Any additional information you may have on any of these Welsh bricks is most welcome.

Letter A

B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J   K    L    M    N    O    P    R    S    T    U    V    W

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. 

Aberdare Brick Company

Thanks to 'Brotherglyn' for these Aberdare ones.

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. 

Ammanford Colliery

This colliery closed in 1976, read its history here

Angle

A Pembrokeshire brick, thanks to Mike Bennett for the photo.

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.

Buttington is a small village just outside Welshpool in Powys.

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the photo

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.

Letter C

Caerphilly Coal Co.

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the contribution.

Crown Works, Aberdare

Photo supplied by Brotherglyn.

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 is a small village in Carmarthenshire.

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the photo.

Letter D

Darran, Risca

A note about Risca brickworks by Richard Paterson:  There were apparently once five brickworks at Risca, which lies some 6 miles north-west of Newport. Three were in an area known as the Darran, from which these and the Jones, Risca bricks came. A fourth works, (the Danygraig works) belonged to Southwood Jones, where the SJ Risca British Made brick came from, and Southwood Jones also had the brickworks at Graigddu, Pontypool where a further example - the SJ Graigddu British Made brick - was made.  The fifth brickworks at Risca was founded by a Mr Russell near the Blackvein colliery and eventually passed into the ownership of the National Star Brick Co. (see Star Brick) - no example yet found.

Risca lies 8km north-west of Newport in South Wales. Image PRBCO.

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the photo.

Davies, Altyryn, Newport

Davies, Altyryn were predecessors of the Star Brick Co (later National Star) at the Allt-yr-Yn works at Newport. The works once supplied the eastern valleys of South Wales via the Crumlin arm of the Monmouthshire & Brecon canal. The works site is now a nature reserve.  Thanks to Richard Paterson for the photo and information.

Letter E

Ebbw vale

From the famous steel making valley of the same name.

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the photo. 

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. 

Letter G

Gadlys Aberdare

The front and back of a Gadlys brick by Brotherglyn.  Aberdare Tesco has now been built on the Gadlys brickworks site.

Glamorgan Brick Co. Pentyrch

The Pentyrch Brick Works began as part of the New Lan Mine and Pentyrch Ironworks complex on the west side of the River Taff some 6 miles north of Cardiff. The brickworks was originally operated by Owens & Watkins, later by Evan Owens & Co and was taken over by the Glamorgan Brick Co in 1915. It appears to have closed between the wars. The site is now a housing development.  Information and photo by Richard Paterson.

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.

Thanks to Mike Bennett for the photo.

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 S J (Southwood Jones) is also mentioned for the first time. They also had works in Risca, Malpas, Newport and Morriston.  There is no mention of Graigddu Co after 1895.  Thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the photo.

Graig Morriston

Found by Bryn Jones in Broughton Bay, Llangennith, Gower.  Made in Morriston near Swansea.  This firm came under the umbrella of the Star Brick & Tile group in the late 1950s. Towards the end of the group in the 1970s, bricks were being produced with the generic die "National Star Newport", and small letters to the lower left or right of the stamp to indicate the works of origin. It is believed that the letter "G" denoted bricks from the former Graig Morriston works.

Letter H

Hudson Argoed

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the contribution.  Hudson Argoed bricks were produced at the Argoed Brickworks near the hamlet of Cynonville in the Afan Valley some 7 miles from Port Talbot.  A country park now occupies the brickworks site. The firm was at one point also known as Hudson & Howell .

Letter J

J B & T

Believed to have been made by the Johnston Brick & Tile Co. in Pembrokeshire, thanks to Mike Bennett for the photo.

Jones, Risca 

Photos by Richard Paterson.

Letter L

J Lancaster

This is presumably from the brickworks of John Lancaster, Nantyglo.  Thanks to Norman Lowe for the photo and information.

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.

Photo by Richard Paterson

Llewellyn Aberdare

Thanks to 'Brotherglyn' for this South Wales example.

Letter M

Machen

Thanks to Richard Paterson for the contributions.  Machen Brick Co Ltd & Machen Brick, Stone, Lime and Coal Co - there were two brickworks in Machen, a village between Newport and Caerphilly.

Melyn Court

This works was near Neath in South Wales.

Letter N

National Star, Newport - see under Star Brick & tile

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.

N.C.B Onllwyn

The Onllwyn Colliery was part of a complex of drift mines working the anthracite seams above the Vale of Neath until about 1964. Note that the letters 'NCB' have been reversed,  Photo and info by Richard Paterson.

N.C.B. Tredegar

From Tredegar , in the Sirhowy Valley, not far from Ebbw Vale.  Photo and info by Richard Paterson.

Letter P

H. Parfitt, Cwmbran

The history of Henry Parfitt's brickworks in Cwmbran has been described by Lawrence Skuse - see http://www.cwmbran.info/brick_manufacturers.htm . Photo  by Richard Paterson.

Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite

This isn't 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.

 Made by the Park Brick and Tile Co.

Porthgain

Photo by Frank Lawson, taken at the Sloop Inn, Porthgain.

A TIDY brick made at Porth Wen brickworks near Amlwch in Anglesey.
Read the story of Porth Wen on my website.

Letter S

S. J. Risca

Photo by Richard Paterson.  Made at the Danygraig works, S J is Southwood Jones - refer to the entry for Graigddu.

St. Julians, Newport

It is known that this brickworks was operating and supplying bricks in the 1890s, and a wall at Big Pit, Blaenavon has a St Julian’s brick in it. Kelly’s for 1881 has an entry for “G Howard, St Julian’s, Christchurch, Newport” which may be connected. Kelly’s of 1895 has “St Julian’s Brick & Tile Co, Newport. The last entry held is in Kelly’s for 1926.  Thanks to Lawrence Skuse.

Photo by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.

Photo by Brotherglyn

Seiont, Caernarvon

The Seiont works closed in 2008, latterly it was operated by Hanson Building Products.

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

Another South Wales example from Tondu near Bridgend.

Tredegar

There is a photo of the works here.  Thanks to Richard Paterson for the photo and information.

Trimsaran

Trimsaran is near Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire

Letter W

W. B. I. 1946

The Highland Park Brick Works in Ely, Cardiff was originally the Westend Brick Works Co but, from about 1914, was operated by William Thorne & Sons before the formation of Welsh Brick Industries in 1946 (WBI 1946 LTD).  Information and photo by Richard Paterson.

W. B. & Co, Caerphilly

Photo by Brotherglyn

Wernddu

From the Wernddu brickworks Caerphilly, thanks to Norman Lowe for the photo and information.

Whitehead

Another one seen at the Big Pit museum in Blaenavon.  Whitehead Hill and Co took over from JC Hill and Co in 1925. The works, known as the Llandowlais Brick Works was located on Ty Coch Way, Two Locks, Cwmbran, east of the Dowlais Brook and south of the Monmouthshire - Brecon Canal. The works incorporated two eighteen chamber kilns, each chamber having a capacity of 19,000 bricks. In each kiln, approximately eight chambers per kiln were fired each week, giving an output of some 304,000 bricks per week. The last listing for the company is in the D.O.Q for 1973.  Thanks to Lawrence Skuse for the info.

Image PRBCO.

Ynysddu

The village of Ynysddu, in the Sirhowy valley, is about nine miles north of Newport. The brickworks, associated with the Wentloog Colliery, functioned between 1901 and 1938, photo and info by Richard Paterson.

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