Sheffield Brickworks - part 2

Woodside Brick Co.

The Woodside Brick Company was incorporated on the 17th of May 1898 & their brickworks on Chesterfield Road in Meersbrook, Sheffield was up & running by 1901. I have coloured this works yellow on the 1903 & 1935 OS maps below. The 1935 map shows how the works had expanded. White's 1901 to 1954 editions lists the Woodside Brick Co. Ltd. at Chesterfield Road, Woodseats, Sheffield. (Please note it was actual in Meersbrook). Kelly's 1957 edition lists Woodside as producing multi-coloured rustic & engineering bricks. The next & last directory that I have listing the Woodside Brick Co. is Kelly's 1968 edition & it lists the works were making facing bricks in all colours & engineering bricks.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1935.

As I have been unable to find much information on this works, I have included some info which Darren Haywood sent to the Penmorfa brick website with his brick. 
"The Woodside Brick Co. was one of the largest brick producing companies in Sheffield in the early 1900's, employing about fifty workers on their site. There were two kilns producing approximately 2,000 bricks per day, which may sound a lot, but when you consider that a builder would need about 30,000 to build just one house, it's obvious that the company must have been literally working overtime. The Company produced various types of brick, red for house building, their blue bricks were made from crushed brown shale & engineering bricks."

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

The vast majority of the Woodside bricks found are stamped Ironi, indicating the bricks strength & many are also stamped with a number which according to retired builder Tom Holmes who purchased Woodside bricks direct from the works was the number of the press-machine & production line they were made on. Tom also recalls there were seven of these press-machines & the majority of the workers who operated them were women. I have numbers 1 to 7 in the rectangular frog design plus other variations which are all shown below. Any photos which are not credited to in this post are by me.

The exact year when Woodside closed their works is unknown, but from trade directories we know they were still in production in 1968. According to a website this company is still active with directors, but I have not been able to find any more information about this. Today, Homebase & Dunelm stores occupy this former brickworks site.

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

Examples of Woodside's blue bricks. Tom Holmes tells me, with these blue bricks not coming up to the required standard, they were sold as common bricks for internal walls.

Wilson & Booth, Meadow Head.

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

Fellow collector Frank Lawson has established this brick was made by Wilson & Booth at their Meadow Head Brickworks on Chesterfield Road. This duo are not listed in any of the available trade directories, but from the crispness of this lettering I would date this brick to the 1880's/1890's. I have used the 1897 OS map below to show the location of this Chesterfield Road works (coloured green), which was just a mile south of the Woodside Brickworks. A 8th of March 1890 Sheffield Independent newspaper article reveals William Camm Wilson & Benjamin Beeley Booth, Builders, Contractors & Brick Manufacturers at the Meadow Head Brickworks & Quarry Owners at Norton Woodseats were in the Bankruptcy Court explaining their financial position. A London Gazette notice dated September 1890 outlines Wilson & Booth were about to declare their final dividend before being declared bankrupt.  

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1897.

I have found that the Darlow Brothers were next at this works & I write about them after I have wrote about John Camm. Today a Morrisons superstore occupies this former Meadow Head brickworks site. 

John Camm

John Camm was primarily a builder & I have found newspaper articles referring to him quoting in 1869 & then building a chapel in 1873. Then there’s one trade directory entry for him as a brickmaker & this entry reads, John Camm, Little Norton, Norton, Sheffield, White's Sheffield and Rotherham Directory 1879. So I suspect he was making bricks for his own use only. I am also assuming he was operating the Meadow Head Brickworks on Chesterfield Road, a short distance from where he lived in Little Norton as I do not have anyone else listed as being at this works in 1879. As wrote the next owner of the Meadow Head brickworks was a William Camm Wilson, also a builder, contractor & brickmaker. So with this William Wilson having Camm as a second christian name it was very common in those days for a son to have his mother’s maiden name as a middle name. Haven’t got Ancestry to check this out, but I think I will be correct. 

