Found Newcastle upon Tyne.
Produced at the Bute Colliery Brickworks at High Spen in the Derwent Valley, these bricks are often assumed to be of Scottish manufacture. Garesfield Collieries, the original owners of the pit, were a Tyneside based concern, the Scottish connection being that the Mineral Rights were owned by the Marquis of Bute, the bricks were therefore named accordingly, and helped differentiate the products of their various operations – Arthur Brickman. (Note – SBH – Although these bricks were not manufactured in Scotland I have included them due to the Scottish connection)
Below – A Bute brick found by Tucker Kennedy on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. Note the thumbprint to the bottom left.
Below – A circle fire brick.
Below – A similarly named building brick, also found in Newcastle.
Below – A similarly named building brick, also found in Newcastle.
Below – A similarly named building brick, found in Northumbria. The 4 ‘holes’ do not penetrate all the way through. The brick measures 9″ x 4″ x 3″. The ‘holes’ are tapered to a bevelled stop. Including the frog depth, the holes are 1 3/4″ deep.
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Below – Another variation found by Brian Wardell in Northumbria.
Below – 1925 – Consett Iron Company catalogue – refers to hand made Bute fireclay bricks from Garesfield Colliery.
Below – 1925 – Consett Iron Company catalogue – Delves firebricks but also reference to Bute bricks.
Found by Ian Suddaby at Bonnyside, Bonnybridge. This example is not in my possession. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. Below – A similar stamp with a thumbprint to the top right. Found by Ian Suddaby in the Ravenscraig, Motherwell area.
Found by Ian Suddaby in the Ravenscraig, Motherwell area. This example is not in my possession. The manufacturer of this fire brick is unknown. The find location would suggest Scottish origins but … Ian states – Another pile of sieved bricks at the Dalzell/Colville Steelworks dumping ground in Motherwell and another very interesting find. This firebrick is…
Found by Ian Suddaby in the Ravenscraig, Motherwell area. This example is not in my possession. Note the thumbprint to the top right. Lilliehill Fireclay Works, Townhill, Dunfermline, Fife – Robert Lindsay, brick manufacturer. . .
Found by Ray Thorn at Grandbay, New Brunswick, Canada. Note the thumbprint to the top right. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
This brick is in the possession of Chris Tramacchi. It was found in Nerrdrie, Queensland, Australia. Note the thumbprint to the top right. Cumbernauld Fireclay Works, Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire. . . .
Found by Jamie McMillan in Georgian Bay, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Jamie states – I found one of your old bricks in Georgian Bay, Owen Sound, Ontario on land that belonged to Empire Stove Works and Russel Brothers shipbuilding company, odds are it’s not important but that brick is on my mantle now. Those factories…
Found on the site of the old Manuel Works, Whitecross. The manufacturer of this brick is unknown but it is highly likely it was made at the Manuel Works. Note the fingerprints. 18 or 81? The bricks found so far weigh between 3.1 and 3.5kg . . . . . Below – The same brick…
Found in Townsville, Queensland Australia by Michelle Jonker. This example is not in my possession. Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire Note the possible thumbprint to the top right.
The following Scottish bricks were found in Townsville, Queensland, Australia by Michelle Jonker. Michelle states – We live in Townsville, Australia. We recently bought a Queenslander house, that is from the 1920s. A lot of the houses here were brought from Charters Towers after the gold rush ended. Below – ‘Glenboig 30’ with possible thumbprint…
Found by Ian Suddaby at teh site of the old Hilton Brickworks, Alloa. This example is not in my possession. The manufacturer is unknown but there is every chance it was manufactured at the Hilton Works. Ian states – It looks like somebody trod on it whilst it was drying and split the fabric. It’s also…
