seasonal. (Slack time on the farm and they made bricks with Irish labour they used for the harvest.)

Even given the canals to move them, I wonder if there were brickworks much closer or even in the town?

 

[sospiri]

I spent many a happy hour catching newts in the ponds at the bottom of the pits that formed part of the brickworks at Greet. The upshot was a good spanking when I got home because my shoes were covered in red clay! From the wildlife point of view, that place was an absolute paradise, even though quite dangerous on reflection. I often wonder what has happened to those old pits - have they been used for landfill?

The brickworks had a sort of short funicular railway from ground level up to the ligher level in the building which I presume was used for moving clay and bricks between the various processes. Strangely, over the course of several years we never attempted to access the brickworks itself and were quite content to play around the old claypits which also had a narrow guage railway at the bottom for moving the clay.

 

[robert]

I think the name of the brickworks at Greet was something like Berberry Brick.

 

[mikejee]

Robert
If you do a google search for birmingham brickworks an awful lot comes up. You have to sift through it but examples are:
(The links appear to be broken)
https://www.search.com/reference/Birmingham_City_F.C.

Director Harry Morris identified a site for a new ground in Bordesley Green, some three-quarters of a mile (1 km) from Muntz Street towards the city centre. The site was where a brickworks once operated; the land sloped steeply down to stagnant pools, yet the stadium was constructed in under twelve months from land clearance to opening ceremony on Boxing Day 1906. Heavy snow nearly prevented the opening; volunteers had to clear pitch and terraces before the match, a goalless draw against Middlesbrough, could go ahead.[58] The ground is reputed to have been cursed by gypsies evicted from the site;[59] gypsies are known to have camped nearby,[60] but there is no contemporary evidence for their eviction by the club.

https://www.bhamb14.co.uk/index_files/Page2092.htm
(Kings heath)
The fire station, established in 1886, had eight men.
Hough & Co. who had a large brickworks between Grove Road and Kings Road supplied materials for many new buildings in the area.
There was also a flourishing social life, much of it taking place at the Institute, with swimming, cricket, tennis, football and bowling clubs in the area

https://www.lapal.org/lap-tun-2c.html
(Lapall tunnel)
on 22 September 1926 the tunnel was officially closed to traffic. However, boats continued to use the canal between the Worcester & Birmingham and the brickworks at California. The entire canal, including Lapal tunnel, was abandoned as far as Manor Lane, Halesowen, in 1


Mike

 

[brummie nick]

Found this in the National Archives,

Contract for erection of steam engine and clay mill at Atlas Brick Works, Garrison Lane MS 718/3 15 May 1873





Contents: Parties: 1. William Barnett Ensor of West Bromwich, Engineer
2. George Savage of Atlas Brick Works, Manufacturer

 

[Wendy]

I know this is Roberts question but I would like to thank Mikejee for the link on the brickworks. It was useful as now I know my gt grandfather bought the bricks about 1878 from James Lewis of Burbury Street (Neachells) and Greet. Another piece of the jigsaw thanks.

 

[sospiri]

In answer to my own earlier question, I see that Burbury Greet has now been filled in.

"Burbury Brickworks closed in the late '50's, and the enormous pit has been infilled with industrial waste."

Resulting in this from a Birmingham Regeneration Plan:-

"Economic regeneration is an important strand of future policy [with an
opportunity for industrial development on part of the former Burbury Brickworks site providing that contamination problems can be overcome]." The latter text has actually been overstruck.

Hmmmm!

 

[Phil]

I remember The Burbury Brick Tip it was run by W.Groom (Transport) of Ravenhurst st Camp hill, that was in the fifties after the brickworks closed. It was at the back of Lucas Foremans Road. I don't think they will ever build on that site after what was tipped in there.

Everything went to the tip in those days there were very few regulations, asbestos, cyanide, acid you name it and its down there.

Phil

 

[sospiri]

I used to live in Knowle Road when the brickworks was still open and used to take a walk through the allotments (still there about 5 years ago when I last visited the area) and then cross over Foremans Road. The River Cole runs through the allotments and we also used to spend many a happy hour trying to dam it, but never very successfully!

 

[oldgreetboy]

I spent many a happy hour catching newts in the ponds at the bottom of the pits that formed part of the brickworks at Greet. The upshot was a good spanking when I got home because my shoes were covered in red clay! From the wildlife point of view, that place was an absolute paradise, even though quite dangerous on reflection. I often wonder what has happened to those old pits - have they been used for landfill?

Hi sospiri, I too spent a happy childhood (mid to late 60s) catching newts and building "dens" on the wasteland that was the old brickworks at Greet. I agree about the abundance of wildlife. I recently took a walk along the river cole, starting on Formans road passing by the allotments and down nearly to the bridge over the Warwick road. They have built a small industrial estate on the Weston Lane side of the site, but the river is still a little oasis of peace, there was a fully grown herron fishing in the river.