Darlow Brothers

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

The first trade directory entry that I have found for the Darlow Brothers is in White's 1857 edition & they are listed with the address of Creswick Street, Sheffield. The earliest map that I have online is 1888 & this street is shown fully built on with houses, so this address could be the brothers home address, however there are two open spaces nearby which indicate they may have been clay pits, so back in 1857 a brickworks may have existed on this street to supply the bricks needed to build the houses in this area.

The Darlow Brothers are next listed in Kelly's 1879 edition at Old Hall Road, Attercliffe. The 1889 OS map does not show a brickworks on Old Hall Road, but it does show that this area had not fully been built on, so I am assuming the Darlow's brickworks had been totally demolished by 1889.

From a list of brickmakers found on the web recording entries in Kelly's 1893 edition, it lists the Darlow Brothers as now operating a brickworks on Pinfold Lane, Attercliffe & this directory also lists the brothers names individually as Edward H. Darlow, John Darlow, Mathew Darlow & Thomas Darlow, all brickmaking at this Pinfold Lane works. The section of road which was called Pinfold Lane has now been renamed Staniforth Road. The 1891 OS map below shows this Pinfold Lane works as the Attercliffe Brickworks & by the 1903 OS map this brickworks had gone & only the clay pit is shown. 

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1891.

I mention at this point that the Attercliffe Brick Company which was formed around 1900 had no connection to the Darlow Brothers or to this Pinfold Lane works as their works was off Darnall Road & I write about this Attercliffe Brick Co. soon. 

I now return to the Darlow family & from my copy of the Trades Section of Kelly's 1893 directory it lists that two other Darlow Brothers, William & Joseph were operating the Meadow Head Brick & Tile Works on Chesterfield Road in 1893 & these two brothers are also recorded in this listing as " & at Attercliffe." So it appears there were six Darlow brothers brickmaking in Sheffield. A map of this Chesterfield Road works can be seen in the Wilson & Booth entry above. 

White's 1901 trade directory continues to list the Darlow Brothers (no first names given) as brickmaking at the Meadow Head Brickworks on Chesterfield Road. There are no more trade directory entries after 1901 for the Darlow Brothers at either the Pinfold Lane works as this works had closed & been demolished by 1903 & the Meadow Head Brickworks in White's 1905 edition had a new owner, with Frank Stanley Tinker named as the brickmaker. F.S. Tinker continues to be listed at this works in White's 1908 & 1911 editions. We then find the Meadow Head Brick & Stone Works Limited is listed at this Chesterfield Road works in White's 1919 edition to Kelly's 1935 edition. As previously wrote this former Chesterfield Road brickworks site is now occupied by a Morrisons supermarket. Up to yet no bricks have been found stamped F.S. Tinker or by the Meadow Head Brick & Stone Works Ltd.

Attercliffe Brick Co.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1901.

The Attercliffe Brick Co. Ltd. is listed in White's & Kelly's trade directories at Copster Road, Attercliffe in 1901, then at Darnall Road, Sheffield in 1905 & 1908 editions. It is unknown why Copster Road is given as the address as this road is two street's away from the works. It appears the works was accessed via Harding Street from Darnall Road.

The London Gazette records on the 24th of March 1914 that the Attercliffe Brick Co. was struck off the Joint Stock Companies list, therefore the company had been dissolved, so I expect the company may have closed not long after their last trade directory entry in 1908.   

 Photo by Simon Patterson.

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

Coupe

The first trade directory listing that I have found for Coupe is for Daniel Coupe & he is listed as operating a brickworks on Pinfold Lane, Attercliffe in White 1879 edition & this Pinfold Lane works can be seen on the 1891 map in the Darlow entry. I next found that the Coupe Brothers are listed in White's 1919 & Kelly's 1923 editions at 19 Carlisle Street East; works, Darnall Road. It is unknown if Daniel Coupe was one of these brothers. Kelly's 1935 to 1968 editions now gives the Coupe Brothers works address as Eleanor Street. I have coloured both Darnall Road & Eleanor Street yellow on the 1935 OS map below. The year the Coupe Brothers ceased making bricks is unknown. This brickworks up to 1908 had been operated by the Attercliffe Brick Co.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1901.

