George's early life in Oldbury.
The 1841 census records that brickmaker George Wood was born in Audley, Staffs in 1808 & living with his wife, Sarah, three sons & one daughter in West Bromwich. The home address for George in this census is unreadable, but other families on this page are listed as living on Oldbury Lane, West Bromwich (now Oldbury Road), so he will have lived nearby. At which brickworks George was working at & for whom at this time is unknown, but the Union Brickworks next to the Union Colliery on the other side of the Birmingham Canal was nearby.
The first trade directory entry that I have for George Wood is Kelly's 1849 Birmingham edition & it records G. Wood, Nile Street, Birmingham. This entry is repeated in Kelly's 1850 edition. I have found from my next trade directory entry that Nile Street was George's wharf-side depot in Birmingham & Slater's 1852 entry reads George Wood, (blue bricks & tiles); wharf, Nile Street, Birmingham. George's advert in this 1852 directory shown below, reveals that his brickworks was at Portway near Oldbury.
The earliest map of Portway found is 1881, but there are no brickworks marked working, disused or the remains of clay pits shown in this village, however the 1851 census records George & his family were now living on Newbury Lane, Oldbury & this road connects Portway village to Oldbury. Old maps show a brickworks near to Portway on Newbury Lane & it has a tramway leading to the Birmingham Canal. So this brickworks fits the bill of it being owned by George with him being able to transport his bricks by barge to his Nile Street depot in Birmingham. Because this brickworks is shown split between two 1882 maps, I have used the 1902 OS map below to show you the brickworks & it's tramway to the canal, which I have coloured green, Newbury Lane is coloured red, Portway Road into Oldbury town centre is coloured yellow & Portway village is coloured purple. The 1851 census records George's two sons George junior & Thomas as apprentices in a brickyard, so they will have been working for their father at his works.
Kelly's 1860 edition records George was still working at Portway & the 1861 census records George & his family were still living on Newbury Lane. This census also records that Brick Master, George Wood was employing 50 men, women, boys & girls at his works. We also find in this 1861 census that son George Junior (b.1835) had left home & is recorded as a brickmaker aged 26, living with his wife, Emma on Titford Road, Oldbury. I am assuming George junior was working at a brick yard in the Titford Road area. Kelly's Birmingham 1862, 67 & 68 editions continue to record George Wood at his Nile Street depot in Birmingham.
Slater's 1852 trade directory.
The earliest map of Portway found is 1881, but there are no brickworks marked working, disused or the remains of clay pits shown in this village, however the 1851 census records George & his family were now living on Newbury Lane, Oldbury & this road connects Portway village to Oldbury. Old maps show a brickworks near to Portway on Newbury Lane & it has a tramway leading to the Birmingham Canal. So this brickworks fits the bill of it being owned by George with him being able to transport his bricks by barge to his Nile Street depot in Birmingham. Because this brickworks is shown split between two 1882 maps, I have used the 1902 OS map below to show you the brickworks & it's tramway to the canal, which I have coloured green, Newbury Lane is coloured red, Portway Road into Oldbury town centre is coloured yellow & Portway village is coloured purple. The 1851 census records George's two sons George junior & Thomas as apprentices in a brickyard, so they will have been working for their father at his works.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1902.
Photo by Angel Rose.
Photo by Tim Geater, courtesy of Penmorfa brick website.
Kelly's 1860 edition records George was still working at Portway & the 1861 census records George & his family were still living on Newbury Lane. This census also records that Brick Master, George Wood was employing 50 men, women, boys & girls at his works. We also find in this 1861 census that son George Junior (b.1835) had left home & is recorded as a brickmaker aged 26, living with his wife, Emma on Titford Road, Oldbury. I am assuming George junior was working at a brick yard in the Titford Road area. Kelly's Birmingham 1862, 67 & 68 editions continue to record George Wood at his Nile Street depot in Birmingham.
