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ALLEN HALIFAX 1887-1960 - Established by Henry Victor Allen in 1905 when he took over the Halifax Glazed Brickworks in the Walterclough Valley.  Converting the works to manufacture refractory bricks their Sefrac refractory bricks became world famous. The bricks were carried by narrow-gauge railway up the valley to the sidings at Hipperholme station as the works site lies at the foot of a deep valley. The site was later taken over by G R Stein, who also took over other brickworks in the area, and eventually closed in the 1960's.

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BALDWIN ELECTRICITY - H.J Baldwin Brickworks in Nottinghamshire

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B. B. C. W -  Burham Brick, Lime & Cement Co. near Aylesford in Kent was started in 1852, by Thomas Cubitt, the architect of Queen Victoria's Osborne House. In 1871 it became a Limited Company. He produced many different kinds of bricks including these Pether's Patent ornamental bricks. These were made by forcing Gault clay into a hinged iron mould and using this method any elaborate design could be produced. This made for an affordable and durable means of decoration. Bricks were also supplied via their own barges for the London sewers and the Thames Embankment. As well as bricks he produced lime and cement and by 1900 the company was formed into APCM and was well known for its Blue Circle brand of Portland cement. The works in Burham closed in 1941.

THE PATHERS PATENT

PATHERS PATENT - Reverse with the ornamental moulding on top.

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BENSON - Produced at Scotswood on the Tyne, the firm of William Benson & Co. Ltd originated at Fourstones in the Tyne Valley in the 1850's, before expanding their colliery and brickmaking interests to Tyneside. Their Montague Pit at Bells Close (just north of the river and above their brickworks) was the scene of a tragic accident in 1925, and thereafter the firm went into decline, the manufacture of bricks ceasing around 1929. 

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BEST GRADE STOURBRIDGE - From it's first recorded uses in 1739 Stourbridge fireclay has had a world-wide reputation, and has been important in the manufacture of fire-bricks, glasshouse pots, and for other industrial purposes. It's chief value is it's ability to resist the highest temperatures without melting and was perfect for lining blast furnaces and glass kilns. 

Interestingly the town of the Cwmbran in Wales also used the "Stourbridge" name and rather unethically exploited the good reputation already enjoyed by fireclay products from Stourbridge in Staffordshire. They used this name for a relatively short period time. The Cwmbran brickmaking industry began in the early 1800's after the discovery of Stourbridge quality fire clay seams at the Porthmawr Adit, Upper Cwmbran.

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BURSLEM - W Palmer & Sons were listed in a local census in 1904,1924 and 1940 at Leek Road, Cobridge, Burslem in Staffordshire.

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BUTE - From the Bute Brickworks, Tyne and Wear. 1875-1958. Produced at the Bute Colliery Brickworks at High Spen in the Derwent Valley. These firebricks are often assumed to be of Scottish manufacture. Garesfield Collieries, the original owners of the pit, were firmly a Tyneside based concern, the Scottish connection being that the Mineral Rights were owned by the Marquis of Bute. The bricks were therefore named accordingly, and helped differentiate the products of their various operations. Consett Iron Company took control of Garesfield Bute pit and the small firebrick works in 1891. Output was increased to supply the new Chopwell mines and cokeworks. In 1925, about 19 people worked in the brickyard. In 1937 a single-press Bradley and Craven machine was installed and could make 8000 common bricks per shift. After 1945, production was mainly concentrated on making common bricks. The yard had 13 Newcastle kilns which could fire around 10,000 bricks at a time.

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CANDY - Established in 1850, Candy and Co Ltd of Newton Abbot, Devon, were best known as tile manufacturers and for their extremely hard ornamental bricks. Their tiles were used in the new houses being built during the Victorian suburban building boom and many porches, kitchens and fireplaces were decorated in tiles of green, buff and blue art glazes. Around this time they won several large contracts with the government for the construction of the London dock system, and for their tiles, used by the London General Omnibus Co in their new bus stations. During the first world war they manufactured porous stoneware pots for the wet batteries used in British submarines which led to the production of domestic ware. Initially know as Wescontree ware, in 1936 it was re-named Candy ware.The business eventually closed in November 1998.  

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T CARR - T Carr Made at Scotswood west of Durham between 1828 and 1881.

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CASTLECARY -  Castlecary Fireclay Co. Ltd Glasgow Scotland (c1919) - furnace lining brick manufactured by the Castlecary Fire clay Company. Established by Alexander Weir and under the ownership of Alderman MacLauchlan of Middlesbrough. A good variety of bricks were imported or shipped into California. In the early days, foreign bricks were brought to California as ship ballasts. These were dumped on the shore, and the boats refilled with California wheat for the return trip home. The site closed in 1968.

