Gartcraig Scotland found in the USA
— 24/09/2024Found by Ken Sousa in Massachusetts, USA. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
Many thanks to Chantal Soucy and Jean-Marie Fallu for the following photographs.
These Scottish bricks were found on the Beach of Barachois, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, Canada.
The bricks were found near two old sawmills erected around the beginning of 1900 by the Sherbrooke Lumber Co. and the Calhoun Lumber Co. There are still remnants of milling activity.
The Scottish bricks were found alongside bricks stamped ‘Lucas’ and Carr’ from the North East of England.
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Below – A broken ‘Gartcraig’ brick and a broken ‘Rawyards, Glasgow’ brick.
Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, by Millerston, Glasgow.
Rawyards Brickworks, Airdrie, Lanarkshire.
Below – Calder bricks.
Hepworth Ceramic Holdings plc (GR-Stein Refractories Ltd. parent co) bought the Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co. Ltd in 1972, closed Bonnybridge works in 1973 and closed Chapelhall in 1980. Therefore between 1972 and 1980, GR-Stein Refractories probably continued to manufacture bricks with this trademark for a time.
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Below – A mystery brick found at the same location – ‘Cramton’. The origins of this brick are unknown but the colour, fabric and the style and size of the lettering very much remind me of bricks manufactured at the Atlas and Etna Brickworks, Armadale, West Lothian, Scotland.
Etna Brickworks, Armadale, West Lothian.
Alternative brickworks include:
and Atlas Brickworks, Bathville, Armadale, West Lothian.
Below – This ‘Special’ brick was also found at the Beach of Barachois. The manufacturer is unknown.
The above is very similar in look to this ‘Special’ brick found in the Glasgow, Scotland area and tentatively attributed to the Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, by Millerston, Glasgow.