Because of the geographical spread
of the bricks covered here, I have divided this section into four parts.
There are separate pages for Buckley, Wrexham and Ruabon. Below follows a selection of
other Welsh bricks. For further research on brickmaking in North
East Wales there is an excellent book on the subject - "Life
in the Victorian Brickyards" - and many of the details in this section
are taken from it.
Buckley area
Other Welsh bricks:
Any additional information you may have on any of the following is most welcome.
Aberaman
Aberaman Ironworks was built in 1845 in the Cynon Valley by the great ironmaster Crawshaw Bailey, the brickworks forming part of the inventory. The ironworks closed in 1866, and in 1867 the entire concern, including the brick works, was bought by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Co, thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.
Abersychan
Abersychan is near Pontypool in South Wales. There is an entry in Kelly’s for 1906 listing “J Gregory of Pentwyn, Abersychan (see Gregory J). In the same year he is also listed as manufacturing fire bricks. In 1926, Kelly’s lists the “Abersychan Brick Co of Pentwyn, Abersychan”. In 1948, the Industrial Directory for Wales and Monmouthshire (IDWM) names the “Abersychan Brick & Slag Co”, but in the 1960 IDWM, the “Abersychan Slag Ballast Co” appears. The last record for this company is in the IDWM for 1964, thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.
Alyn Brick Tile & Terracota, Coed Talon
Ammanford Colliery
This colliery closed in 1976, read its history here
Aston Hall Coal & Brick Company
This works was near Hawarden in
Flintshire.
Beaufort
Marie took this photo. Beaufort is a small village near Ebbw Vale. Famous for very hard engineering bricks. The Empire State Building in New York is allegedly built on a foundation of these bricks. Thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.
Brymbo
This is a refractory brick from
the now demolished Brymbo steelworks near Wrexham.
Buttington
Buttington is a small village just outside Welshpool in Powys.
Burgoyne
A brick works appears to have been in the
Little Mill, Pontypool area since at least 1850. Some Burgoyne bricks are
stamped "Est. 1850". The site was first referred to as the
Little Mill Brick Co in the 1922 Kelly's Directory. Once possibly the most
prolific of the Eastern Valley (Torfaen) works, it closed in the 1980s and is
now a Go-Kart track. Thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.
Colomendy, Mold
The site of this works in Flintshire has not, as yet, been positively identified.
Cwmbran
Prior to Cwmbran becoming well known as a New Town, references to Cwmbran were always followed by Newport in order to establish where it was. The brick works was located in Oakfield near to Cwmbran Stadium but Kelly’s of 1895 and 1906 also list the company as at Llantarnam Road, Cwmbran (this is also given as the location for the Star Brick and Tile Co Ltd). The company was, anecdotally, still operating in 1958 - thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.
Cwmgorse
Made by the Cwmgorse Brick Co in,
what is now, West Glamorgan.
Cynghordy Metallic
Ebbw vale
From the famous steel making valley
of the same name.
Emlyn
Coal mining began in the 1790s in Pen-y-groes, near Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, but it was not until 1893 that the Emlyn Colliery was built, and 1904 before the Emlyn Colliery Company was established. The owner was G. Aeron Thomas. The Emlyn Colliery closed in 1939, but the Emlyn Brickworks remained open until the mid-1990s.
Erith, Leeswood
Erith is a town in North Kent and
it seems an odd choice of name for a Welsh brickworks. However the
name is descended from an earlier phase in Leeswood's history. Before
oil could reliably be pumped from the ground, it was obtained from coal
and the coal in this area had a very high oil content. For a brief
period in the latter half of the 19th century, the immediate area was exploited
for this rich resource and the principal company involved was the London,
Erith and Leeswood Mineral Oil Company which diversified into brickmaking.
The brick business lasted a lot longer than the oil business and the works
finally ceased production in the 1970's.
Ffrwd Iron Works
The Ffrwd Ironworks was one of those vast Victorian enterprises that has now disappeared almost without trace. Hidden in a steep sided valley near Wrexham are the remains of an ironworks, several collieries, coke ovens and a brickworks. The complex was served by competing branchlines of the Great Western Railway and Wrexham, Mold and Connahs Quay Railway. In its early days, the works even constructed a canal to link up with a proposed extension of the Shropshire Union. The canal was abandoned, without ever being used, by 1800 - but traces of it can still be seen. Due to a trade depression, the whole complex had disappeared by the early days of the 20th century.
