"Old Bricks - history at your feet"
English bricks page 5b-1
Codnor Vill to Conisbro
Codnor Vill
A newspaper auction notice from 1858 advertises that Lot 4 was the sale of 'One Half Share in Codnor Ville Brick Yard'. There is no name of the owner of this yard in the auction notice, it only states that "The Tennant's will show the Premises". Theadore Hickling was the owner of the land on which this brick yard had been established, so he may have been the person who was selling the half share in the yard. Research of the word Ville has revealed that this is a French word for town, thus resulting in Codnor Ville (town) being stamped in the brick above without the e. A 1854 map showing the layout of the building plots & the new streets of a new housing estate just off Mill Lane in Codnor also shows the brickworks in the centre of the development. In Kelly's 1857 edition, Robert & Charles Taylor are recorded as brickmakers in Codnor & from the 1881 census Thomas Allcock & his two sons are all recorded as brickmakers, living at nearby Prospect Place in Codnor. So either of these two families could have made these bricks. Info & Photographed at Ripley Reclamation by Martyn Fretwell.
Alfred Coe
Alfred Coe is listed in Whites 1892 edition at Crown St, Ipswich, offices; works, Hadleigh. Kelly's 1900 edition records two works at Bromford & Hadleigh. Kelly's 1912 & 16 editions then record Alfred Coe, exors of, works Bromford. Kelly's 1925 edition records A. Coe Ltd. offices, 15, Crown St. Ipswich, but no works address. Coe was also a builder. Photo & Info by Martyn Fretwell.
Codnor Ville
A newspaper auction notice from 1858 advertises that Lot 4 was the
sale of 'One Half Share in Codnor Ville Brick Yard'. There is no
name of the owner of this yard in the auction notice, it only
states that "The Tennant's will show the Premises". Theadore
Hickling was the owner of the land on which this brick yard had
been established, so he may have been the person who was selling
the half share in the yard. Research of the word Ville has
revealed that this is a French word for town, thus resulting in
Codnor Ville (town) being stamped in the brick above without the
e. A 1854 map showing the layout of the building plots & the
new streets of a new housing estate just off Mill Lane in Codnor
also shows the brickworks in the centre of the development. In
Kelly's 1857 edition, Robert & Charles Taylor are recorded as
brickmakers in Codnor & from the 1881 census Thomas Allcock
& his two sons are all recorded as brickmakers, living at
nearby Prospect Place in Codnor. So either of these two families
could have made these bricks. Info & Photographed at Ripley
Reclamation by Martyn Fretwell.
Cogenhoe,
Northampton
The Cogenhoe Iron Ore Co. was established in 1858 & in
1877 a brickworks was built by the company to utilise the clay
that was being dug. However this venture was short lived as there
was a downturn in the demand for iron ore & the company closed
in 1880. Kelly's lists The Cogenhoe Iron Ore Co. as brickmakers
it's 1877 edition. Info & Photo by Martyn Fretwell.
Colborne, Swindon
Photo by
Tim Kirby.
G H
Colchester, Burwell, Cambs.
G H Colchester, Burwell, Newmarket, Cambs. Supposedly
to give his workers work in winter T. T. Ball opened a brickworks
a little to the north of Burwell beyond the old lode, eventually
renamed Factory lode. In 1881 T. T. Ball employed 33 men at the
chemical works, in partnership from the 1880s with W. and G. H.
Colchester, of a Suffolk fertilizer firm. By 1900 those works were
linked by a private line to the Cambridge-Mildenhall railway
running through Soham. Their firm, Colchester & Ball,
continued to produce both fertilizer, by 1900 using imported
phosphates, and the Burwell White bricks. When G. H. Colchester
retired in 1919 it was taken over by another East Anglian
fertilizer company, Prentices.
Prentices was in turn merged in 1929 into Fisons Ltd., which
manufactured fertilizer at Burwell until after 1962. By 1926 a new
and larger brickworks was built, with steadily growing brick pits
to its north, on Little Fen drove just south-west of the earlier
one. It remained in use in the 1960s, employing c. 45 people and
producing up to 10,000,000 bricks a year. In 1966 Fisons sold it
to a Leicestershire brick manufacturer. Following the loss in
popularity of white bricks, it was closed in 1971. The buildings,
save for some workers' cottages, were demolished in 1972, their
two 180-ft. high chimneys being blown up. Photo and info by
courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.
Coleford
Today, Coleford Brick & Tile Co. is still producing hand
made bricks. Established in 1925, it's Marians Brickworks was
between Coleford & Staunton. Most of it's early production was
used by the local mining industry in and around the Forest of
Dean, but now the company's hand made bricks are mainly used by
the building industry. The Marians brickworks closed after WW2 and
a second and the present day Royal Forest of Dean Works was opened
in 1935 at Cinderford on the site of a former brickworks. Recent
contracts have included two & a half million bricks for the
new British Library in London & 168,000 bricks for the 118ft
tower at the newly refurbished Royal Shakespeare Theatre at
Stratford on Avon. Photo by Colin Wooldridge from the John Cooksey
Collection & Info by Martyn Fretwell. Photos of a visit
to the works can be viewed here.
W H
Collier
Photo by Phil Burgoyne.