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

William Wright

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

William Wright is listed in White's 1905 edition with the address of 226, Staniforth Road, Attercliffe & this will have been his home address. White's 1908 edition now lists William Wright at the Kettle Bridge Brick Works which was situated on Ribston Road, Attercliffe. I have coloured this works purple on the 1903 OS map below & the works may have closed not long after 1908 as the 1921 map shows that houses had been built where the brickworks had once stood.

  © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

Christopher Thornsby

Photo by Frank Lawson.

Christopher Thornsby is listed in White's 1879 edition with the address of Carlisle Street East, Sheffield. I have used the 1892 OS map below to show there may have been a brickworks (coloured red) in 1879 next to the pond (formerly the clay pit) on Carlisle Street East (green), alternatively the marked Brick & Stone Works (yellow) could be classed as Carlisle Street East, but I am favouring the red works with Thornsby only operating a small concern.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1892.

A search on the web has revealed that Christopher Thornsby aged Full (over the age of 21), a brickmaker & residing at Hill Foot married Ann Green on the 17th of August 1848. Christopher's father's name is given as Joseph Thornsby, a brickmaker, so it appears Christopher was working alongside his father at the time of his marriage. Joseph Thornsby is listed as a brick maker in White's 1845 edition with the address of Woodgrove, Hill Foot, Sheffield. 

I next found a claim by Christopher Thornsby & William Bratley after the Great Sheffield Flood for their losses & it included 5000 bricks which had been deemed unsaleable & had been made for a contract for Robert White. The Claim was granted on the 25th of May 1865 & £52 6s & 6d was paid. The location of the brickworks in this claim is given as High Street, Attercliffe & another search has revealed that High Street later became Attercliffe Road. So I have included the OS 1892 map below for the possible location of Thornsby & Bratley's High Street brick yard (yellow). If correct this location was certainly in the right place for this land to have been flooded in March 1864.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1892.

With the flooding of his property in 1864 it appears Thornsby relocated to Carlisle Street East by 1879 as per trade directory entry. 

Tinsley Park

Tinsley Park Colliery was opened by Earl Fitzwilliam in 1819 & at this date coal was dug from many bell pits. Also in 1819 the Greenland Arm of the Sheffield Canal was opened with the Earl being one of the main financiers of this extension. A tramway also connected the Earl's pits to the mainline railway network. By 1849 Benjamin Huntsman was the owner of Tinsley Park Colliery operating under the name of the Tinsley Coal Co. & in 1852 the first deep coal mine was sunk. The Tinsley Park Colliery Co. was registered in 1898, so the brick above will have been made by this company after 1898. The 1903 OS map below shows that the brickworks was situated on two sites within this complex of many pits. The shape of the frog is a very typical design which was used by many other colliery brickworks around the country right up to the 1960's.   

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

The 1921 map below shows that the brick yard had relocated to the marked brick kiln which is shown on the 1903 map & with the colliery company mainly using the railway to transport their coal & bricks, more track had been laid on the site.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1921.

The brickworks is no longer shown on the 1935 map & the colliery closed in 1943.

William Cooke & Co. Tinsley

Established in 1866 William Cooke & Co. were primarily steel, iron & wire rope manufacturers in Tinsley, but with photographing this brick it appears that they delved into the brickmaking business. The company does not appear in any trade directories in the Brick & Tile Makers section, but with looking at the 1902 OS map below, I believe Cooke's owned the marked brickworks (coloured yellow) which was across the road from their steel works (coloured green). 

A new find in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 18th of July 1904 reveals with the Tinsley Brick & Tile Co. Ltd. going bankrupt the Liquidator, Mr. Thomas Hadfield was selling at Auction the whole of the brick-making machinery. It then appears it was at this point that William Cooke & Co. stepped in & purchased the brickworks with a view of operating the brickworks then building an extension to their steel works on this land. The 1921 map does show the Tinsley Steel Works now occupied the site of the former brickworks on Weedon Street, so this steel works may have been built by William Cooke & Co. ? I have therefore come to the conclusion that Cooke & Co. may have only produced bricks from around 1904 to 1914. I have put 1914 because most brickworks around the country closed for the duration of WW1, some never to re-open like this one. Just looked at todays map of Weedon Street & found that the steel works has gone & the land is being used for storing pipes with Ikea built on the site of the green coloured steel works.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1902.