We then find in Jones' 1865 edition that George Wood (b.1808) is listed as now operating the Albion Brickworks in West Bromwich & I write more about this Albion Works later. The Newbury Lane brickworks in Jones' 1865 edition is now listed as being occupied by Ruben Farley, therefore I can only assume George's lease was up on the Newbury Lane works, hence the move to the Albion Works.
Kelly's 1870 edition records George Wood with the address of Halesowen Street, Oldbury & I have come to the conclusion this was his office address. I next found George Wood had taken over the Blades Brickworks in Brades village, Oldbury & I write this Brades brickworks next.
The Brades Brickworks in the 1860's was run by Samuel Johnson & by December 1869 Johnson had been declared bankrupt & the Landlord (unknown) of the Brades Brickworks was selling off Johnson's bricks, timber, equipment, plant etc, etc in lieu of outstanding rent. We then find George Wood takes over the Brades Brickworks in June 1871 with finding a To Let Notice in the Birmingham Daily Post dated 13th of June 1871 which says Brades Brickyard To be Let & entered on immediately, in good working order, Apply Mr. Philip Johnson, at the Brades. Another notice which had appeared in the same newspaper dated 3rd of April gives Philip Johnson's address as Brades Colliery.
Photos by Elizabeth Thomson who spotted this G. Wood coping in a garden wall in Harborne, Birmingham.
Brades & Gower Brickworks
The Brades Brickworks in the 1860's was run by Samuel Johnson & by December 1869 Johnson had been declared bankrupt & the Landlord (unknown) of the Brades Brickworks was selling off Johnson's bricks, timber, equipment, plant etc, etc in lieu of outstanding rent. We then find George Wood takes over the Brades Brickworks in June 1871 with finding a To Let Notice in the Birmingham Daily Post dated 13th of June 1871 which says Brades Brickyard To be Let & entered on immediately, in good working order, Apply Mr. Philip Johnson, at the Brades. Another notice which had appeared in the same newspaper dated 3rd of April gives Philip Johnson's address as Brades Colliery.
A 1912 advert which I show later records that the company of George Wood & Sons was established in 1870 & the brick I show next will have been one of the first bricks to have been made at the Brades Works, Oldbury with George now including his sons in the running of the business.
The 1871 census (taken in April) records George Wood as Retired Brick Manufacturer living at Albion House, Bull Lane, West Bromwich, however it appears in June 1871 he was still active & overseeing the taking over the Brades Brickworks after which he then passed the running of the Brades Brickworks over to his sons.
George's sons then formed the company of Wood Brothers, but at this 1871 date it is unknown which of the brothers had established this new company. We know from a 1876 newspaper article Wood Brothers consisted of George junior & Thomas, but George in the 1871 census is recorded as being in Blackpool working there as a Brickworks Manager, however he had returned to Oldbury by 1874 with the birth of his son Harry in Oldbury in that year. There is still the option George junior had formed Wood Brothers with Thomas in 1871, but if not here are the other brothers who were in Oldbury in 1871. First there is Charles (b.1848), but with finding one of his sons was born in Lincoln in 1878 & with Charles being recorded as a brickmaker in Lincoln in the 1881 census I may have to discount Charles as being in this 1871 partnership. Next is Daniel he was in West Bromwich in 1871, but by the 1881 census he was also brickmaking in Lincoln. Finally we have Peter (b.1851). In 1871 census Thomas, a Master Brickmaker was living on Albion Road, West Bromwich, then both Daniel & Peter listed as Brick Manufacturers were living with their father at Albion House, Bull Lane, West Bromwich. Albion House was situated on the eastern edge of the Albion brickworks site on Bull Lane & this house can be seen coloured green on the 1902 OS map in the Albion Works entry. I have to note I have not been able trace were Charles was living in 1871, but he did marry his wife Elizabeth in West Bromwich in March 1869.
