Bursledon Brickworks Museum

Last updated

Bursledon Brickworks Industrial Museum
Bursledon Brickworks Chimney.jpg
Hampshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Hampshire
Former namesHooper & Ashby (1897–1903)
The Bursledon Brick Co. Limited (1903–1959)
The Sussex & Dorking Brick Company (year unknown)
Redland Holdings Ltd (1959–1974)
Bursledon Brickworks Conservation Centre (1995/96–2000s)
Bursledon Brickworks Industrial Museum (2012–2017)
The Brickworks Museum (2017–)
General information
TypeMuseum
Architectural style Victorian
Location Swanwick, Hampshire, England
AddressCoal Park Lane / Swanwick Lane
Town or citySouthampton
CountryEngland
Coordinates 50°53′09″N1°17′27″W / 50.8858°N 1.2908°W / 50.8858; -1.2908
Elevation11 metres
OwnerHampshire Buildings Preservation Trust
Technical details
Floor count2
Awards and prizesSolent Protection Society 2004 Conservation Award [1]
Tourism South East / Beautiful South Business Awards: Best Community Tourism Business 2014 [2]
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year (Bronze) 2014, 2017 (Silver)
IMECH Industrial Heritage Award
TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2015, 2016
Fareham In Bloom: Business Parks and Commercial Landscape (Silver) 2018
Wildlife Garden (Silver Gilt) 2018
Website
www.bursledonbrickworks.org.uk

The Brickworks Museum, also known as Bursledon Brickworks, is a volunteer-run museum in Swanwick, Hampshire, England. It is purportedly the UK's sole surviving Victorian steam-driven brickworks. [3] [4]

Contents

The brick kiln, chimney, drying sheds, and the boiler and engine house at the south section of the brickworks are listed Grade II* as a group on the National Heritage List for England. [5]

History

Hooper & Ashby

Bursledon Brickworks were built in 1897 by Robert and Edward Ashby. The Ashby family were partners in Hooper & Ashby, a Southampton-based builders' merchants. Both the Ashbys and the Hoopers were Quakers, from Staines in Middlesex. Edward Hooper, began the original business. He moved to Southampton at the age of 26 in the early 1850s. In the early days, he appears in the various business directories as a civil engineer/architect. At some point his brother, Charles, joined him and they began making bricks. These were sold under the name Hooper & Co. Edward soon saw an opportunity to set up a larger business and took out a lease on Baltic Wharf in Chapel Road. Here he began trading as a builders' merchant selling all kinds of materials including their own bricks. This proved to be successful. In the mid 19th century Southampton was expanding rapidly. He outgrew the first warehouse and took out a second lease for American Wharf. [6] In 1860 Edward married Harriet Ashby and her brother, Edmund joined the business a year later and it was renamed: Hooper & Ashby. It went on to be very successful with stores all along the south coast.

The Ashby family

By 1885, Edward Hooper had died leaving the Ashby family to run both the brick-making and builders merchants businesses. Seeing the market for large numbers of bricks opening up in the area they opened a new brickyard in Chandlers Ford. Here they concentrated on making large numbers of machine-made bricks. This was a successful strategy and they only moved when the clay started to run out. The bricks were still being made under the name Hooper & Co.

They started to explore options open to them and eventually settled on a site at Lower Swanwick. This was on the banks of the River Hamble and had plenty of 'brick earth'. The silty clay from the river had mixed over millions of years with sand from the sea creating a very deep seam of sandy clay - perfect for brick making. In 1897 the new brickworks were built and started producing their first bricks.

The brickworks

The new brickworks were innovative for their time. They used a large brick-making machine made by Bennett & Sayer from Derby. They were a firm that specialised in making large clay handling machinery. The machine the Ashby brothers bought was of the type known as a stiff clay extruder. The manufacturers claimed it was capable of making 40,000 bricks a day. The machine was run by a steam engine manufactured by John Wood & Sons from Wigan.

Once the bricks were made they were dried in large drying sheds. These were heated via underfloor pipes and the bricks took a set time to dry. The design of the drying sheds was patented by the company. When they had dried completely the bricks were then taken down to the kiln.

The kiln was a Staffordshire-type, continuous kiln (based on a Hoffmann kiln) with twelve chambers. Each chamber could hold up to 26,000 bricks at a time. The kiln was always burning with the chambers going from cold to over 1,000*C every 15 days or so.