Flettons Ltd.

An article in the Peterborough Standard dated 31st of August 1934 reports Flettons Limited with works in Peterborough & Bletchley were to commence production at a new works situated at Birley Vale, Sheffield, producing good quality common building bricks in the next few weeks. Another newspaper article dated March 1935 states Fletton's Sheffield works was now open & were producing bricks for many building schemes in the North Midlands. Kelly's 1935 edition lists Fletton's Ltd. at Birley Vale, Sheffield & this entry is repeated in Kelly's 1954 edition. The trail then goes cold on this brickworks to which I have not been able to find the location of. The works is not actually shown on any maps, but it may have been in the area where an industrial estate on Birley Vale Avenue is today. I have used the 1948 OS map to show you Birley Vale & coloured this industrial estate yellow. I do have a bit of a lead with Kelly's 1954 edition recording the Flettons works with a phone number of Frecheville 12. Now Frecheville is just off the bottom of this map, so the brickworks must have been somewhere quite near. If you know, please get in touch. Thanks.     

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1948.

George Carr

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

George Carr a building contractor, was originally from Rawmarsh before settling to live in Sheffield. The 1881 to 1911 census' record George & his wife Sarah were living at 75, Smilter Lane (now Herries Road) with the 1881 census recording George had named his house, Hawthorn Cottage. Today, this house is still standing, but together with additional extensions is now being used as a charted accountants office. So this begs the question, did George Carr build this house with his own bricks ?

White's 1879 & Kelly's 1893 editions record George Carr was brickmaking on Lovetot Road, Attercliffe. Then White's 1901 edition now lists his brickworks as being on Worthing Road. The last two entries in White's 1905 & 08 editions record George with his home address of 75, Smilter Lane. 

The 1903 OS map below shows George's works as the Worthing Road Brick Works, but I am taking it that when George first operated this yard Worthing Road did not exist & his brick yard was accessed from Lovetot Road as per 1879 trade directory entry. There also appears to be the remnants of an old clay pit on the other side of Worthing Road up to Lovetot Lane. 

This brickworks may have closed by 1914 (WW1) as it is not shown on the 1921 map & factories now occupy this site.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

Timelines to some of the brickworks featured in this post with dates from trade directories.

Woodside Works, Chesterfield Road.
Woodside Brick Co. 1901 to at least 1968.

Meadow Head Works, Chesterfield Road.
John Camm 1879.

Wilson & Booth exact dates unknown, but I suspect they were at this yard in the 1880's to 1890 when they went bankrupt.
Darlow Brothers 1893.
F.S. Tinker 1908 to 1911.
Meadow Head Brick & Stone Works Ltd. 1911 to at least 1935.

Pinfold Lane / Staniforth Road Works.
Daniel Coupe 1879.
Darlow Brothers 1893.

Darnall Road / Copster Road / Eleanor Street Works.
Attercliffe Brick Co. 1905 to at least 1908.
Coupe Brothers 1919 to at least 1968.

I have recently updated my Sheffield Brickworks Part 1 post with new info & bricks, so if you have not visited this post recently, here is the link. Many Thanks for reading my Blog.
https://uknamedbricks.blogspot.com/2015/09/sheffield-brickworks-part-1.html

I wish to Thank -

Frank Lawson - for his many photos
Simon Patterson - photo

Penmorfa brick website - photo

National Library of Scotland & Ordinance Survey - maps

Kelly's & White's Directories
London Gazette

Sheffield Brickworks - part 1

Twenty Well Stone & Brick Co.

The site of the Twentywell brickworks first started as a quarry on Twentywellsick Lane, Sheffield which is recorded on a 1840 map. Tedbar John Tinker is recorded as operating this quarry before the brickworks was built.

