Letter A

A (Arscott Colliery)

Michael Shaw supplied this photo of a brick found on the site of Arscott Colliery brickworks.  The colliery was near Minsterley in Shropshire.

A.N.B. & Co.

(A. N. Braithwaite & Co.)

Found in a garden in Leeds, photo by Steve Kind.  Philip Rothery has supplied the following information: A. N. Braithwaite & Co ( branch of B Whitaker & Sons ) Central Brickworks Shafton Lane Holbeck Leeds.  Listed in Kelly Leeds, 1923, 1929 but missing in 1916, 1938.

A. P. C.

George Simpson thinks this one could be Axwell Park Colliery, County Durham.

Accrington Brick & Tile

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Accrington Nori

A notoriously hard brick made by one of the biggest brick makers in North West England.  Their name has always attracted much speculation.  Tony Mugridge has been in touch regarding the origins of NORI: 

There are two places in the British Isles where you get a particular bed of clay containing alumina (refractory ore), lower red marl and iron ore all in the same measure. They are Broseley in Shropshire and Accrington in the Darwen Valley in Lancashire. Both areas are renowned for their very high quality and extremely resillient bricks. At one stage or another on the Broseley clay beds there were around 45 brickworks. One of these was the works of Capt. John Anstice: confusingly named The Madeley Wood Tile Works. Set up in 1851 this works produced bricks, roofing & floor tiles, also chimney pots and land drain pipes. It closed in 1956.

The brand for this company was IRON, as they also owned several ironworks and blast furnaces. In fact Capt. Anstice was the last Ironmaster in the Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire and could trace his lineage back to before the time of the building of that world celebrated Iron Bridge.

When the Accrington Brick Company began mass production, they also branded their bricks IRON. Capt Anstice got to hear of it and threatened them with court action for breach of his brand copyright. So in an excellent euphoria of marketing, Accrington spelled the name backwards on their bricks and advertised that their brick was "Iron whichever way you put it." Hence today the Accrington NORI is well known and the IRON BROSELEY is forgotten.

The Accrington works is currently mothballed, one hopes it will soon reopen.

This one was found in the Longport area of Stoke on Trent by Ken Perkins.

photos by Simon Patterson.

Photos by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Accrington Redac

photo by Simon Patterson, taken in Retford station.

Ackton Hall - see under NCB Ackton Hall colliery

Airedale, Shipley

This Shipley is in West Yorkshire near to Bradford.  The area is known for seams of coal, brick making shale and fireclay.  The brick itself was found at nearby Frizinghall Railway Station. The most likely brick maker was George Stelling Hogg who between 1865 & 1875 traded as the Airedale Brick and Tube Co.  The address of the works is simply stated to have been 'Keighley Road, Shipley' but I have never seen a map showing its exact location.  The company employed 51 men and 17 boys; it owned a coal mine and made a combination of bricks, sanitary tubes, glazed closet pans and chimneys.  There were 3 or 4 other brick works in the immediate area but no others used 'Airedale' in their company names.  Thanks to Derek Barker for the photo and information.

Alfreton

Spotted in Riddings, Derbyshire by Martyn Fretwell who writes:  The Alfreton Brick Company were in operation in 1880 and from 1916 to 1928 they became the Alfreton Brick and Tile Co. Ltd. The brickworks was on land which is now an industrial estate next to the present day railway station.

Glazed brick manufacturers established by Henry Victor Allen when he took over the Halifax Glazed Brickworks in the Walterclough Valley.  He converted the works to manufacture refractory bricks. Their Sefrac refractory bricks were world famous.

Photos by Darrell Prest.  

Simon Patterson sent this photo of the rear of an Allen brick.  

Allied

Derek Barker writes:  I can't identify the origin of this brick with certainty.  There was a company called Allied Brick & Tile of Beeston, Leeds.  There was also a producer of this name in Harrogate in the 1930s, the Allied Brick & Tile Works Ltd, Stonefall, Harrogate.

Altham works, Accrington

Thanks to Brian Hartley for the photo

Altofts

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Ambergate

A badly deformed Ambergate brick found by Frank Lawson near Bakewell. 

Annington

Found in County Durham, photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Ansley-Hall

Ansley Hall was the name of a colliery near Atherstone in Warwickshire.  The brick was found during demolition of part of Llandudno station.  As Atherstone was on the main line of the London & North Western Railway, who also extended Llandudno station, this is the likely reason why it was found so far from home.

Simon Patterson writes: This is made from reconstituted stone and was made by the Steetley Company at their Anston quarry in South Yorkshire.  They are still being made by Forticrete but it has not had the frog with the name on it for many years.

Apedale

The Apedale brickyard and the Apedale iron works were built close together. In the Apedale valley there were good stocks of coal, iron and marl.  This brick was found in the woods where the brickyard boundary  wall can still be seen in the woods.  Photo and info by Ken Perkins.

Ken's bricks can be seen on display at the Apedale heritage centre, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire in the brick and tile exhibition.  There are around 100 on display.

Arlesey Brick Co.

Arlesey in Bedfordshire once had six brickworks, none of which remain today.  photo kindly supplied by Richard Pike.

Armitage, Leeds

Thanks to Colin Butler and Martyn Fretwell for the contribution.

Probably made at Armitage Brickworks, Woodkirk, Leeds.  Photos by Simon Patterson

A delightful Armitage brick from 1954, photo by Steve Kind

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

A Coronation commemorative brick. Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Armitage (Sheffield)

The brick works of John Armitage & Son were situated in Stocksbridge and Deepcar, northern suburbs of Sheffield.

photos courtesy of Graham Hague (Sheffield) collection.   This is the back of a decorative Armitage brick.

Ashdown

A new brick made by Ibstock at Bexhill, E. Sussex, found at Pevensey Bay by Simon Patterson.

Ashington Coal Company Limited

A hundred years ago, Ashington in Northumberland was a one industry town.  The primary industry was coal mining and the main employer was the Ashington Coal Company.  If you worked for them, then you probably lived in a company house built and owned by the ACCL with bricks made in the ACCL brickworks.

ACCL became part of the National Coal board who applied their name to the bricks after 1948.  Thanks to Simon Patterson for the photo.

Thanks to Andrew Gardner for the photo.

Ashworth Sparth

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.  Sparth is a district of Rochdale.

Askern

Askern Brick & Tile Co., listed in Kelly 1936 with advert 'Makers of the facing bricks for 
H.M. the King's house'. Askern lies on A19, 10km north of Doncaster. Image PRBCO.

Aston Magna

Simon Patterson photographed this one at Avoncroft Museum

Atlas

Found in a garden in Leeds, photo by Steve Kind

Thanks to Darren Heywood for the photo

Atlas Wallsend

Thanks to Andrew Gardner for the photo.

Attercliffe

photo courtesy of Graham Hague (Sheffield) collection

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