In 1903, the brickworks changed its name to The Bursledon Brick Co. Limited or (B.B.C. Ltd.). This coincided with the extension of the southern complex and the addition of another complete works to the north. This was further extended in 1935 with the addition of a third unit. With the extra capacity, the brickworks was producing in excess of 20 million bricks a year. They were one of the main producers of bricks in the region. [7]

After the Second World War, the family business was amalgamated with the Sussex and Dorking Brick Company and in 1959 became Redland Holdings Ltd.

The workers

The men who worked in the brickworks mostly lived nearby. Most of them worked as labourers either digging the clay, making the bricks or tending the kiln. All of these jobs were physically demanding. They worked in gangs and were paid according to how many bricks they contributed towards each day. The pace they set was fast as they were keen to earn as much as possible. The pay was good in comparison with other labouring jobs in the area. There was competition from the local market gardens (growing the strawberries for London) and the various boatyards on the River Hamble. Neither of these paid as well as the Brickworks did - as long as you could keep up the pace.

The clay gang dug the clay from the clay pits. This work was dependent on the weather. If it was too wet or dry they wouldn't be able to dig as much clay as usual. Their pay could vary from 10s to 30s a week. The clay was taken to the machine using narrow gauge railway wagons. These were hauled up an inclined plane to the top of the brick-making machine.

The machine gang were responsible for getting the bricks from the machine and into the drying sheds. They used wooden barrows to do this, pushing 40 bricks at a time. They ran approximately 15 miles a day with their barrows up and down the long corridors that divided the drying sheds. It as hot work as the drying sheds operated at around 25*C.

When the bricks were dry the kiln gang took over and their job was to take the bricks on barrows (50 at a time now) down to the kiln and stack the kiln chambers. This was the hardest job as the kiln chambers were still very hot and filled with the fumes from the coal burning. They earned more than anyone else on site but it was hard work.

Sport

On 20 March, Bursledon Brickworks F.C. beat North Warnborough 4–1 in the semi-finals of the 1926 Hants Junior Cup. [8] The cricket team, Lower Swanwick B.C.C. won the Sarisbury and District Cricket League Division 2 championship shield in 1908.[ citation needed ]

Closure of the brickworks

The brickworks finally closed in 1974, and the site was later saved from demolition by the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust. The south section of Bursledon Brickworks which houses the brick kiln, chimney, drying sheds, boiler and engine house are Grade II* listed. [9] The north section was demolished and the land was acquired by the National Air Traffic Services. NATS operate the London Area Control Centre and London Terminal Control Centre. As site owners, they have provided funding for the Swanwick Lakes Wildlife Reserve project managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. [10]

Museum

Charity status

The Bursledon Brickworks Trust which ran from July 1997 – February 2007 was replaced by the Bursledon Brickworks Museum Trust in November 2016. [11] The museum has charitable status.

Grants

In 2012, the Heritage Lottery Fund granted Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust funding of £666,300 [12] to create the museum. The museum opened in 2014. It is now fully accredited and open to the public three days a week from April through to October.

In 2023 Historic England awarded the museum £246,000 to fund the replacement of the asbestos roof over the site's brick kiln. [13]

Collections

The largest part of the collection is the museum itself. It still has all its original buildings and working machinery. Over the last twenty years or so the collection has broadened and it now has one of the largest collections of bricks and brick-making artefacts in the UK.

The working machine is kept in working condition and is steamed up once a month for special events. The original boilers no longer work and steam is generated via a modern boiler. [14] [15]

In 2022 the museum obtained permission from Fareham Borough Council to replace the asbestos roof over the brick kiln. [16]

Steam, buses and railways

The Southampton and District Transport Heritage Trust keep a collection of heritage buses on the site. They help the museum by providing a bus service for some of the events during the year. Likewise, Southampton Historic Steam and Engineering Society are based on the museum site. They create two large steam based events each year with visiting traction engines.

The museum has both a narrow-gauge railway and a miniature railway on site. The narrow-gauge runs as part of larger museum events. A diesel shunter and rolling stock is used to demonstrate how the railway once operated. The miniature railway also runs at events and offers rides for children.

Entrance to and from the site

Coal Park Lane entrance in February 2017 Coal Park Lane sign.jpg
Coal Park Lane entrance in February 2017

The brickworks has two entrances; the first is on Swanwick Lane, and the second on Coal Park Lane. The Swanwick Lane entrance has access to a car park for use by the general public. It is also where coaches drop off passengers. The rear entrance on Coal Park Lane is for use by staff and volunteers at the site; it is also used for deliveries.