So on to the newspaper article dated May 1876 in which the Wood Brothers, George (junior) & Thomas Wood were being charged for employing under aged girls at the Brades Works. A minimum aged of 18 had been set in an 1872 Government Act & inspectors had visited the Brades Works in 1872 to inform the owners of this new Act. On this occasion & again in 1874 inspectors found under age girls working there, hence George & Thomas Wood being took to Court in 1876. They were find £23. 2s. I then found the story of the tragic death of a young girl in a September 1871 newspaper who fell into the cog wheel of the machine which ground the clay at the Brades Brickworks, however there is no mention of the owners of the works. Kelly's 1876 edition is the first entry for the Wood Brothers at the Brades Brick & Tile Works, Brades & an advert from that directory is shown next.
There is the option that John Hadley made this Gower brick, however we do know for certain that John Hadley did make the coping brick below at the Gower Works because of the stamp mark.
Photo by Elizabeth Thomson.
As a footnote on the Brades brickworks, I have found in Kelly's 1916 & 1921 editions the entry of the Brades Blue Brick Co. Ltd. Brades Blue Brickworks, Oldbury & this is followed by the entry of Blue Bricks (Oldbury) Ltd, Brades Road, Oldbury in Kelly's 1924 to 1940 editions, so who owned the Brades Brickworks between these dates is unknown. However it is possible that George, Samuel or Harry Wood had established this new company & reopened the Brades Brickworks in 1921. Only the 1921 census when released will answer my theory of the brothers restarting this works if they are still recorded as Brick Manufacturers. Update April 2022. With searching the 1921 census, I can now report George was a Traveler (salesman) for a building materials company, Samuel was a Traveler for a corn merchant & I have not been able to find Harry at all, so I think I can now discount any of these brothers as running this Brades Blue Brick Co.
With this Kelly's 1880 entry now recording John William Ivery as General Manager, fellow brick collector Ray Martin spotted this W & I Staffordshire Knot coping brick below in Sutton Coldfield. I have also seen this stamp mark on an extremely large coping brick in a reclamation yard, but the imprint was not as good as this one. Many thanks, Ray.
In the 1881 census John William Ivery is listed as manager of a brick company & living with his wife Ellen & their four children at 42, Westfield Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Building News - Friday 23 November 1883.
Birmingham Daily Post - Thursday 16 October 1884.
In the 1890's Wood & Ivery produced between 200,000 and 300,000 blue bricks a week at it's Albion Brickworks (British History Online) & in 1894 or 1895 the BBS Journal records that Wood & Ivery had received an order for 10 million bricks from the Great Central Railway. So the 1890's appears to have been a boom time for Wood & Ivery as the Company won many gold medals for their bricks at many trade shows around the world during this decade.
The 1902 OS map above shows that the Pump House Brickworks was situated between Greets Green & Horsley Heath & had direct access to the canal. Peter & Samuel Wood are first listed in Kelly's 1884 edition at the Pump House Brickworks in West Bromwich & the advert below from the 1884 London Suburbs edition of the Post Office Trade Directory shows that the brothers had Trade Marked the Star of David symbol with a W in the centre & bricks stamped with this Trade Mark are shown later. Kelly's 1884 & 88 editions list P & S Wood were producing blue & red bricks; & ridge tiles at their Pump House Brick Works. It is unknown why the company adopted the Star of David symbol as a Trade Mark.
So with the Pump House Brickworks now being run solely by Peter Wood we find Peter & his family in the 1901 census were living at 35, Beeches Road, West Bromwich. Kelly's 1904 edition is the last entry for Peter Wood Limited at the Pump House Brickworks, so I expect the works closed soon afterwards. Peter in the 1911 census is recorded as a retired brickmaker aged 60 with his wife Amelia & three grown up sons in their 20's living at 10, Carlton Avenue, Handsworth. None of these sons are listed as being brickmakers.
This photo of the remains of the Pump House Brickworks was taken by John Roberts in the 1960's & John tells me that his Grandfather also named John Roberts was a foreman at the Pump House Brickworks until it closed, which was sometime before 1910. John then went to work at Nock's Brickworks in Erdington, again as a foreman. John worked his way up the company & in 1933 he became a Director at Nock's. It was at this time that John had bricks made stamped with the Star of David symbol, but his Grandson does not know why he produced these bricks with this symbol. I can only assume with John being at P & S Woods & making Star of David bricks there & with them being a success, he may have thought producing these bricks at Nock's would promote their brick sales as well. I expect we will never get the answer to this one. John Roberts remained a Director at Nock's until his death.
