created by Dave Sallery
I welcome photographic contributions of named, clearly legible, whole bricks which don't currently feature on this website. Size at least 1024 x 768 pixels and ideally with some information about the history of the brick. Images can be emailed to David Kitching at: Old Bricks.
Many years ago, I found a house brick with a name on it - nothing unusual about that, you may think, then I found another and I was hooked. On this website can be seen some of the fruits(?) of my labours. My main interest is in the link that these bricks have to a bygone age and the vast variety of names which are displayed. Many works had only a short lifetime and little of that was ever recorded. When the works closed it was probably demolished immediately and the clay pit filled in, leaving little or no trace, apart - that is - from the name stamped on the brick, which could turn up years later hundreds of miles from its birthplace.
I hope that this website helps to stimulate more interest in this fascinating hobby. Quite a few of the bricks lack information - if you can add to the detail please let me know. On this website there are bricks from all over the UK and elsewhere, some of which are from the same works but which are quite different. I am also very grateful to the many other brick enthusiasts who have contributed to this site, particularly:
A.K.A. Demik, Pál Aczima, Claire Adams, David Addy, Anthony Akhurst, Neville Akers, Richard Alderton, Keith Aldis, Richard Alexander, Jason Alsop, Mark Anderson, Robert Anderson, Mark Annand, Farah Ansani, Geoffrey Armitage, Dan Armstrong, Ian Armstrong, David Ashbee, Dave Askew, Jess Aston, Denis Ayers, Mark Baigent, Peter Bailey, Louise Baker, Eddie Ball, Nick Balmer, Hayden Banister, Neil Bannell, Derek Barker, Christopher Barnett, Emma Barnett, Laura Barr, Davie Barrass, Neal Barrass, Dan Barrett, Andrew Batson, Alan Baxter, David Bell, James Alexander Bell, Steve Bell, Alex Betteney, Ivor Betty, Alan Bevan, Carla van Beveren, Steve Biddulph, John Biggs, Richard Blacklaw-Jones, David Blain, Bob, Don Boldison, Simon Booth, Lyn Bostock, Kate Bowdon, Aron Bowers, Bruce, Brunhilde Bontrup, Kate Bowdon, Mark Bradley, Shellie Bradshaw, John Bramall, Johnny Branston, Gavin Brett, Margaret Brett, the late Arthur Brickman, Martin Briscoe, Rosie Brock, Brim Brooks, Graham Brooks, Dan Broomwicks, Brotherglyn, Christine Brown, Lee Brown, Michael Brown, Michaela Brown, Ian Brownson, Nigel Bryson, Hispano Buchon, Richard Bull, Tony Burgess, Phil Burgoyne, Anthony Burke, Sam Burrows, Janet Butler, Terry Callaghan, Rick Calou, Tony Calvin, Ross Campbell, Dennis Canning, Nic Cannon, Andy Carr, John Carr, Liz Carr, Richard Carr, Vicky Carr, Nick Carter, Alex Cartwright, Theresa Casey, Ian Castledine, Lizzie Catsup, Kev Cawley, Roz Cawley, Steve Chaplin, Adrian Chapman, Mike Chapman, Roger Chapman, Sarah Chattenton, Ross Chisholm, Darren Clarke, David Clarke, Sean Clavery, Phil Clayton, Stuart Clifton, Bluebelle Cluckington, Martin Collins, Andrew Connolly, Anita Cook, Lee Cook, Susan Cook, Steve Cooke, Bob Cooney, Chris Cooper, Barbara Cooper-Holmes, Richard Comish, Ben Coult, Terry Coult, Richard Cox, Emma Cozens, Mark Cranston, Conn Crawford, Kirsty Crew, Julie Cropper, Marcus Von Cudworth, Lisa Cullingworth, Dave Cunningham, James Cunningham, Ken Cunningham, Lauren Curtis, Sam Cutler, Nick Cutts, Peter Daley, Stephen Davey, David David, Alan Davies, Amy Davies, Dawn Davies, Gary Davies, Janet E Davis, Thomas Davison, Chris Deacon, Steve Dewhirst, Andrew Dickson, Sandra Dillon, Paul Dobson, Cory Doctorow, Nigel Dodds, Vincent Charles Douglas, Joanna Downing, Colin Driver, Bill Duff, Warren Dunford, Martin Dutch, Lynne Dyer, Vicky Eaglefield, Jonathan Earl, Peter Earley, Jonny East, Kjeld Ejdorf, Lorna Ellans, John Elliott, Kirsten Ellis, Endaf Evans, Ken Evans, Richard Evans, Eve, Magdy Fahmy, Mick Farmer, Sarah Fawcett, Gary Featherstone, Mirko Fehrman, Graham Fellows, Hamish Fenton, Simon Ferré, Bill Fielding, Russell Firth, Chris