Michael Hardy who's grandfather worked at this brickworks has recently sent me this 1888 newspaper cutting & information relating to the role played by the Twentywell Brick Works in the construction of the Sheffield to Manchester Railway built between 1888 – 1893. Bricks from Twentywell were used in the construction of the Totley (Bradway) Tunnel.

Twentywellsick which is shown marked on the 1900 map below appears to have come from the 12th century name of the area, Quintinewelle - St. Quentin's Well & now it's modern variation Twentywell. 

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1900.

Image reproduced with the permission of Coincraft.

From this Twenty Well Stone & Brick Co. Ltd. share certificate dated February 1871 & made out to Tedbar Tinker we know the Company was established at the beginning of 1871. An article found on the web records the Twentywell Stone & Brick Co. is listed in White's 1872 edition. Then the first trade directory that I have is Kelly's 1876 edition & the entry reads The Twenty-Well Stone & Brick Co. Abbeydale Road, Norton, Sheffield. Kelly's 1881 edition now records the address as Bradway, Norton, Sheffield. It is in Kelly's 1891 edition that Tedbar John Tinker is listed as Proprietor of the works & this entry continues until the 1908 edition. 

Another newspaper cutting dated March 1898 & info from Michael relating to the sale of the freehold of the Twentywell Brickworks & Quarry and all outbuildings, plant and machinery, the Castle Inn and the adjacent row of dwellings and various properties at Bradway. The Quarry & Brickworks were leased to Tedbar Tinker with the lease shortly to expire.

Lot 1 below refers to the group of buildings which still stand today at the top of Twentywell Lane. The “corner grocer’s shop” now has a different use but is substantially unchanged since 1898. The “6 dwelling houses” listed includes the cottage occupied by the Slater family from the 1880s until after WWII. In 1898 the cottage was rented by my great grandfather William Slater, brick maker and his wife Annie Elizabeth and children and subsequently by his son, my grandfather Joseph Slater and his wife Annie Elizabeth and children including my mother Evelyn Slater born in the cottage in 1927. After Joseph Slater’s death at Twentywell Brick Works in 1928 his widow, my grandmother, continued with the tenancy until she remarried and moved to Sheffield.

Tedbar Tinker may have purchased the quarry & brickworks himself at this date with his lease ready to expiry, but at this moment I do not have this confirmation. He may have carried on leasing the land from the new owners.  

The next entry I have for the works is in Kelly's 1928 edition when the listing is Twentywell Brick Co. Twentywell Lane, Dore, Sheffield & this entry continues to the 1935 edition. Tedbar's works closed in 1939 but it was the mid 1950's before the buildings & office were demolished. A housing estate now occupies this site.

Photo by Frank Lawson.

Courtesy of David Bloor Collection. 

David tells me this Foden steam wagon was sold to the Twentywell Brick Co. in 1909.

Malcolm Adlington has contacted me with information gathered by his relation Michael Hardy about his ancestors accidental death while working at Tedbar Tinker's Twentywell Brickworks in November 1928. 
Sorry about the image quality. Joseph Slater died while he was cleaning & oiling the plant before the shift started & the go ahead for the machinery to be started had been given resulting in Joseph falling into the machinery.
.    

Malcolm has also sent me this 1930's photo of Joseph's children together with their friends the Wragg family in their garden of the works owned cottage. Note the 20 Well bricks displayed on the wall.

A Twentywell's advert sent by Malcolm, possibly dated late 1870's / 1880's. 

Photo by Malcolm Adlington.

Photographed in Brimington, Chesterfield.

Many thanks to Malcolm Adlington for sending me his family history for this post which was researched & collated by his relation Michael Hardy, who is a grandson of Joseph Slater. Also thanks to Michael for the information he has sent me directly.

Klondyke Brick Co.

Photo by Frank Lawson.

The wonderfully named Klondyke Brick Company is listed in White's 1905 edition on Middlewood Road, Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield. Then Kelly's 1908 edition lists the Klondyke Brick Works on Middlewood Road. The name of this brickworks may have come from the nearby Klondyke Villas which were built in 1902. In 1912 the works is recorded as being owned by W.J. Patchett & then by G. Beaumont. By 1919 the works was owned by Daniel Doncaster & I write about him next.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1900.