William Homan Collier established his Marks Tey brickworks near
Colchester in 1863. William had previously worked at E & R
Collier in Reading. William H. Collier is listed in Kelly's 1882,
94 & 1902 editions at Marks Tey. The 1914 edition now lists
the company as Collier Ltd with works at Marks Tey, Hutton,
Shenfield & Cranham, Upminster. The expansion of Collier Ltd.
may have taken place after William had retired from brickmaking or
his death. The company stayed in the Collier family until 1988,
then after several changes in ownership the company was taken over
by Wienerberger in 2004. The Marks Tey works was then acquired by
a Management Buyout Team lead by Maurice Page & the works is
still in production today operating under the name of W.H. Collier
Ltd. Two down draft kilns from the original 1863 works still
stand. Info & Photos by Martyn Fretwell.
J Collins, Pensnett
James Collins is listed in Kelly's 1868 to 1880 editions at
Pensnett, Kingswinford, Dudley. He appears to have sold off the brickworks equipment in 1886. Info and photo by Martyn Fretwell.
J S Collins, Gornalwood
Samuel John Collins is listed in Jones Directory of 1865 as a brick manufacturer at 'Barrs Meadow', which is is where the Gas Works was subsequently located. John Samuel Collins is listed at Gornal Wood,
Dudley in Kellys 1868 edition. This works was situated on Himley
Road. Kellys 1872 to 1904 editions now lists the works at
Lower Gornal, Dudley. Studying maps has revealed that this was the
same works. Info & Photographed at the Black Country Living
Museum by Martyn Fretwell with additional info by Colin Morris.
W Collins, Newton le Willows
Photographed in a Cambridgeshire collection by Martyn
Fretwell.
W J Collins
Photographed at Cawarden Reclamation, Rugeley. Kelly's
1896 to 1908 Staffordshire editions records William James Collins
as brickmaker at Oaken, Albrighton, Wolverhampton. Photo &
Info by Martyn Fretwell.
Collins Bros
Found in Wolverhampton and I suspect that this was made there by William Collins (see above) and his brother Samuel in the early 1890s. Photos by Dave Hodgkinson.
Collins Green
Alan
Davies writes: The company had a colliery at Collins Green,
near Bold, St Helens and also a brickworks in Burtonwood producing
up to 10,000 bricks per day. Some were used in the construction of
154 working men's cottages in the village. Photo by Phil Burgoyne.
Colney Hatch
Possibly from a small brickyard that was on the south side of side of Summer's Lane close to Colney Hatch, Middlesex. It seems to have opened early 1890s and was gone by 1912. Photo by Lal Hardy.
Colthurst Symons & Co., Bridgwater
Found in Tenby by Gary Davies.
Photo by John Morley. William Symons opened a brick yard in
1851. By 1859, Colthurst & Symons & Co were leading
brick makers in the area. By 1881 large numbers were employed, 85
by one manufacturer. The largest yard was the Crossway Brick
and Tile Works of Colthurst, Symons, and Co. By 1887 there
were three yards, Crossway, Fursland's Somerset Yard, and New
Yard. New Yard was held by William Symons in 1898.
Brick making in the area declined in the early 20th century. The partners are also listed in trade directories as running the Llanthony brick works at Gloucester.
Photo by Ian Williams.
Photo by Malcolm Holt.
Colwich
The Colwich Brick & Tile Co. is listed in Kellys 1904 to 1940 editions at Colwich, Stafford. Established around 1900 the works closed in 1970. Photos of the derelict works at this link. Photo & Info by Martyn Fretwell.
Common
Found in an East Staffordshire reclamation yard. Photo by Nigel Furniss.
Commondale Brick, Pipe and Pottery Company Ltd
Photos by Frank Lawson.
There was just this one brick in the garden at Buckden Towers in Cambridgshire and the name isn't immediately obvious . Photos by Martyn Fretwell.
Photos by Chris Tilney.
A chimney brick found at Neasham by Jo Crossley.
A decorated moulding, photo by Jo Crossley.
Commondale Brick Pipe & Pottery Co.Ltd., Commondale, North Yorks.
Commondale Brickworks was originally established in 1861 by John Pratt, a printer from Stokesley. In 1873 the works was purchased by John Crossley and his son Alfred. The Crossley family owned much of Commondale and continued to produce bricks in addition to high quality pottery products until the business closed in 1947.
Kelly's Directory N.& E Ridings of Yorkshire 1913 - "Crossley & Sons Ltd.: office & depot, Boundary Road, Middlebro' : branch depots Bridge Road, Stockton on Tees & Ormesby ; works Commondale & Grosmont."
Photo by Jo Crossley. The Crossley family, see later entry, used
the COMMONDALE name on some of their
products.
Conisboro
Yorkshire Amalgamated Products, Ashfield Brickworks, Conisbrough, Doncaster. Ashfield Fire Clay Works on Clifton Hill In Conisbrough was founded by Thomas Henry Simpson in the 1850's. On his death in 1880 ownership was purchased by George Walker and Godfrey Edward Crawshaw of Doncaster and subsequently, on their deaths in around 1887, it passed to their sons Edward Crawshaw and Godfrey Walker. In 1920 Yorkshire Amalgamated Products Ltd of Doncaster, the owners of several other brickyards in Yorkshire purchased the business and production continued until closure in 1961. It seems that when clay deposits adjacent to the works were reaching exhaustion in around 1950 clay was shipped from their works in nearby Mexborough. For more information visit this site. Photos and info by courtesy of the Frank Lawson collection.