Fisher, John Fisher, Eric Flack, Alan Fleming, Andrew Florey, Simon Fogg, Steve Follows, Robin Forbes, Ian Forrester, David Fox, Jase Fox, Lesley Frances, Billy Francis, Richard Freeman, Martin Fretwell, Martyn Fretwell, Jeanette Fry, Nigel Furniss, Merryn G, Terri Gallagher, Dennis Gamble, David Gardner, Alan Garner, Sandra Garside-Neville, Tim Geater, Bob Gellatly, Malc Gibbons, Michael Gibson, Barry Gill, Stephen Gilmore, Janet Gladstone, Michael Goddard, Louis Delgado Gonzalez, Stuart Goodliffe, John Goodman, Jane Gough, Paul Gower, Chris Graham, Mike Graham, Andy Grant, Anthony E Gray, Tony Gray, Julie Green, Martin Green, Mike Green, Jonathan Greenwood, Dan Gregory, Hugh Gregory, Lauren Griffin, Willie Guthrie, Graham Hague, Chris Hainsworth, Judith Hales, David Hall, Mick Hall, Stephen Halliburton, Iain Hambling, Michael Hammett, Peter Hanson, Nigel Harridge, Melanie Harriman, Stuart Harrington, Angela Harrison, Donald Harrison, John Harrison, Stephen Hartland, Richard Harvey, Shane Harvey, Brandon Havard, Michael Hawkins, Lynn Hawthorne, Dave Hayball, Thomas Hayman, Stephen Haynes, Darren Haywood, John Heeney, Doug Henderson, Iain Henderson, Chris Henley, Helen Herbert, David Hernon, Tim Heywood, Paul Higson, Colin Hill, Elaine Hill, Frank Hilton, Andy Hind, Charles Hindmarsh, Jud Hirst, Karen Hirst, Richard Hodges, Dave Hodgkinson, Joseph Hodgkiss, Sue Hogan, Britta Holmes, Paul Holmes, Malcolm Holt, Chris Homer, Mark Howard, Celinda Huband, Peter Hubbard, Catrin Hughes, Daniel Hughes, Clive Humphrey, Frank Hunt, Zoe Elizabeth Hunter, Ian Hunter, Simon Hurst, Deiniol Iago, Martin Jackson, Dan Will Jam, Catherine James, Caroline Jamieson, Chris Jamson, Teresa Jasper, Taj Jat, Anne Jeffcoat, Phil Jenkins, Philip Jervis, Jess Jessen-Klixbüll, Lewis Jodrell, Swaler Johnny, Gary Johns, Andrea Jones, Benjamin Jones, David Jones, Gary Robert Jones, Patrick Jones, Paul Jones, Roger Jones, Samantha Jones, Tom Jones, Pete Joyce, Greg Julian, Laddy Kaczmarczyk, Nick Kaye, Tony Keeble, Alwyn Kemp, Andrew Kemp, Philip Kempsey, Paddy Kerrigan, Michael Kilner, Rojam Kin, Steve Kind, David Kitching, Lindsey Kitching, Tom Kitching, Max Knight, Philipc Knowles, Scochki Kolasinac, Jan Latusek, Frank Lawson, Tim Lawton, Peter Lea, Nick Litton, Stephan Long, Tim Lawton, Peter Lea, Dave Liddle, Jonathan Light, Martin Light, Stephen Limmer, Henry Lisowski, Ian Littlewood, Susan Lomax, Steve Love, Lukas, Richard Lycett, Lorna Macintyre, Nigel Mack, Cee Mars, Mick Marsden, Katie Martin, Ray Martin, Tatyana Martin, José Ignacio Aguilera Martinez, Richard Matthews, Aaron May, Edward McArdle, Ian McCarthy, Andy Mcauley, Ted McAvoy, Duncan McColl, Alan McEwen, Shay Thomas Mckinnon, Eddie McLarnon, Ian McLennan, David McNicholas, Dan McVey, Aaron May, Antony Meadows, Nigel Megson, Mark Messenger, Eric Miles, Linden Miller, Bernie Millington, Lynn Mills, Alison Milton, Guy Morgan, Andrew Morley, John Morley, Colin Morris, Katie Mountain, Colin Mouser, Kevin Moyles, Malcolm Muir, Stephen Mulloy, Brian Murless, Stuart Murray, Alan Murray-Rust, Richard Newman, Ted Nield, Carley Noga, Henry Noon, Jeremy Nutter, David O'Byrne, John Ogden, Clare Oliffe, Rachel Oliver, Bob Osborn, Nick Osborn, Ceri Owens, Chris Page, Gavin Paget, Malcolm Palmer, Ian Parnell, Stewart Parr, David Parry, David Pasquill, Richard Paterson, Simon Patterson, Jeremy Peake, Beverley Pearson, David Pearson, John Pease, Ken Perkins, Andrew Perrin, Anthony Perry, Steve Philpott, Edward Pickering, Steven Pinder, Marie-Louise Plum, David Plumpton, Dean Pollard, Geoff Potter, Ben Powell, Darrell Prest, Peter Prest, Dave Preston, Narbi Price, Ruth Pritchard, Karen Proctor, Dai Prosser, Tyrone Puddle, Zach Rambaldini, Jamie Ramsay, Neil Ramsden, David Ranson, Michael Raybould, David Redd, John Reed, Gryff Rees, Martin Rees, Dave Revitt, Robert Reynolds, Steve Reynolds, Rui Ribolhos, Andrew Richards, Mike Richards, Chris Richardson, Geoffrey Richardson, Mitch Richardson, Wayne Richardson, Steve Ridgewell, Danny Rigby, Marshall