"Old Bricks - history at your feet"

Scotland page 2


 Letters H to Z

I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    Y


Hailes

The Hailes brickworks was set up in 1902, in association with Hailes quarry, in the Longstone district of Edinburgh, but the brick was reputedly of poor quality and production died away in the 1930s.The quarry was used for landfill and is now a city park.  Thanks to Joseph Hodgkiss for the photos and information.


Hamilton

Martin Briscoe photographed this one

Photographed at Hirum Walkers Distillery, Dumbarton by Ian Sinclair.


Heathfield

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.  Heathfield Fireclay Works, Lanarkshire, ca 1850 - 1960s.


Hill of Beath

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection, found in Pitlochry.


Hodge, McDonald & Corbet, Glasgow

Found in an 1860's Glasgow house by Andrew Greg.


Holytown

Found in a WWII Decoy Control bunker near Fort William by Martin Briscoe.  Made near Motherwell.


Hood

Found at an Edinburgh recycling centre by Joseph Hodgkiss.  Joseph writes: This brick is almost certainly a product of one of Archibald Hood's brickworks. Scotsman Archibald Hood, was considered a very enlightened, paternalistic employer, and in addition to his many coal mining enterprises also owned a brickworks (see Whitehill) in Rosewell, Midlothian. The brickworks made use of fireclay from the associated coal mines.


R & W Horn

Found on the banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland by Mr. Jim Haworth of Burnley.  Eric Flack writes: R & W Horn ran a brickworks just south of Lock 35 at Drumchapel on the Forth and Clyde canal.  The works were taken over by Stevensons and I have Stevenson Drumchapel Glasgow bricks in my possession.  The works closed in 1916.  They used "red" clay from an open clay pit.  R & W Horn also had a small brick making kiln where the Elderslie dock is - part of the BAE systems yard now.  Formerly Yarrows of Scotston.  It also used "red" clay.


J & R Howie, Kilmarnock

Found on the seashore in Ballantrae, Ayrshire by Christine.


Hunter, Portobello

Thanks to Lee Kindness for the photo, taken near the site of the old Joppa salt pans.


Hurlford Fireclay

Hurlford Fireclay works, Kilmarnock, 1860s - 1970s. Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.

Found on the seashore in Ballantrae, Ayrshire by Christine.


Hurll, Glasgow

Martin Briscoe found this one near the site of Ballachulish station.

and this one in Fort William

Eric Flack writes:  The two bricks below were made at the Drumchapel works of P & M Hurll.  It operated from about 1903 to November 1941.  It reopened in 1950 under the management of Alexandra Transport Company and the bricks were marked ATC.  Alexandra Transport Co was part of the Tilcon group.  All these bricks used shale from colliery waste bings in the Drumchapel area.  Latterly Alexandra Transport used lorries to bring clay from the Cadder area.  The works closed in 1958 and is now occupied by Edrington Holdings who bottle Grouse whisky on the site.

Both found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.

Photographed at Summerlee Museum.


Hyslop

Photographed at Summerlee Museum.  Made between 1889 and 1915.


Letter K.

K

Found near Fort William by Martin Briscoe.

This one found near Largs by Martin Briscoe


K & C

Found at an Edinburgh recycling centre by Joseph Hodgkiss


Kelvin

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.


Kersland

Found by Martin Briscoe in Largs, Ayrshire.  The Kersland brick works was in Dalry.


Kirkwood

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.


Klinit

Three refractory bricks, origin unknown - Klint 108, Klinit R and Klinit 7


Letter L.

Lews

This one was made at the Garrabost works near Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.  It is believed to have been named after Lews Castle.  The castle and brickworks were both owned by Lord Leverhulme during the 1920's.  


Lilliehill

Found by Peggy Edwards at the site of Murrayshall Limeworks, Stirlingshire. 

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/46271/details/murrayshall+lime+works/


Linwood

Photographed at Summerlee Museum.  Linwood Brickworks, Paisley, 1904 - ca 1915.


Litt mill

Could this be an abbreviation for Littlemill?  Found on the seashore in Ballantrae, Ayrshire by Christine.


Lochside

Made by Lochside Works, Townhill, Dunfermline. Opened 1902, closed 1974. 

Found in Fort William by Martin Briscoe


Logan, Dalry

Another found by Martin Briscoe on the beach at Portencross, Ayrshire.  Kersland Brickworks, Dalry, ca 1910 - 1939.


Loudon & Russell

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.  Loudon Russell Pipe Works, Newmains, 1973 - 1970s.


Letter M.

McDonald Braidwood

Spotted in Moffat by Peter Robinson.  Meadow Brickworks, Carluke, 1889 - 1920.


Methil

Found at Lochailort, near Mallaig by Martin Briscoe, made in Fife.  The Methil works was open from 1908 - 1952.