Goodwick
Goodwick is a small village near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire. The following is from the Pembrokeshire Virtual Museum site:
Goodwick Brickworks began as the ‘Fishguard Harbour Brickworks Ltd’ in 1908, just a year after the Great Western Railway arrived. The nearby blue shale and clay was dug by hand. There were two beehive kilns and steam was used to power a grinding mill, pug mill and wire-cut brick maker.
In 1910, the works was bought out and re-organised as the ‘Goodwick Brickworks Ltd’ and another beehive kiln was added. It was re-organised again after a closure during the First World War, The beehive kilns were replaced by a continuous type kiln (which was used until 1969), another grinding machine was added and the wire-cut machine was replaced by a stiff plastic brick shaper. Further technical improvements enabled 75,000 bricks a week to be produced in the late 1920’s, largely to cope with the growth of Milford.
In the late 1930’s, on the advice of a Swiss expert, the final layout was adopted. Hand kiln firing was replaced by mechanical feeders worked by compressed air. The drying floor was replaced by drying chambers – two banks of nine. Blackstone diesel oil engines replaced steam power (these were, in their turn, replaced by electric motors in the early 1950’s), a loading hoist was added, and the rails for transfer cars extended. These improvements enabled the production rate to be further increased to 100,000 bricks a week. At this time 40 men were employed, although some quarry workers were enticed away by higher wages at Trecwn’s Royal Ordnance Factory.
Peak production of 120,000 bricks a week was reached during the Second World War. Cheaper road transport replaced rail at this time. In 1946, the ‘British Anthracite Company Ltd’ took over. Output fell to 100,000 bricks a week in the next few years due to a labour shortage. There was a further decline to 60,000 bricks a week by 1969, the year of closure, when 30 men were employed.
Graigddu
The Mineral Statistics Directory for 1858 lists the Graigddu Brick Co, manufacturing fire and building bricks, with an average yearly output of 305,000 bricks. Slater’s of 1868 lists it as Graigddu Co, Cwmnantddu, Pontypool; Kelly’s of 1895 still lists the Graigddu Works, but Graigddu Southwood Jones is also mentioned for the first time. There is no mention of Graigddu Co after 1895. Thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.
Holywell
Made in Flintshire
Hope Hall
Made at a small brickworks in Flintshire which served the country estate of the same name.
Leeswood
Little Mill Brick co, Pontypool
Possibly the most prolific of the Eastern Valley brick works, Little Mill Brick Co which operated at Little Mill, Pontypool, possibly as a successor to J Burgoyne. The company is first listed in the 1922 Kelly’s and it operated until the 1980s; the site is now a go kart track. Thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.
Melyn Court
This works was near Neath in South Wales.
Mold Argoed Colliery
A small colliery near Mold in Flintshire which operated from 1863 until 1886.
Mostyn
Mostyn is a small port on the Dee estuary in Flintshire.
N.C.B. Coed Ely
Coed-Ely Colliery was north of
Llantrisant in South Wales. The pit was sunk in 1901 and by
1919 employed a total of 1700
miners. It closed in 1985.
National Star, Newport
Photo by Darrell Prest
Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite
This is'nt a conventional clay
brick but is made out of granite dust and chippings,
a quarry by-product.
Penwyllt
A product of the Penwyllt
Dinas Silica Brick co. from the upper Swansea valley. Thanks to Jonathan for
this one. Unusually the name is on the side of the brick.
P,B & Tile Co. - Newtown
Made by the Park Brick and Tile
Co.
Porthwen brick works
A TIDY brick
made at Porth Wen brickworks near Amlwch in Anglesey.
Read the
story of Porth Wen on
my
website
J.
Prince, Connahs Quay
Ruby, Rhydymwyn
A small brickworks near Mold in Flintshire.
A selection of some of the Ruby Brickworks products:
Seiont, Caernarvon
The Seiont works closed in 2008,
latterly it was operated by Hanson Building Products.
Slate
Found in Pembrokeshire. I believe it was made at Porthgain.
South Rhondda
Produced by the colliery company
of the same name, closed in 1927, see
http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/GlamEast/South_rhondda_llanharen.htm