Radio and television

In July 2015, BBC Radio Solent presenter Nick Girdler visited the brickworks to unveil a new brick sculpture, affectionately known as the Twisted Shard. The structure, which took 5 months to build, was designed by local brick lecturer and artist Joe Taylor from Woolston, Southampton, in partnership with Michelmersh Brick Holdings. He enlisted the help of some of his Southampton City College students to aid in the construction of the Twisted Shard. [17] [18] [19] Later that same year, the brickworks was featured in the last five minutes of BBC South Today's – VE Day: First Days of Peace documentary. [20]

In January 2017, a five-minute segment on Bursledon Brickworks featured on Series 14: Episode 6 of the BBC One television programme Antiques Road Trip . [21] A month later, the museum welcomed wine connoisseur Peter Richards from Saturday Kitchen . [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brick</span> Block or a single unit of a ceramic material used in masonry construction

A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term brick denotes a unit primarily composed of clay, but is now also used informally to denote units made of other materials or other chemically cured construction blocks. Bricks can be joined using mortar, adhesives or by interlocking. Bricks are usually produced at brickworks in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region, and are produced in bulk quantities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Hamble</span> River in south Hampshire, England

The River Hamble in south Hampshire, England, rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for 10.1 km (6.3 mi) through Botley, Bursledon, and Lower Swanwick before entering Southampton Water between Hamble Common and Warsash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fareham</span> Market town on Portsmouth Harbour, England

Fareham is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufacturer of bricks, used to build the Royal Albert Hall, and grower of strawberries and other seasonal fruits. In 2011 it had a population of 42,210.

Swanwick is a village in Hampshire, England, east of the River Hamble and north of the M27 motorway. The village is located within the borough of Fareham and is the site of the London Area Control Centre (LACC) and the London Terminal Control Centre (LTCC), part of National Air Traffic Services Air Traffic Control Centre, and Bursledon Brickworks, the last remaining example of a Victorian steam-powered brickworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bursledon</span> Human settlement in England

Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages include Swanwick, Hamble-le-Rice, Netley and Sarisbury Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warsash</span> Village in southern Hampshire, England

Warsash is a village in southern Hampshire, England, situated at the mouth of the River Hamble, west of the area known as Locks Heath and south of Sarisbury. Boating plays an important part in the village's economy, and the village has a sailing club. It is also home to the Warsash Maritime Academy, part of Southampton Solent University, which provides training for Merchant Navy Officers from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brickworks</span> Factory where bricks are made

A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock, often with a quarry for clay on site. In earlier times bricks were made at brickfields, which would be returned to agricultural use after the clay layer was exhausted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanwick railway station</span> Railway station in Hampshire, England

Swanwick railway station is a railway station in Fareham, Hampshire, England. Despite its name, it is actually located in Park Gate, one mile south of Swanwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bursledon Windmill</span> Historic windmill in England

Bursledon Windmill is a Grade II* listed windmill in Bursledon, Hampshire, England which has been restored to working order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoffmann kiln</span>

The Hoffmann kiln is a series of batch process kilns. Hoffmann kilns are the most common kiln used in production of bricks and some other ceramic products. Patented by German Friedrich Hoffmann for brickmaking in 1858, it was later used for lime-burning, and was known as the Hoffmann continuous kiln.

The Southampton–Fareham line is a railway line in England, along the south coast of Hampshire. As a through line it came late in British Railway history, traversing unpromising coastal terrain. The first part from Portswood, near Southampton, to Netley was opened in 1866, prompted by the establishment of the Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley, which had been established for the care of wounded soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarisbury</span> Human settlement in England

Sarisbury is a village to the west of Park Gate within the borough of Fareham, Hampshire, in the south of England. Its focal point is Sarisbury Green and the parish church of St Paul, formerly part of Titchfield parish. In previous times it was a rural locality dependent on fruit growing. At the 2011 Census the population of the ward was 7,385. Nearby villages include Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice and Swanwick. The name is pronounced 'Sarsbury' with the 'i' being silent.