Milton, Carluke

Milton Brick & Tile Works, 1897 - 1940s.


Muir, Armadale

Made at Barbauchlaw Brickworks, 1897 - 1947. Photo by Simon Patterson
Found by Martin Briscoe near some old military buildings at Kyleakin, near the Skye Bridge.

Letter N.

N.C.B. Fauldhead

Fauldhead Colliery and Brickworks, Dumfries & Galloway.  Fauldhead produced steam coal with a high sulphur content that was burned by steam locomotives. The end of steam on British Railways ended that market and the colliery closed in 1968.  The brickworks however continued to work into the 1970s.  Information taken from the scran database.

Fauldhead Colliery was near Kirkconnel in Dumfriesshire and closed in 1968


N.C.B Newton

Martin Briscoe spotted this one near Inverlochy Castle, Fort William.


N.C.B. Niddrie

The Niddrie brickworks, near Edinburgh, was a large common-brick works built to supply bricks for housebuilding by the Niddrie & Benhar Coal Co.  It had three large Hoffman continuous kilns, and latterly, a modern shuttle kiln.  The works closed in 1991, and was demolished. The site is now a shopping centre.  Information taken from the scran database.

Photo by Simon Patterson.

Found at RAF Oban which was a seaplane base at Kerrara, by Martin Briscoe.

Found in an Edinburgh recycling centre by Joseph Hodgkiss.


N.C.B. Preston Grange

Bricks were made at Preston Grange from the early nineteenth century.  After 1872 the works were expanded and progressively mechanised and switched to using shale (blaes) and fireclay from the nearby colliery.  By the nineteen fifties almost all of the colliery's output was absorbed by the brickworks.  Information taken from the scran database.

Prestongrange is in East Lothian and is now an industrial museum.  The Hoffman brick kiln is preserved on site.

Found near Edinburgh by Joseph Hodgkiss.


N.C.B. Roslin

A brickworks was set up at Roslin Colliery (which was owned by the Shotts Iron Company) in 1937 to produce 40,000 bricks a day.  During WW2 these were used to build air-raid shelters but by 1943 the high demand for bricks had gone and the works was put on a care and maintenance basis.  Roslin Brickworks has since been demolished and a housing estate now occupies the site.  Information taken from the scran database.

Found in an Edinburgh recycling centre.

Found on a disused railway near Roslin, Edinburgh.  Thanks to Joseph Hodgkiss for the contributions.


N.C.B. Wallyford

 


Nellfield

Found near Connel Ferry station by Martin Briscoe, made by the Nellfield brick & tile works, Carluke, 1893 - 1939.


Newbattle

 


Niddrie - see N.C.B. Niddrie


Letter P.

J. Paterson & son, Glasgow

This works was active from 1889 - 1945, photo by Andrew Greg.  Found in a backyard in Strathbungo, Glasgow.


Pentland

Found at an Edinburgh recycling centre by Joseph Hodgkiss. This brickworks was located in Straiton about 6 miles south of Edinburgh City centre.


Pitcon

Found on the seashore in Ballantrae, Ayrshire by Christine.

Photo taken at a radar station on Tiree by Martin Briscoe.


Prestongrange:  see N.C.B. Prestongrange


Letter R.

Raeburn

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.  The works was at Blantyre in Lanarkshire.


Rawyards, Glasgow

Another one from Chilean Patagonia, photo by Robert Runyard.  Rawyards is a district of Airdrie, ca 1893 - 1940s


Rosehall

From a demolished GPO repeater station near Oban, photo by Martin Briscoe.  Made in Coatbridge, ca 1900 - 1945.

Roslin - see N.C.B. Roslin


Letter S.

S & KC Buccleuch

Sanquhar and Kirkconnel Collieries, Sanquhar.

The Buccleuch Brickworks in Sanquhar, Dumfries & Galloway was established in about 1889 to make terracotta bricks. It consisted of a large moulding shop and eight large round downdraught kilns, all of which had conical superstructures, probably later additions.  The clay came from quarries to the north-east and south-east on narrow-gauge tramways.  The brickworks produced both standard-sized facing bricks, probably in brick presses and 'specials', hand-made in limited quantities.  This works closed in about 1958, but was still reasonably intact in the mid-1960s.  By 1971 the kilns had been almost completely demolished, and since then the rest of the complex has also gone.  Terracotta bricks were popular as they were non-porous, and did not retain soot on their surfaces.  Information taken from the scran database.

Found in an Edinburgh recycling centre by Joseph Hodgkiss.


Scotia

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.


Scottish Terracotta

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.  Made at Lee Terra Cotta Works in the 1890s.


Shotts

Shott Sand Limestone Bricks, ca 1910 - 1947.

Photo by Martin Briscoe

Found on waste ground near Edinburgh by Joseph Hodgkiss.