1900 O.S. map showing the location of the Klondyke brickworks situated near to Sheffield Wednesday's football ground & just across the road from the Don Brick Works, which I will cover later.

Photo by MF from the Frank Lawson Collection.

With this brick being stamped Klondyke Brick Works it may have been made in 1908 as per trade directory entry for this works.

Daniel Doncaster & Sons

Established in 1778 Daniel Doncaster & Sons were primarily forged steel producers & at the age 21 Daniel Doncaster registered his DD / diamond trade mark, making it one of the oldest in the world. By 1919 the company had branched out into the manufacture of bricks & had taken over the works previously run by the Klondyke Brick Co. Kelly's 1923 edition records Daniel Doncaster & Sons at the Klondyke Brickworks, Middlewood Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield. This entry is then repeated in Kelly's 1925 & 1935 editions. The company closed it's brickworks in 1936 & the site now has houses built on it. The location of Daniel Doncaster's brickworks can be seen on the 1900 OS map in the previous entry for the Klondyke Brick Co. I photographed the DD brick (below) at Wortley Top Forge Museum, so it may be a rarity with it not having the diamond symbol stamped into it. 

Don Brick Co.

   Photo by Frank Lawson. 

The Don Brick Co. is listed in White's 1901 edition at Leppings Bridge, Sheffield.

  © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1900. 

1900 map showing the location of the Don Brick Works on Leppings Lane which was situated across the road from Sheffield Wednesday's football ground.

Ripley, Hillsborough

Henry Ripley is listed as running his Walkley Lane Brickworks in Hillsborough in directories dating from 1900 to 1904. I have coloured this works green on the 1903 OS map below. 

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

It appears Ripley also made the Hillsborough brick below & owned another brickworks at Loxley with Malc Gibbons finding his Hillsborough & Loxley brick.

Photo by Malc Gibbons reproduced courtesy of the "Old Bricks" website.

Nunnery Colliery Co.

Nunnery Colliery was sunk in the early 1860’s close to the city centre of Sheffield & a brickworks was established in the early 1900’s, producing half a million bricks per month. The colliery & brickworks were Nationalised in 1947 with the pit closing in 1953 & I also expect the brickworks closed at the same time. Today Parkway Avenue runs through the middle of this site with industrial units built on both sides.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1900.

The course of one of the railway lines which runs to the north of the colliery is now the tram route into the city centre & the Sheffield Parkway road now enters the city to the south of the colliery through the word Lane in Nunnery Lane.

 Photo by Frank Lawson.

Produced at the colliery after 1947 with it being marked NCB - National Coal Board.

John Gregory & Sons

Trade directories have revealed that John Gregory & Sons over the years have owned five brickworks in Sheffield. So I start with White's 1879 edition & it lists John Gregory & Sons at 292, London Road (offices); works, Wolseley Road & Hurfield Hill, Gleadless, Sheffield & these two works are shown on the two maps below.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1892.

This 1892 OS map shows the Wolseley Road works in Lowfield & the 1897 OS map below shows the Hurl Field Hill works, but it is marked as disused by this date.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1897.

Kelly's 1881 edition just lists the company at it's office address of 292, London Road & works, Hurlfield, Gleadless. I then found many Notices in the London Gazette recording that the company of John Gregory & Sons had gone into Liquidation. The first dated 11th of November 1881 records that John Gregory the elder of Wostenholm Road, Sheffield, William Gregory of Hurlfield & John Gregory the younger of Highfield Place, Sheffield were all co-partners in this company, so I am taking it that William & John junior were the sons. The rest of these Notices record the various amounts of Dividend that John Gregory, the elder was to pay & the one dated 10th of June 1884 is the last one found. I am assuming it took just over two years to finally close this business. However, Kelly's 1893 edition records this entry in the brick makers section - John Gregory & Sons, 89, Wolseley Road, Sheffield, possibly home or an office address. So it appears at this date the company of John Gregory & Sons were still active & may have still been operating the Wolseley Road brickworks. 