Rippon, Stephen Roberts, Elizabeth Robinson, Emma Robinson, Isabel Robinson, Liz Robinson, Jo Roesen, Angel Rose, Annabel Rose, Rosie, Phillip Rothery, Ian Round, Peter Eldon Rowsome, Duncan Russell, George Rutherford, Danny Rylands, Saltburn Countryside Volunteers, Nick Savage, Tim Sayers, Karen Schindler, Zoe Schofield, Scottish Brickmarks,Robert Searby, Chris Shaw, Mike Shaw, Paul Shepley, Caron Shergold, Sylvia Siddans, Phil Sidwell, Jacqui Simkins, George Simpson, Ian Sinclair, Greg Sirdifield, Lawrence Skuse, Vladimir Smirnov, Sid Cat, Chris Smart, Max Smith, Rachel Anne Smith, Scott Smith, Steve Smith, Ian Sneyd, Lukasz Sobala, Phil Sokell, Marco Sonntag, Maryann Soper, Stephen Southwick, Alwyn Sparrow, David Spellane, Andy Spencer, David Stephenson, Heather Stevens, Jim Stevens, Sharon Stevens, Edith and Andrew Stewart, Trevor Stewart, Maurice Stokes, Mike Stokes, Trevor Stringer, Jason Stott, Steve Strapps, Ian Stubbs, James Stubbs, Ian Suddaby, Patrick Sullivan, Ian Summerfield, Barbara Sutcliffe, Jason Sutcliffe, Ian Sutton, Rob Sutton, Julie Swindells, Richard Symonds, Steven Tait, Eric Taylor, Iain Taylor, Steven Taylor, John Telford, Laura Thew, Gareth Thomas, Paul Thomas, Elizabeth Thomson, Richard Thorpe, Chris Tilney, David Tilsley, Mark Tilsley, Gary Timlin, Jordon Tinniswood, Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life, Julie Torres, John Tougher, Ian Townend, Angus Townley, Brian Troth, Richard Tuck, Andy Tunstall, Carwyn Tywyn, Andy Unger, Juan Valdivia, Quentin Vandemoortele, Patrick Vyvyan, Gary Wakelin, Lois Wakeman, Jessica Walker, Darren Wall, David Ward, Andy Warnes, Jan Warsop, Leanne 'mavis' Watling, Adrian Watson, Danielle Watson, Martyn Watson, Richard Watson, Martin Webster, Denis Welchman, Ian West, Aaron Whalley, Rachel Wheatley, Billy Wheeler, David Whipp, Keith Whitaker, Terry Whitaker, Bill Whitehead, Norman Whitehorn, Daniel Whitehouse, Don Whitehouse, Nichola Whitehouse, Brian Whyte, David Wigham, Mark Wigmore, Jonathan Wilkins, Judith Wilkins, Arnold William, Gavin Williams, Ian Williams, Nigel Willis, Mark Wilson, Jeremy Winter, Jacky Wisdom, Andrew Wood, Graham Wood, Kevin Wood, Clayton Woods, Roger Woods, Chris Worrell, John-Paul Worthington, Michael Worthington, Ken Wyatt, Jeff Wynch, Brian Yates, Алексей Чистяков, Michael Young.
The website is intended to be lightweight with an emphasis on variety. It's not an academic exercise intended to cover each and every works and design of brick. There is no database or master index. Primarily it is a celebration of names and should be treated as such.
British bricks were exported all over the world and there are entries on the site from Chilean Patagonia, the Adriatic, Sri Lanka and St Petersburg. The site also features some photos of named bricks made in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Russia, the U.S.A. and the French penal colonies in South America.
Many of the photos were taken in situ which accounts for the lack of clarity in some of the images. Because of David Sallery's location in North Wales there is a separate section for locally produced ones. The Buckley and Ruabon areas were by far the most important and these web pages reflect this.
I have so far only recorded a tiny percentage of those produced and have barely scratched the surface (pun intended!) of what might still be available. As the pace of change accelerates, these humble reminders of a forgotten past are disappearing at an ever increasing pace - so grab them while you can! One important plus point - old bricks are free, one important minus point - very few of the bricks you find will be name stamped. Happy hunting!
A glazed brick discovered during renovation work at Carnforth station.
The information (not photographs) held within this website may be reproduced without permission if the website is credited with providing this information. All of the photographs held on this website remain the property of the owners and must NOT be reproduced without prior permission.