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CLIFF & SONS WORTLEY LEEDS - 1806 - 1879. Joseph Cliffs brickworks in Wortley, Leeds .This company was known as Joseph Cliff & Sons. They also owned a brickworks in Dick Lane, Tyersal and the Shipley Fireclay Company, both in the Bradford area.

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COWEN - Cowen's brickworks , Blaydon Burn, Newcastle. Most coal seams have an underlying layer of fireclay and this was the case with the Blaydon Burn’s Brockwell seam. One family, the Cowens, became synonymous with brick production and their brick exports went all over the world. During the 1800's it had been customary to smelt iron with coal or charcoal, but it was found much better to use coke. As a result fire-bricks were in great demand for building the coke ovens. Mr. Cowen seized on the opportunity to investigate the best method of making the bricks needed. He found, after careful experiments, that he could produce the right clay for this purpose. Cowen’s bricks soon became known for their superiority. He also adopted the idea of stamping all his bricks with his name and in 1861 he was awarded a gold medal at the first Great Exhibition. They were imported to the colonies extensively between 1850 and 1900.

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 CHARLES DAVISON & CO BUCKLEY, CHESTER - At one time there were 25 brickworks in and around Buckley in Flintshire, North Wales. Most of them stretched in an arc through the north end of the town and all were served, or connected by tramway, to the Buckley Railway. Davison's specialised in refractory and acid resistant bricks. Charles Davison's Ewloe Barn Brick and Tile Works and Old Ewloe works was active from 1933 to 1951, and was later merged with General Refractories Ltd and then taken over by the firm of G. R. Stein Ltd. The site closed in 1967.

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CHILTON SUFFOLK -  From the Chilton Brickworks, Cats Lane.

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DANGER ELECTRICITY - Unknown

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DIAMOND JUBILEE - Unknown manufacturer 1837-1897

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DOUGLAS - From the Douglas Firebrick Co Ltd. Based at Dairy, Ayeshire. it was operational between 1917 and 1945. The works used the clay from the nearby Monkcastle Fireclay mines. 

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DUREX - Believed to have been made by Stanley brothers, Nuneaton who occupied the Swan Lane Colliery and the Nuneaton Colliery in Stockingford in Warwickshire between 1872 and 1878. Unfortunately little else can be found out about this bizarrely named Brick which is a shame as it is my favourite so far. If anyone can shed any more light on this one we would love to know.

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THE ELLISTON TOWN BRICK - Ellistown Colliery and Brickworks in North West Leicestershire were established by Joseph Joel Ellis in the mid 1870's. Joseph had previously owned the Nailstone Colliery Co. Terraced houses were built for the miners and Ellistown grew rapidly with the success of the company. In 1897 Joseph died, the colliery, brickworks and estate being carried on by trustees under orders of the Court of Chancery until 1936. It was in this year also that the Colliery and brickworks were separated into two companies.

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FARCO - Bit of an odd one this. I have seen many of these bricks on my travels and they all say FARCO, however the closest match I can get to this brick is a similar example coming from the Hutchinson brick & Tile Works in Minnesota, USA.

These bricks, However were made in the town of FARGO and are all identically stamped with a clear G where the C is in my example. Exported rejects perhaps or from a completely different company? 

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FARNLEY IRON CO LEEDS ENGLAND - Founded in 1846, the company manufactured both household and glazed bricks as well as firebricks and other fireclay goods. It had various mines around Gelderd Road and used an electric narrow gauge railway line to transport clay across the Whitehall Road railway bridge to Wortley. Farnley Iron Works produced more bricks than iron and eventually became part of the Leeds Fireclay Co in 1889.

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FOSTER - This brick is the product of the Hotspur brickworks in Backworth near Newcastle.  The works were opened near the Backworth Colliery in 1877 by H Foster & Co. initially making firebricks.  Housebricks were made during the 1930's but this ceased in 1945 when firebricks were again concentrated on.  In 1955 General Refractories Ltd took over the works and continued to produce bricks until 1967 when the works was finally closed.

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FUNTON - Funton in Kent is located between Chatham and Sheerness. Brick making has gone on here for many centuries using the local brick earth clay and continues to do today. The clay produces the classic yellow London stock brick. Funton bricks are still made by Ibstock. 

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GARTGOSH - North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Gartcosh Fireclay Works was established by James Binnie in 1863. Although mostly concerned with firebrick manufacture, during the early years its output was much more varied, extending to garden vases and pedestals, garden edges, fountains, chimney cans, roof tiles, cattle troughs, sewage pipes and other products. It was one of a group of such businesses in the area, with others at Cardowan, Garnkirk, Heathfield and Glenboig. Gartcosh Fireclay Works eventually closed down in the 1950s, when local supplies of fireclay were exhausted.

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GILMOUR & CO KILMARNOCK - From the Bonnyton Fireclay Works also know as the Southhook Potteries in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. The company produced these bricks between 1876-1899.