We then find in White's 1901 edition the entry for John Gregory & Son Limited, so I am assuming John Gregory the elder had sorted out his debts & this time formed a limited company in the same name. So White's 1901 edition lists Gregory's had three new works & the entry is as follows;- John Gregory & Sons Ltd., registered office, 623, Abbeydale Road & Sheaf brickworks; & Marriott Wood brickworks, Millhouses; & Ecclesall Road brickworks, Sheffield. Maps showing these three works are placed in the same order.

Sheaf Brickworks, Abbeydale Road (red).

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

Marriott Wood Brickworks, Archer Road (red), Millhouses.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

Ecclesall Road Brickworks.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1920.

A photo of the Ecclesall Road works can be seen at this link.

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s12394&pos=1&action=zoom&id=15314 

If you click on the zoom image tab, it opens a new page with a closer view of the brickworks.

Gregory's three brickworks continue to be listed in several directories up to White's 1911 edition. We then find in White's 1919 edition & from now on, only the Ecclesall Road works is listed, so the other two works must have closed by 1919. A Sheffield Telegraph article records that William Gregory at the age of 51, died on the 18th of October 1924 at The Gables, Hathersage & it states that he played an active roll in the running of the extensive business of John Gregory & Sons. The last trade directory that I have recording the Ecclesall Road works is Kellys 1935 edition. The exact date when this last of Gregory's brickworks closed is unknown, however I have found in a 1942 Ministry of War document regarding the status of brickworks during the war, if they are open or not, that the entry for John Gregory & Sons has been crossed out, so I am assuming the brickworks had closed by 1942.

Webster & Co.

Photo taken at Barlborough Heritage Centre.

As just wrote in the last entry the Marriott Wood Brickworks had been run to at least 1911 or even up to WW1 by John Gregory & Sons, but we find in Kelly's 1923 to 1935 editions the entry is Webster & Co, (Sheffield) Limited, manufacturers of silica bricks, fire bricks, magnesite, bricks, gangster, compo & building bricks at the Marriott Wood Works, Archer Road, Sheffield & trading as "Webco, Sheffield." A Ministry of War document dated 1942 records this works as being closed, but under the care of the Ministry. I have found during the war that many brickworks were used to store armaments. It is unknown for certain if this was the case for this brickworks, but I expect Sheffield played it's part in producing ammunition with it being a steel town & then storing them until they were needed. Whether this brickworks reopened after the war is unknown.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1920.

1920 map showing the location of Webster's brickworks on Archer Road which I have coloured yellow. Please note that some of the buildings on this map are different to the ones shown on the 1900 map in the Gregory entry, the clay pit had certainly expanded in size by this 1920 map. 

A 1935 photo of this brickworks on Picture Sheffield can be seen at this link.

http://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s12412&pos=2&action=zoom 

If you click on the zoom image tab, it opens a new page with a closer view of the brickworks.

Photo by Simon Patterson.

Thomas Marshall & William Crapper

Thomas Marshall - Carblox

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1903.

I first start with events that took place in 1864 when the Great Sheffield Flood took place. An account of which can be read at this link & from where I have gathered the following information. 
https://www2.shu.ac.uk/sfca/postscript.cfm

On the 11th & 12th of March 1864 the newly built Dale Dyke reservoir burst it's banks & flooded the Loxley valley resulting in loss of life, damage to houses & industrial properties. One of the claims for compensation was by Thomas Marshall & William Crapper who owned the Storrs Bridge brickworks in Loxley & were described as clay & brick dealers. Marshall & Crapper put in a claim for compensation which totalled to £1,600 pounds for the loss of their buildings, brick production & equipment etc. 