Souterhouse

Found in Fort William by Martin Briscoe.  Made in Coatbridge, ca 1899 - ca 1930.


Southhook, Crosshouse, Kilmarnock N.B.

Found on the seashore in Crosby, Merseyside.


Speirs Gibb & Co. Paisley

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.


Starworks, Glenboig, see under Glenboig


J. G. Stein - G. R. Stein


 These two examples were photographed at the Holyhead Breakwater Park .  The 'Thistle' and 'Stein' brands are believed to have been manufactured in Scotland by J G Stein who had works in the Castlecary / Bonnybridge area and also at Manuel near Linlithgow.  'Thistle' was a 38% alumina firebrick but the Stein brands varied in alumina content.  In 1967 J G Stein amalgamated with General Refractories of Sheffield and became GR Stein Refractories.  This company was then taken over by Hepworth Ceramic Holdings and eventually became known as Hepworth Refractories. Another takeover took place when it became Premier Refractories but this did not last very long because it was bought by Vesuvius is now part of the Cookson Group.  Many thanks to David Morgan for the above.  Some recent views of the works are on this website.

The third of the bricks from Chilean Patagonia, photo by Robert Runyard.

Found on a Renfrewshire seashore by Ian Sinclair.

J. G. Stein & Co. Denny, thanks to Keith Ratcliffe for the photo.

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Found in North Notts. by Simon Patterson.  Lawrence Skuse writes:  There are a great number of NETTLE-D bricks and larger blocks in the Dowlais Brook in Cwmbran, alongside the former GKN Refractories (aka "The White Brick Works").  These are unused and along with other firms' refractory items also found in the brook, I believe they were sold by GKN along with their own refractory items.


Stepends - see also Coltness

Martin Briscoe photographed this one.  Les Horn writes:  Stepends, a National Coal Board brick works, was at Stepends Colliery at Plains near Kirk O'Shotts in Lanarkshire (GB Grid Ref NS 806 669) .  There was an aerial ropeway to Ardenrigg No. 6 mine.


S.B.C

Believed to be Scottish Brick Company.


Summerlee

Made by the Summerlee Company and found in Dumbarton by Lairich Rigg

Photographed at Summerlee Museum.


Symington

Photographed at Summerlee Museum.  Made from ca 1889 - ca 1928.


Letter T

Thistle - see J. G. Stein


Letter U.

U. F. P.

United Fireclay Products, made in Armadale, West Lothian, found by Simon Patterson in Worksop.


Letter W.

Wallyford

The brickworks was operated by Edinburgh Collieries Limited in the 1920s.   After 1947 it passed to the National Coal Board and in 1969 was sold to the Scottish Brick Corporation.  It closed in the early 1970s.

Found on waste ground in Fairmilehead, Edinburgh.  Thanks to Joseph Hodgkiss for the contribution.


Watsons

Photographed at Hirum Walkers Distillery, Dumbarton by Ian Sinclair.

Found among the rubble of a demolished wall in Glasgow by Joseph Hodgkiss.


Wellwood

Made at Elgin & Wellwood Colliery, Dunfermline.  The colliery closed in 1950 but the brickworks survived until 1981.


Wemyss

Found at a recycling centre in Edinburgh.  Thanks to Joseph Hodgkiss for the contribution.  Wemyss Brick Co., Methil, 1906 - 1981.


Whitehill

Whitehill Colliery Brickworks was in Lasswade, Midlothian.  Whitehill Colliery (also known as Rosewell) was owned by the Lothian Coal Company, it was formed in 1890 from the Newbattle and Whitehill Pits.  The latter providing material for the neighbouring brickworks.  Most of the brickworks' workers lived in nearby Rosewell village which grew from a small village with a population of 133 in 1846, to 2129 in 1881.  Most of its population were miners.  Many of the newcomers were families who had left Ireland in the years after the famine.  By 1885, it had a handsome local church, a public school and a Post Office and Savings Bank.  In 1938-9 the brickworks was largely rebuilt, and equipped with new machinery.  By the 1940s the capacity was over 15 million common bricks per year.  It closed in 1977.  Information taken from the scran database.

Found near a lead mine at Wanlockhead

Spotted at an Edinburgh recycling centre by Joseph Hodgkiss.

A left over from construction of a bungalow in Edinburgh in 1935, photo by Joseph Hodgkiss


Wilson & son, Glasgow

Photo by Andrew Greg.  Found in a backyard in Strathbungo, Glasgow.

Found by Philip Dikland in the ruins of the main house of the Alliance Sugar Plantation, Suriname, South America.   


Wilson, St. Andrews

Seafield Mains is located 3.5km WNW of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. Image PRBCO.


Winchburgh

Photo supplied by Joseph Hodgkiss.  Winchburgh Brickworks, ca 1873 - 1970s.


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