Regards

 

[sospiri]

Hi oldgreetboy,

Glad to hear that some of the River Cole has been left untouched. Moving upstream a little (and maybe slightly off topic!), about four years ago I made a long overdue return journey to the ford in Green Lane. The wooden footbridge had been replaced, but I remember the ford and the downstream side being full of bright green feathery water weed - beautiful to paddle on - but now, alas, all gone. Just lifeless looking water.

 

[sospiri]

Regarding Nock's Brickworks at Erdington, mentioned earlier in this thread, there is a picture of the workers in 1890, which includes the entrance to a kiln, on page 84 of Alton Douglas' "Memories of Birmingham". If you need a scan, just shout!

 

[Greenways6]

Slightly off topic for Brum, but there is a huge collection of bricks from different brickworks covering all parts of the country in the stable block at Southwick Hall, Northants. Open to the public during Heritage open days.

 

[sylviasayers]

I seem to remember a company called London Brickworks or similar in Small Heath in the 1950s, just across the road from the railway station.

 

[motorman-mike]

Outside Brum but fairly close to the boundary. Many years ago there was a brickworks in Wythall opposite the Police Station on the corner of Brick Kiln Lane.

 

[Robert Barker]

All this talk of the Burbury Brick, Greet certainly brings the memories flooding back. The games we played and the things we got up to back in the 50s growing up in Greet would give today`s Health and Safety Executive palpitations at the dangers and risks we took. I still have a noticable scar on my ankle from treading on glass whilst paddling in the River Cole. Happy days.
Bob

 

[sospiri]

Great times, Bob, though for me it was the late 1940s. But I can't recollect any major accidents in all those activities and neither was there any vandalism to the brickworks nor any other property in use.

We built dens on the bombsites (in my case in Knowle Road) and lit the occasional small bonfires, though always well away from any adjacent property. Unlike many of today's youngsters, our intention was not to damage or destroy. Apart from going home with wet shoes and socks and/or covered in mud, with the odd cut, graze or bruise, I don't we ever came to any harm.

To me and my pals, the River Cole between Foremans Road and Green Road ford was an absolute haven. On the west bank just a little way upstream from the waterfall by Stratford Road bridge, there used to be a small pile of blackish sandy gravel which used to contain small glass lenses, presumably dumped there by some adjacent factory, possibly behind the houses in Sarehole Road. Additions were made to this heap from time to time and we would spend hours digging through it looking for "magnifying glasses". Anyone remember this or know where it came from?

 

[Austin K2]

I worked for a couple of years at Nocks Bricks Holly Lane, Erdington, 1959/61.
It was still powered by the original steam engines.
All gone now to landfill with houses built on top.

 

[guitargray]

there was a brick work in weoley castle called smarts brickworks think it was there around 1830ish

 

[Morturn]

I can remember Nocks Bricks Holly Lane, Erdington too and it's steam engine.

There was a conveyor belt all the way up the side of the clay pit and into the brickworks, and these enormous steel rollers that mangled up the clay.

I used to watch the bricks coming out of an extruding machine and they were stack on a drying room floor; seemed like there were millions of them.

 

[wildy]

Hough & Co Kings Road Kings Heath, About 1940. William Dyer on Right of picture on lorry.

 

[podgery]

Hi I think I might have asked this question before but does anyone remember the clay pit and brick works that were situated behind the Adelphi picture house in Hay Mills and if so are there any pictures about? The pit became a land fill site and now you would not believe it had ever been there. My Grand children do not believe what I have told them about the way the workers blasted the clay out. Sorry if I've asked this before Podgery

 

[Phil]

Hi podgery

I remember the old brickworks when they were topping the landfill site out in the 70's we dropped the occasional load of spoil there for covering, We used to access the site from Speedwell Rd and at that time the site was owned by Birmingham Council. The best I can come up with is this photo of the brickworks in the 1920, but I think there is a possibility that this could be the brickworks that was on the other side of Speedwell Rd where the builders merchants are now because I can't see the actual quarry that is marked on the map.

 

[devonjim]

Here are some shots from the Britain from the air site

 

[devonjim]

In 1958 I worked at Wilmot Breeden in Amington Road The brick works was opposite "K" Block,

 

[podgery]

Thanks both its hard to tell if the 1920 photo is of the brick works by the pit, and yes the was another one in Amington road but way before my time. I lived in Arthur road and the clay pit was at the top of the road If my memory serves me right there was an allotment next to the brick works and it ran across the top of the pit we could see it from the top of the road. In the 50's they were blasting the clay out and the dust carts were emptying there loads, standing at the top of the pit we could see it all the blasting and the land filling. When I returned there a few years ago I couldn't believe there was no trace of the pit. I to worked in K block in 1964 before being transferred to the Kings road factory. Anyway thanks for your input it all helps the memories.