Kelly's 1876 Trade Directory.
Photo by Alan Murray-Rust.
I have used the 1902 OS map of Oldbury below to show the Brades Brickworks (coloured yellow). This map also shows the works had excellent canal access & had road access to Brades village via Brades Bridge.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1902.
Kelly's 1880 directory.
Kelly's 1880 edition lists the Wood Brothers (blue) with the address of Tividale, Oldbury & the advert above is featured in this directory.
George Wood senior (b.1808) died on the 22nd April 1880 & he left £35,000 pounds which today equates to over 4 Million Pounds today. WOW !!!!!
The London Gazette dated 8th of November 1881 next reveals that the partnership between George Wood & Thomas Wood trading as the Wood Brothers had been dissolved by mutual consent on the 31st of July 1880 & the Brades Brickworks would then be run by George Wood in his own name. It's strange why it took over a year to declare this change of ownership. I then found Thomas is listed as a farmer in the 1881 census.
Kelly's 1884 edition records this change in ownership at the Brades Brickworks & George Wood (b.1835) was running this works on his own & the entry reads George Wood (red, brown & blue), Brades Brickworks, Tividale. The 1881 census records George as a Brick Manufacturer living on Brades Road together with his wife Emma, three sons & two daughters.
Below is George's advert from Kelly's 1884 Staffs edition & it states "Late Wood Brothers", meaning the company had operated previously as Wood Brothers. It was a way of saying "Under New Management".
Kelly's 1884 trade directory courtesy of Graces Guide.
A canal wall, half moon coping brick. Photo by Elizabeth Thomson.
I came across this George Wood wall coping at 4 Oaks Reclamation in May 2021 & it's whopper, being made to span a wall three bricks thick.
Back to the Brades works & George Wood's entry in Kelly's 1888 edition reads the same as in his 1884 entry. There is also another advert for George in Kellys 1888 edition, but this time without the "Late Wood Brothers" & it is shown below.
Kelly's 1888 trade directory.
The 1891 census records George Wood & family as living at Brades House, Brades Road, Oldbury & I have coloured Brades House purple on the 1902 OS map above. Kelly's 1896 edition now reads George Wood & Sons, (red, brown & blue), Brades Brick & Tile Works, Tividale & below is George's advert from this directory. So George had now been joined by his sons, George junior (b.1864), Samuel (b.1868) & Harry (b.1874) at the Brades Brickworks.
Kelly's 1896 trade directory.
Photos by David Kitching.
Kelly's 1900 edition entry for George Wood & Sons is the same as their 1896 entry. The 1901 census again records George Wood as living at Brades House, Brades Road, Oldbury. Also in this census, sons George junior was living at "Woodville" on Dudley Road, Samuel was living at "Woodlands" on Dudley Road & Harry was living at "Hazelhurst on Dudley Road together with their respective wives & children. Kelly's 1904 & 1908 editions list George Wood & Sons were now only producing blue bricks at the Brades Blue Brickworks, Oldbury.
George Wood (b1835) died on the 5th of August 1910 at Brades House & his probate notice records that he left £31,000 & his executors are named as his son Harry, Brick Manufacturer & younger brother Enoch, Architect. After George (b.1835) had passed away his sons continued to trade as George Wood & Sons.
In the 1911 census George junior & his family were now living on Bath Row in Rounds Green. However Widower Samuel & one daughter were still living at "Woodlands" & Harry & his wife were still living at "Hazelhurst" both on Dudley Road.
Kelly's 1912 edition entry is the same as in Kelly's 1904 & 1908 editions & below is the company's advert from Kelly's 1912 edition, which records the Company of George Wood & Sons had been established in 1870 by George Wood born in 1808, our first George Wood.