Redland plc was a leading British building materials business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midhurst Brickworks</span> Historical industrial site in England

Midhurst Brickworks is a former brickworks situated to the south-west of Midhurst, West Sussex in England. The works were sited close to the Midhurst Common railway station on the Midhurst to Petersfield (L.S.W.R.) railway line. The works were established in 1913, on land owned by the Cowdray Estate, and closed in 1985. From 1938, the company traded as Midhurst Whites after their main product, white bricks made of sand and lime, which was obtained from the Cocking Lime Works, 5 km (3 mi) south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porth Wen Brickworks</span> Brickworks in Anglesey, Wales

Porth Wen Brickworks first built by Charles E Tidy, is now a disused Victorian brickworks which produced fire bricks, made from quartzite (silica) used to line steel-making furnaces. The substantial remains include a number of buildings and the remains of some of the machinery, but has some damage from sea erosion. The site is a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithgow Valley Colliery and Pottery Site</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

The Lithgow Valley Colliery and Pottery Site is a heritage-listed former pottery and colliery and now pottery and visitor attraction at Bent Street, Lithgow, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1876 to 1945. It is also known as Lithgow Pottery and Brickworks. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maylands Brickworks</span> Heritage listed factory in Maylands, Western Australia

Maylands Brickworks is a historical brickworks factory in Maylands, Western Australia. It operated between 1927 and 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanwick Shore Strict Baptist Chapel</span> Church in Hampshire , United Kingdom

Swanwick Shore Strict Baptist Chapel is a Strict Baptist place of worship in Lower Swanwick, a village in the Borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It has been in continuous use for worship since 1844, when it succeeded a converted boat-shed which had become unsuitable. Worshippers had gathered there since 1835, led by a pastor who had previously attended a different chapel nearby and who continued to lead the congregation until his death in 1892. Historic England has listed the simple brick building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twyford Waterworks</span> Preserved waterworks and pumping station in Twyford, Winchester, England, UK

Twyford Waterworks is a preserved pumping station and waterworks situated close to the village of Twyford and the city of Winchester in Hampshire, England. It is a scheduled monument and now operates as a museum. The site is leased by the Twyford Waterworks Trust and is open on selected days during the year.

References

  1. ↑ "Conservation Awards". www.solentprotection.org. Solent Protection Society. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Top tourist attractions sweep to victory at industry awards ceremony". Daily Echo. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Info, Webmaster (21 January 2013). "Bursledon Brickworks". www.fareham.gov.uk. Fareham Borough Council. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "ERIH: Bursledon Brickworks Industrial Museum". www.erih.net. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Brick kiln, chimney, drying sheds, boiler and engine house at Bursledon Brickworks (1233725)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  6. ↑ THE BRICKWORKS MUSEUM AT BURSLEDON A HISTORY AND GUIDE. Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust.
  7. ↑ "Our History". www.thebrickworksmuseum.org/. The Brickworks Museum. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ↑ Pitcher, Anne. "North Warnborough F.C. 1895-1995 (A Centenary Tribute by Anne Pitcher MBA)". www.nwcfsa.co.uk. North Warnborough F.C. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Historic England. "BRICK KILN, CHIMNEY, DRYING SHEDS, BOILER AND ENGINE HOUSE AT BURSLEDON BRICKWORKS SOUTH SECTION (1233725)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "Swanwick Lakes Wildlife Reserve". www.fareham.gov.uk. Fareham Borough Council. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  11. ↑ "BURSLEDON BRICKWORKS MUSEUM TRUST". apps.charitycommission.gov.uk. Charity Commission. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Phillips, Bethan (18 October 2012). "Bursledon Brickworks £666,000 lottery bonanza". www.dailyecho.co.uk/news. Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Yandell, Chris (30 March 2023). "Bursledon Brickworks Museum set to replace asbestos roof". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 30 March 2023. 
  14. ↑ "Collections". www.bursledonbrickworks.org.uk. Bursledon Brickworks. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  15. ↑ Houghton, Anthony. "Bursledon Brickworks Industrial Museum". www.strollingguides.co.uk/books/hampshire/places/brickworks.php. Strolling Guides. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  16. ↑ Yandell, Chris (30 November 2022). "Bursledon Brickworks Museum CAN upgrade historic kiln". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 30 November 2022. 
  17. ↑ "Brickie's artwork to be unveiled at festival". www.dailyecho.co.uk/leisure. Southern Daily Echo. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Twisted Shard a multi-sensory brick design". www.mbhplc.co.uk. Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  19. ↑ "Projects". J Taylor Brickwork & Building Contractors. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  20. ↑ Bursledon Brickworks [@BursledonBrickW] (14 May 2015). "Bursledon Brickworks on Twitter: We are in the last five minutes of BBC - VE day #ManorFarmCP and #MilestonesHCT" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ↑ "Venue Hire". www.bursledonbrickworks.org.uk. The Brickworks Industrial Museum. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  22. ↑ Peter Richards MW [@wineschools] (4 February 2017). "On today's @SaturdayKitchen I get excited about bricks. And wine" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.