The following bricks were found at Old Manutenção Militar, Beato – Lisbon, Portugal by Rui Ribolhos, Lisbon, Portugal. Empatia Arqueologia LDA.
Rui states – I am an archaeologist working in Lisbon at an old nun’s convent from the XVII th century (Convento das freiras Grilas, Beato, Lisboa) transformed into a military facility of baking bread around the 1890s (Manutenção Militar). During the excavation of the older area where the baking ovens were located, we have found some bricks from different production factories. This includes a majority of Portuguese made but some American and some from Scotland. It looks like the Portuguese army wanted the best materials for this new bread/biscuits/pastas unit/factory and for the high ovens they needed the best refractory bricks.
Below – Forth – Roughcastle Firebrick Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire.
Below – Probably another ‘Forth ‘ brick and note the thumbprint to the top right.
Below – Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire.
Alternative brickworks include:
Below – A Starworks brick stamped with an additional ‘B’ to the left margin.
The following bricks were found in Suriname, South America by Marnix (John) Visser. Marnix states – I have found several bricks on an old Scottish plantation in Suriname South America with the name Waterloo and located in Nickerie at the border with Guyana. James Balfour was the plantation owner. . . Below – Hurlford –…
Found by Hector Miguez in the area of Mendoza, Argentina. Prestongrange Brick, Tile and Fireclay Works, Prestonpans, East Lothian. . . . .
Found by Michèle Côté and Marc Trudel on the beach along the Gaspé shore of Percé, Québec Canada. The ‘Gartcraig’ brick is most definitely Scottish. It was found near to a brick stamped ‘Vulcan’ which may also be Scottish as ‘Vulcan’ is a trademark of Campbell & Co, Roughcastle Fireclay Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. (However, ‘Vulcan’…
Many thanks to Bruce MacDonald for the following photographs which were taken at The Sunbury Plantation House, St Philip Parish Barbados. All the bricks present were fire bricks and included English manufacturers such as Ruffors of Stourbridge, Cowen of Newcastle and Duddell of Fenton. 90% of the bricks present appear to have been stamped ‘Glenboig’….
The following Scottish bricks were found by Nadav Biran along the Bat-Galim neighbourhood in Haifa, Israel. Nadav states – The location is just right on the water line where the waves are eroding the rocks and the construction debris. This area used to be a dumping site of construction debris so it is rich in…
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.
Many thanks to Charlie Terry for the following photographs and information. Charlie states – My great-grandfather worked at the Beaconsfield and Lefroy gold mines in Tasmania. He was an assayer. Some of the bricks are still in their original boxes and have been stored in a shed for decades. Below – An example of one…
This brick is in the possession of John Hicks, West Monroe, Louisiana, USA. John is uncertain where the Docken brick was found in the USA as he picked it up at a brick swap meeting. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. .
Found by Joe Fletcher at “Turonville” in Tarana, NSW Australia. The property is a farm dating back to the 1850s. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
The following Scottish bricks were found by Tracie Perrie on the shore at Borden, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Below – ‘Glenboig’. Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire Below – ‘Gartcraig Scotland Gaskil’. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow….