Kelly's 1912 trade directory.
I next found in the Edinburgh Gazette dated 3rd of November 1914 that brothers George Wood of The Dingle, Rounds Green, Samuel Wood of Dudley Road & Harry Wood of Dudley Road, Brick Manufacturers trading as George Wood & Sons at the Brades Blue Brickworks & the Gower Brickworks, Oldbury had gone bankrupt. This is the first reference found to the brothers running the Gower Brickworks which was situated on land next to the Brades Brickworks. I have coloured the Gower Brickworks green on the 1902 OS map above. I have since found (Oct. 2020) that John Hadley owned the Gower Brickworks up to November 1906 when he went bankrupt, so the Wood Brothers may have taken over the Gower works in 1906/7, running it up to November 1914. With the brothers going bankrupt this then poses the question of what happen to the vast amount of money their father left them four years earlier unless they sunk it into purchasing the Gower Brickworks ? Also with George's (b.1835) brother, Enoch being named as Executor of his Will, some money may have gone to George's other brothers. Although not stamped Wood the Gower brick below may have been made by the brothers at this works.
There is the option that John Hadley made this Gower brick, however we do know for certain that John Hadley did make the coping brick below at the Gower Works because of the stamp mark.
Frank Lawson came across this Star of David brick with the letter B stamped in it, so does this B stand for Brades Blue Brick Co. Ltd. or Blue Bricks (Oldbury) Ltd. ?
Certainly by September 1876 or if not before John Robert Ivery's son John William Ivery (b.1835) joins him at the Albion Works in the position of Company Secretary.
Photo by Frank Lawson.
Albion & Radnall Brickworks
The Albion Brickworks at Greets Green, West Bromwich is recorded as being owned by George Wood (b.1808) in Jones's 1865 edition. Situated on Albion Road, I have coloured this works yellow & Albion Road red on the 1886 & 1902 maps below. The works had it's own wharf on the Birmingham Canal & these maps also show that the Albion brickworks was situated adjacent to Joseph Hamblet's renowned Piercy Brickworks. George Wood (& blue) is next listed in Kelly's 1868 edition at the Albion Works, West Bromwich.
Photo by Peter Earley. Spotted at Camp Hill, no. 4 lock on the Grand Union Canal at Bordesley.
In November 2023 this next section on the Albion Brickworks & the later Radnall Brickworks has been re-written with new info found in old newspapers & the census.
George Wood (b.1808) is then joined by John Robert Ivery (b.1825), a Railway Contractor from Berkshire (1861 census) at the Albion Brickworks, West Bromwich in the partnership of Wood & Ivery & this will have been in 1870 or early 1871. Around this time George was in the process of passing his Blades Brickworks over to his sons with him being recorded in the 1871 census as Retired Brick Manufacturer living at Albion House, Bull Lane, West Bromwich & I have coloured Bull Lane brown & Albion House green on the 1902 OS map below.
Meanwhile John Robert Ivery is listed in the 1871 census as a Brick Manufacturer employing 70 males & 60 females, living in nearby Harborne. With me not finding any references to any of George's sons being involved in Wood & Ivery I have come to the conclusion J.R. Ivery was running the Albion Works on his own after George's retirement. If anything turns up regarding one of George's sons being involved in the running of the Albion Works I will update the post.
Wood & Ivery are first listed in Kellys 1872 edition. The meaning of "Late Wood" in the Wood & Ivery advert below from Kelly's 1872 trade directory is recording that George Wood (b.1808) had now retired, but the company was still trading as Wood & Ivery under John Robert Ivery.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/OS, surveyed 1881 to 1886, published 1889.
My next find from two newspaper articles dated 9th & 23rd September 1876 records the formation of a new company called Wood & Ivery Co. Limited, which had been set up to purchase the Albion Brickworks previously operated by Messers Wood & Ivery. This new company in it's prospectus also outlined plans to purchase & build a new brickworks on the Radnall Field Estate in Oldbury & to offer shares to the general public.
