This is a remarkable little oddity not far outside Maesteg. It's actually been listed as a very rare example of a 19th Century kiln brickworks, and it's listing entry on the Cadw database reads as follows.
Bryn Brickworks was constructed after 1894 and continued production into the 1920s. The kiln block stood at the SE end of the works adjacent to a siding of the Port Talbot Railway. The clay preparation and drying sheds do not survive. The kilns are typical of a small brickworks of the late C19 or early C20 as they are intermittent, i.e. they were allowed to cool after firing, in contrast to continuous kilns, which had numerous chambers and where the heat was maintained. The kilns were linked with a pair of round chimney stacks, neither of which have survived, which demonstrates that they were of the downdraught type.
More on the Port Talbot Railway anon,(more Welsh adventures for the Fluff and Godzy memory book) but in the mean time, on with the photos:
The exterior looks pretty unremarkable, but the arching in the stoke holes (where the air was let in to stoke the fiire of the kiln) gives a small clue to what a marvellous building this must have been.
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Inside, the kiln Chambers are in varying states of repair, but you can still make out how they would have worked, drawing in air from outside
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We thought this bit might be for drying fired bricks, as it sits on the corner of the kiln chambers and doesn't take in any air other than the main entrance:
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Lots of internal walls to partition the chambers as well as vents, which at one time led to two chimneys, neither of which is still standing unfortunately.
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And this big wide open entrance at one end, presumably for loading bricks on to the railway which went right past the front door:
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A great little find all in all - not the sort of thing that usually crops up. We had a lengthy discussion about how much of the site is left under the acres of vegetation. Even the kiln block - smashing as it is inside - is disappearing under the weight of grass and brambles. A look at the aerial shot suggests there's quite a bit more under the surface:
Any thoughts very welcome
Godzy
Bryn Brickworks was constructed after 1894 and continued production into the 1920s. The kiln block stood at the SE end of the works adjacent to a siding of the Port Talbot Railway. The clay preparation and drying sheds do not survive. The kilns are typical of a small brickworks of the late C19 or early C20 as they are intermittent, i.e. they were allowed to cool after firing, in contrast to continuous kilns, which had numerous chambers and where the heat was maintained. The kilns were linked with a pair of round chimney stacks, neither of which have survived, which demonstrates that they were of the downdraught type.
More on the Port Talbot Railway anon,(more Welsh adventures for the Fluff and Godzy memory book) but in the mean time, on with the photos:
The exterior looks pretty unremarkable, but the arching in the stoke holes (where the air was let in to stoke the fiire of the kiln) gives a small clue to what a marvellous building this must have been.
brynbrick0052 brynbrick0004 brynbrick0046 brynbrick0042Inside, the kiln Chambers are in varying states of repair, but you can still make out how they would have worked, drawing in air from outside
brynbrick0006brynbrick0023 We thought this bit might be for drying fired bricks, as it sits on the corner of the kiln chambers and doesn't take in any air other than the main entrance:
brynbrick0024 Lots of internal walls to partition the chambers as well as vents, which at one time led to two chimneys, neither of which is still standing unfortunately.
brynbrick0032 brynbrick0047 And this big wide open entrance at one end, presumably for loading bricks on to the railway which went right past the front door:
brynbrick0050A great little find all in all - not the sort of thing that usually crops up. We had a lengthy discussion about how much of the site is left under the acres of vegetation. Even the kiln block - smashing as it is inside - is disappearing under the weight of grass and brambles. A look at the aerial shot suggests there's quite a bit more under the surface:
Any thoughts very welcome
Godzy
