The Standard Brick Co's Buckley works
Because of the geographical spread of the bricks covered here, I have divided this section into four separate pages:
“Life in the Victorian Brickyards of Flintshire & Denbighshire”
Country brickmakers constructing a clamp kiln
For everybody interested in the brickworks of the Buckley and Ruabon districts, “Life in the Victorian Brickyards of Flintshire & Denbighshire” is the authoritative book on the subject. The product of 10 years of research, it contains over 280 pages with a further 8 in colour, and with original maps and photographs.
Workers at J. C. Edwards, Ruabon.
In his attempt to capture the spirit and energy of the Victorian brickmakers way of life, the author Andrew Connolly has purposefully rejected the more academic approach to writing history in favour of a style which better illustrates the subject. To this end, the book is packed with over 200 direct contemporary quotations from newspapers, letters and reports – eye witness accounts which help to open windows into a past of toil, hardship and simple pleasures.
Ruby Brick, Rhydymwyn workers.
In covering the story of the brickworks in as comprehensive a way as possible, the book encompasses some unusual subjects – child labour, the use of horses, railways and docks, the organisation of healthcare in the towns and factories, accidents, suicides, problems caused by tramps, pollution of air and water supplies, holiday trips, times of celebration, dangers in the workplace, contract employment, and the effect of the weather on production.
Men at Drury Brickworks sandfacing bricks in the 1960's.
Two
thirds of the book comprises an encyclopedia of the over 120 established
brickworks in the area around Flint, Connah’s Quay, Queensferry, Buckley,
Mold, Nerquis, Rhydymwyn, Leeswood, Llay, Gresford, Wrexham, Gwersyllt,
Acrefair, Brymbo, Rhos, Ruabon, Cefn Mawr and Penybont.
An aerial view of the Garth works.
A
glorious tribute to a forgotten industry which played such a major role in the
prosperity of Wales…..Western
Mail.
A
seminal work. The product of extensive detailed research……Flintshire County
Archivist.
A
social and industrial heritage first….Welsh Books Council.
This
is a highly competent work which adds considerably to our knowledge of both
brickmaking and the industry in north east Wales in particular. It is highly
recommended……Review in the journal of the British Brick Society No. 98.
Another train of clay heads to the Caello works near Brymbo.
From the largest of the
well-known brickworks to the smallest of the colliery and farm brickyards, this
book describes a comprehensive picture of an industrial landscape which has now
completely disappeared. Horse drawn tramways, like this one at Caello Brickworks
near Brymbo, once used to span parts of industrial Wales like spider’s webs.
Now relatively peacefull districts like Leeswood and Acrefair were once hives of
activity, with railways, coal mines, brickworks, lead works and oil works
scattered across the landscape.
A pannier tank making a collection of loaded wagons at J. C. Edwards Trefynant works in the 1960's.
Ordering
The
most direct way of obtaining a copy of “Life in the Victorian Brickyards of
Flintshire & Denbighshire” by Andrew Connolly is to buy direct from the
author. Send a cheque for £10 made payable to
A.
Connolly to Minffordd, Wrexham Rd, Mold, Flintshire, CH7 1HS. Your copy will be
dispatched swiftly in strong packaging.
Alternatively, you can contact the publisher Gwasg Carreg Gwalch on 01492 642031, or order through a bookshop using the ISBN number 086381-892-7. Overseas purchasers can order copies via the specialist dealer Buckland Books at buckland.books@tiscali.co.uk. Copies have so far found their way to New Zealand, Canada, Uraguay and the United States.