The 9th of September 1876 article reports the Albion Works site was to doubled in size with the new company of Wood & Ivery Co. Ltd purchasing the land north of the Albion Works from Alfred Humpage, a Birmingham builder, brickmaker & speculator who had purchased this land only months earlier. When Humpage purchased this land it had a colliery, a firebrick works, houses & cottages built upon it, but when W & I expanded their works all this was swept away & was replaced with an extension to their clay pit, so the area which I have coloured green on the 1881 OS map above is the land which had been owned by Humpage. The 1902 OS map below shows how the clay pit had extended into this former Humpage land. The small green area on this 1902 map is the location of Albion House on Bull Lane were George Wood lived.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1902.
As to this Limited Company's second brickworks on the Radnall Field Estate, Oldbury & again info from this newspaper article, this land which only had a colliery built upon it was purchased in 1876 from William W. Riddell. W & I then built a brand new brickworks there & I have coloured this Radnall Brickworks yellow on the 1902 OS map below. The brickworks shown on this map just above the Radnall Brickworks was called Radnor Field Brickworks & was run by William Morris & then by his executors of his Will, as recorded in Kelly's 1860 to 1940 editions. Here is the link to the 1914 OS map showing the names of both works, which can be slightly confusing with both brickworks having similar names.
The September 23rd article lists the directors who had formed Wood & Ivery, but John Robert Ivery is not listed, so from his omittance I am assuming he took no part in the running of this new company, however John Robert Ivery's name re-appears in a 1892 article, but I write about that later. Meanwhile son John William Ivery continues in his roll as Company Secretary with this new company.
So on to the list of directors who had formed Wood & Ivery Co. Ltd. & these were :-
William Winter Riddell, Colliery Proprietor.
James Wilson, Builder & contractor.
Alfred Humpage, Builder, colliery & fire-brick works owner.
Charles Francis Ellis, Gentleman.
Thomas Gough, Brick Manufacturer at the Atlas Works, Garrison Lane, Birmingham.
William Parker, Builder & Contractor.
I am assuming with Riddell & Humpage selling their land to this new company they were the driving force in forming Wood & Ivery Co. Ltd. From other accounts of Alfred Humpage he appears to be a man who did not take no as an answer in achieving his aims of expansion or his building contracts. A Birmingham Daily Post article dated December 1876 reveals the take over of the Albion Works & the land & colliery at Radnall Fields by Wood & Ivery Co. Ltd was completed in October 1876.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1902.
I next found a newspaper advert dated May 1878 for W & I selling their blue bricks in which it records John William Ivery had been elevated to the position of General Manager.
Kelly's 1880 directory entry lists Wood & Ivery's Radnall Field Works as a branch works to it's Albion Works & I show this entry below as it also lists the many types of bricks & other clay products that W & I produced. It also records John William Ivery in his new position as General Manager.
Kelly's 1880 Trade Directory.
Photo by Ray Martin.
Photo by Ray Martin.
Photo by Kevin Wood.
Kevin Wood who is a descendant of George Wood was extremely pleased to find the walls which surround Thundridge Church in Hertfordshire are capped with these Wood & Ivery copings. Kevin tells me, It made my day !
An article in the Birmingham Post dated 1st of April 1882 reveals there had been a change of directors at W & I, these now being John Robert Ivery, Mr. Wilkinson & Mr. R.H. Burman who was also Chairman. I suspect this change of directors happened around May 1878 when John William Ivery was promoted to the position of General Manager. So on to this April 1882 article & Chairman R.H. Burman at a special meeting of the Company's Share Holders & Creditors was recommending that because of the unfortunate position the company had been put in by the Mortgagees of the works, he highly recommended that a vote to put the company into Voluntary Liquidation was the best option for the shareholders rather than waiting to have compulsory liquidation placed upon them. A hearing to wind up the company had been arranged for the next day in anticipation of the share holders & creditors accepting this recommendation. W & I was wound up on the 16th of March 1883.
