Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry

Found by Rachel Brown on an old gold mine crushing plant in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Note the thumbprint to the bottom left. Garnkirk Fireclay Works, Garnkirk, Lanarkshire. . . .  

Many thanks to Gustavo Coronel for the following information. The brick was found by Jorge Villafañe at Los Hornos de la Ochoa, Malagueño, Córdoba, Argentina. There may be a thumbprint to the top right. Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co Ltd, Bonnybridge. alt Calder Firebrick Works, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. alt Chapelhall Works, Lanarkshire. Hepworth Ceramic Holdings plc…

Found by Andy and Pip McKeown on a beach near Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. Castlecary Fireclay & Lime Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire or the Glenboig Union Fireclay Company which took over the Castlecary company and works in 1936 (Via General Refractories, Sheffield) and continued the ‘GEM’ and ‘Castlecary’ brand names. . . .  

Found by Allan Mitchell and recovered from an old copper mine chimney about 250km from Darwin, Australia. Allan states:- The site is known as the Daly River Copper Mine Massacre, where, in 1884, about 5 white miners were murdered by Aboriginals. The reprisals or punitive expeditions probably resulted in the death of around 100 Aboriginals….

Many thanks to Martyn Fretwell and David Cufley for their assistance with creating this page. Many fire bricks are stamped BCM alongside the manufacturer’s name. BCM – British Commercial Monomarks. Below – 10/07/1925 – The Times – Indexing humanity. Men may soon be like motor cars. Lost property solution. Latest in classification. Modern life is…

Found by Ian Suddaby at Tamfourhill, Falkirk. This example is not in my possession. Roughcastle Firebrick Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. I believe this brick is manufactured for the South American Railway network. click here. FCCC also stands for the Central Cordoba Railway, Argentina. .

Found by Chris Shaw in the West Yorkshire area. I am not in possession of this example. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein & Co, Anchor Brickworks, Denny, Stirlingshire. Milnquarter Fireclay & Gannister Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. (Note – SBH – I believe this was manufactured for…

Found by Magnus near Aberfeldy, Fife. This example is not in my possession. Unidentified brickworks. The find location would suggest Scottish origins but … There is a good likelihood that this brick was manufactured in Scotland for Mr George Hislop, gas manager, Paisley. Mr Hislop was well respected and renowned in his field. He took…

Found at High Bonnybridge. Unidentified manufacturer. The find location would suggest Scottish origins but …  (Note – SBH – This was found among debris from the Bonnybridge Silica and Fire Clay Co. It was found among a mass of bricks stamped ‘Bonnybridge Brand’ and was quite likely manufactured by the BSFC Co). Could NR be…

Found at High Bonnybridge. Unidentified manufacture. The find location would suggest Scottish origins but … (Note – SBH – This was found among debris from the Bonnybridge Silica and Fire Clay Co. It was found among a mass of bricks stamped ‘Bonnybridge Brand’ and was quite likely manufactured by the BSFC Co). FCCA – Probably…