# The village brickworks



## Mikeymutt (Apr 11, 2016)

I have doing some research on this place but have not really come up with much.after locating it I decided to drive out here.the site I was visiting was a small brickworks located in a small village.when I got there I saw a couple in the yard.so I stopped and asked if I could take some photos.they were more than happy for me to take photos.and the owner even walked around with me for a little while telling me about it.or what he knew.then he let me just wander around taking my photos

The brickworks was originally set up in the 1850's,they made bricks,tiles and pipes for the manor and the village.the works at its height had 32 employees.the factory shut down because of a shortage of a clay and with the rise of the big companies like the London brick company.in the buildings is remains of the works including and old cart on tracks.the cart winch.a lovely kiln.brick formers.i have not named the place as the owner who was happy for me to photograph it and post a report does not fancy a load of people turning up.hopefully he is going to look on here,so if any of you more wise members have any more info he would be most grateful.and so would I.coversion is going to happen soon to a residential house.retaining many of the original features including the chimney and kiln.thank you to a lovely couple for showing me around this little rural delight of which not many survive.this is my first visit to a brickworks.sorry it's not something like stewartby or one of the other big ones.but I think I would actually prefer looking at something like this.

This would be the building were the bricks were made.situated on two levels.













A drum for washing the sand




This looked like part of a hopper and I am assuming it was used to send downtown the main workshop.




Down in the main works which is now a straw store.there were brick formers and the trolley rack for putting the bricks on.










To one side is a little room.this would have been the engine mount.in the concave setting I was told there sat a seven foot pulley wheel.apparently the engine is now in the hands of an enthusiast.










Outside is some bits of the machinery.including the slicer what would slice the bricks.the owner thinks they made a lot of the own bits of machinery because of the pre formers still left behind.




This was the mixing pit.not sure what was mixed in here.







Moving on to the main building this is split into three sections.although the back section is not there anymore.in each section ran a small track.one track is still in situ.and a cart sits on a track theat runs parallel with thre tracks.i can presume that when the bricks when made were put on a cart then sent down the track to be fired in the kiln.some of the old trolleys lay about too.






















One of the pre formers.













Now my favourite bits if I had to choose I had to choose was the kiln and chimney.the kiln was not as old as I thought.built in the fifties to replace an older kiln further around the back.it was lovely inside with several furnace holes around the perimeter.


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## Palmtrees11 (Apr 11, 2016)

Love these, you've got some beautiful shots there. Really informative and detailed report.


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## Lone Wanderer (Apr 11, 2016)

i do love when you meet nice owners. what a fabulous place and amazing photos as always!


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## krela (Apr 11, 2016)

I really love this, great report MM thanks.


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## oldscrote (Apr 11, 2016)

What an amazeing place.Here's an answer to one question regarding the mixing pit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pugmill


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## Rubex (Apr 11, 2016)

Really nice photos Mikeymutt


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## jsp77 (Apr 11, 2016)

That's a fantastic find there Mikey, great report.


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## smiler (Apr 11, 2016)

I enjoy nosing about old places like this, the bits an Bob's left lying about can keep me happy for hours and finding a proprietor as welcoming as you did demands that everyone respects his request, Lovely report and pics Mikey, Thanks


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## Mikeymutt (Apr 11, 2016)

Thank you all.it was a lovely place.and thanks oldscrote for that article.nice to see what it looked like.what a contraption.


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## HughieD (Apr 11, 2016)

I'm really loving that one Mikey. A sort of little big site. Big but small for a brick works. You really do find some fab places, expertly photograph them and produced some great reports.


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## Sam Haltin (Apr 11, 2016)

This is nice. Looks like a family business at one time.


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## Mikeymutt (Apr 11, 2016)

HughieD said:


> I'm really loving that one Mikey. A sort of little big site. Big but small for a brick works. You really do find some fab places, expertly photograph them and produced some great reports.



Thank you hughie.that means a lot.it's always nice to have something a bit different.just like you always do ☺


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## tazong (Apr 11, 2016)

top notch bud - top notch


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## flyboys90 (Apr 12, 2016)

Really interesting report,you've covered it so well.Top notch images,Thanks for sharing.


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## scribe (Apr 13, 2016)

Great words and pictures. Couldn't ask for more.


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## The_Derp_Lane (May 6, 2016)

Ah yes! I remember going past that place on my bike at one point. Never thought of stopping off to have a look. Nicely done.


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## Potatowaffle (May 18, 2016)

Brilliant. Great texture & detail. So much out of a 'small' site.


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