I then found John William Ivery had emigrated to America in 1882 & his family followed him four years later. John is recorded as being a fireman at a clay mine in the States. Then his father emigrated to the States in 1885, but later returned to England.
Photos by Elizabeth Thomson.
Thinking this was the end of Wood & Ivery I then found this company was manufacturing bricks again as per this November 1883 advert, so I can only assume someone had purchased the company name and the two brickworks from the Liquidators.
Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
An April 1884 newspaper article lists Wood & Ivery as showing their bricks & tiles at a Trade Show at Bingley Hall, Birmingham. They also displayed their bricks at another trade show in Wolverhampton a month later.
Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
It's not until a newspaper article dated December 1888 that I found the owner of W & I to be Edgar Webster who was also the Honorary Secretary of the Blue Brick Manufacturers Association covering Worcestershire, South Staffordshire & Warwickshire. Wood & Ivery are listed in Kelly's 1888 edition at the Albion Works, but the Radnall Works is not listed until 1896 Worcestershire edition, but I am assuming it had been operational since the 1883 take-over.
Birmingham Daily Post - Tuesday 29 October 1889.
Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Kelly’s 1904 edition is the last listing for Wood & Ivery at their Albion Works, West Bromwich. I then found a January 1907 newspaper article with a mention to Wood & Ivery's Albion brickyard, so with the company not being listed in Kelly's 1908 edition I am taking it Wood & Ivery closed their Albion Works sometime in 1907. Meanwhile the Radnall works is last listed in Kelly's 1908 edition, so I am assuming with this works not being listed in Kelly's 1912 it had closed by 1912. The London Gazette records Wood & Ivery Limited were struck off the Joint Stock Register in March 1928 with the company not being wound up.
I end this section with two more examples of Wood & Ivery's Staffordshire Knot bricks & a W & I Albion Works canal towpath brick.
Photo by Ray Martin.
Photo by Elizabeth Thomson.
Pump House Brickworks
Photo by John Maxwell, courtesy of Penmorfa brick website.
I have established that George Wood's (b.1808) 7th & 8th sons, Peter (b.1851) & Samuel (b.1853) were the owners of the Pump House Brickworks in West Bromwich & operating under the style of P & S Wood. It was through the census records for Peter & Samuel plus Samuel's home address in these census that I made this connection.
Photo by Paul Gower.
Paul Gower spotted this P & S Wood coping at Moss Side Railway Station, just south of Blackpool. With the station being opened in April 1886 we know this coping was made between 1884 & 1886.
Photo by Mark Stilgoe.
Mark Stilgoe spotted this P & S Wood coping while cycling along the Marriott Way Trail, the route of which goes along two disused railway lines from Aylsham to Norwich.
Photo by Christian Vogt.
Christian found this example in the tidal waters of the River Elbe close to Hamburg, Germany. Christian tells me that thousands of buildings destroyed in Hamburg during WW2 were dumped in the area next to the river where he found this brick. Photos from a second email reveal this example is a smooth faced paver. Many Thanks Christian for your contribution.
Photos by Brunhilde Bontrup.
Brunhilde found this P. & S. Wood, Pump House Brick Works, West Bromwich diamond paver in Hamburg, with it coming from a house built in 1906. Wood's Star of David bricks have also been found in the garden. So it appears Woods exported thousands of bricks to Hamburg in the early 1900's. Many thanks Brunhilde for sending me your images.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1902.
Kelly's 1884 Worcestershire directory.
In the 1891 census Peter (b.1851) aged 40 & listed as a Brick Manufacturer & living with his wife Amelia & four small children (all under 7) at 82, Paradise Street, West Bromwich. This street no longer exists, but I found a 1965 reference to it being off Lyng Lane in the centre of town. Meanwhile Samuel in the 1891 census was living on a road called Horsley Heath, Tipton & I have coloured this road red on the map above. So from his house, number 12, Samuel would have had a view of the brickworks & a quick journey to & from work. Samuel is listed as brick maker & employer in this census living with his wife, Abigail & two sons, Albert Ernest, aged 15, a clerk & Walter Clifford, aged 13, a scholar. Kelly's 1892 edition lists the company with blue in brackets, so I am assuming the company was only producing blue bricks & copings from this date.
