The following Scottish bricks were found by Consuelo Bravo Antúnez in the heart of the Atacama Desert, Chile.
The Atacama Desert was a huge source of sodium nitrate (saltpetre) which was mined on a large scale until the early 1940s. The UK imported many many shiploads of the saltpetre and it appears they supplied many of the fire bricks required for the industrial processes involved in the production of the fertiliser.
Other stamped bricks found were ‘Hanningtons’ from the NE of England and a broken mystery brick stamped ‘Balka?’
.
Below – A brick stamped ‘Glenboig’.
Below – Bricks stamped ‘Morningside’ and ‘Forth’.
Below – A brick stamped ‘Scotia’. The maker of this brick is still unidentified but it is thought to be of Scottish origins.
Below – A ‘Coltness’ brick. This is a building brick and such bricks are rare on foreign shores. Normally it was the more important refractory or fire bricks that were exported out of Scotland.
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 Eddie Mclean in the Glasgow area. Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire .
Found in the Melrose, Scottish Borders area. Morningside Fireclay Works, Wishaw, Lanarkshire. . . . .
Found by Eddie McLean in the Glasgow area. Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire .
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. .