A Notice in the London Gazette dated 20th of October 1893 records that Peter & Samuel Wood had dissolved their partnership by mutual consent on the 16th of October 1893. Peter Wood would then continue to run the Pump House Brickworks under the style of Peter Wood Ltd. All debts due to or owing by the said late firm would be received & payed by the said Peter Wood.
I next find that Kelly's 1896 edition still records P & S Wood at the Pump House Brickworks, I am therefore at a loss why they are still listed when this partnership had been dissolved in 1893. In Kelly's 1900 edition we do find that the entry is now Peter Wood Ltd. at the Pump House Brickworks.
Next I show four different frog designs, all stamped with the Star of David & a W in the middle.
This next Star of David brick was found by Peter Bailey & had come from an old Victorian bridge on a disused railway line just outside Holt in Norfolk.
Photo by Peter Bailey.
This next Star of David is a 4 inch square cobble brick which I photographed at the Black Country Living Museum.
With Samuel leaving the partnership with his brother Peter in 1893 Kelly's 1896 & 1900 editions reveals he was now brickmaking at Golds Green, West Bromwich. Situated on Bagnall Street I have coloured this brickworks green on the 1900 OS map below.
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1900.
Samuel is still listed as a Brick Manufacturer in the 1901 census & living on Horsley Heath road (very close to the Pumphouse Brickworks) with his wife & son Walter, aged 23, also a Brick Manufacturer. Both Samuel & Walter are recorded as Employers in this census. Meanwhile Samuel's other son Albert, aged 25 was living at 11 Bagnall Street in Gold's Green, West Bromwich as a border with his profession given as a Brick Manufacturer & Employer. With his fathers brickworks also being on Bagnall Street I expect Albert had no excuse for being late into work. There is no entry for Samuel Wood or his sons in Kelly's 1904 edition, so I am assuming Samuel had finished brickmaking by then with the 1911 census recording Samuel Wood as a retired Brick Manufacturer aged 58 & living at 213, Cheshire Road, Smethwick with his wife Abigail & their youngest sons Denis (26) & Graham (15). Neither of these two sons became brickmakers. In the 1911 census Albert is now recorded as a Joiner/Builder & there is no census listing for Walter, but we find he was in the Royal Airforce in 1917, so may have joined before 1911.
Updated 2.12.20.
With finding the Daniel & Peter Wood stamp mark in a canal magazine which is on a coping brick on the Tame Valley Canal & Elizabeth Thomson spotting the D & P Wood, West Bromwich coping below in Harborne, Birmingham, I have come to the conclusion that before Peter & Samuel ran the Pump House Brickworks, Daniel (b.1850, George's 6th son) & Peter were in partnership at the works & this will have been sometime after the 1881 census with Daniel being recorded as brickmaking in Lincoln in that census & 1884 when we have the first listing for Peter & Samuel at the Pump House Brickworks. It is unknown what happened to Daniel after 1884, but I have found Daniel had married Mary Ann & the couple produced a son called James who was born on the 10th of June 1881.
Photo by Elizabeth Thomson.
I wish to Thank -
Ray Martin - photos
Frank Lawson - photo
Elizabeth Thomson - photos - Elizabeth shares her time between these two organisations.
https://twitter.com/CanalRiverTrust
Elizabeth Thomson - photos - Elizabeth shares her time between these two organisations.
https://twitter.com/CanalRiverTrust
John Roberts - photo & info
Tim Geater - photo
John Maxwell - photo
Paul Gower - photo
Christian Vogt - photo
Brunhilde Bontrup - photo
Peter Earley - photo
Penmorfa brick website - photos
Graces Guide - adverts
Black Country Living Museum
National Library of Scotland & Ordinance Survey - maps
Ancestry - Census info
Kelly's & Slater's Directories