A full list can be read at this link. https://www2.shu.ac.uk/sfca/claimDetails.cfm?claim=5-4802

In the 1861 census William Crapper is listed as a Farmer & living at Storrs Grange. The listing records William was employing 2 men at his farm & 2 men at his clay mine with all four men living at Storrs Grange. The 1851 census only records William Crapper as a farmer, so from this census we know William Crapper had gone into partnership with Thomas Marshall by 1861. Thomas Marshall is listed as a Farmer & Brick Manufacturer in the 1871 census. Marshall & Crapper are listed in White's 1879 edition as brickmakers in Loxley, Sheffield, however I found William Crapper & Thomas Marshall had dissolved their partnership in November 1878 with Thomas Marshall staying on at this works. This November 1878 advert also record Thomas Marshall was selling off various types of fire bricks made by Crapper & Marshall. 

Thomas Marshall died on the 7th of March 1881 & from my findings it appears he only had one son, Arthur born 1870 & he was only 11 when his father died. With finding Arthur in the 1891 census now aged 21 as a Fire Brick Manufacturer I can only assume someone else was running the Storrs Bridge Works between 1881 & 1891 on behalf of the Marshall family. I have found Thomas Wragg the Younger, a fire brick maker himself was one of the Executors of Thomas Marshall's Will, so he may have been running the works until Albert took over.   

Thomas Marshall & Co. are next listed in Whites 1901 edition at Storrs Bridge, Loxley with Marshall concentrating on producing refractory bricks, an example of which is shown next & is stamped Thomas Marshall Fire Brick Co. I have also acquiring a red brick version of this stamp mark, so some house bricks were produced by Marshall. Arthur Marshall is recorded in the 1901 census as a Brick Manufacturer. Two of Arthur's sons were to join him at the works, Thomas b.1896 at the time of his marriage in 1919 is recorded as a Manager in a Fire Brick works, then Arthur junior b.1903 is recorded as a office clerk at his father works in the 1921 census. Third son William b.1900 sadly died in the First World War.

In December 1936 Thomas Marshall & Co. Ltd advertised they were manufacturers of all types of ladle & casting pit refractories, fire bricks, insulating products & domestic fire-backs & cheeks etc. I next found the company is listed as exhibiting it's products at the 1937 British Industries Fair in Birmingham. The 1939 census records both Thomas & Arthur junior as Directors & Managers of a Fire Brick Works. Arthur Marshall senior died in February 1943. 

In 1950 Thomas Marshall Co. Ltd. & Morgan Crucibles went into partnership creating a subsidiary company called Carblox Ltd., manufacturing carbon refractory bricks at the Storrs Bridge Works & four examples are shown below. However in October 1958 Morgan Crucibles disposed of it's financial interests in Carblox to Thomas Marshall & Co. giving them full control of Carblox in this friendly de-merger.   

Photos by Jim Stevens.

In June 1959 a new company called Thomas Marshall & Co. ( Loxley) Limited was registered to run Carblox & three other brick works within the Marshall Group. The Directors are listed as Thomas Marshall, Chairman & joint Managing Director; Arthur Marshall, joint MD; William Thomas Hall, Thomas Anthony Marshall, Works Manager, Charles William Marsden & Kenneth Cowling. 

When Thomas Marshall (b.1896) died in January 1965 probate was given to Arthur Marshall (b.1903) & William Thomas Hall, both listed as Directors. Thomas Anthony Marshall b.1932 was the son of Arthur Marshall b.1903. So in all there were four generations of Marshalls at this Storrs Bridge Fire Brick Works.

The last newspaper job adverts found to Carblox requiring operatives to manufacture their carbon refactories is in October 1973. I then found the Storrs Bridge Works was taken over by Hepworth Refractories in 1987, whether they continued to manufacture these carbon bricks afterwards is unknown.

William & Henry Crapper 

Crappers Brick Co.

After Thomas Marshall & William Crapper had gone their separate ways in 1878, I then found by the mid 1880's William Crapper & Henry Crapper were operating the Wisewood Brickworks which was further down the Loxley Valley producing red house bricks. A September 1880 newspaper job advert reveals Henry Crapper was operating a Coal & Gangster Works at Wisewood & was requiring a Strong Youth as a Trammer. Then at the time of Henry's 2nd marriage in March 1884 he is listed as a Coal Merchant in Loxley. So it appears that brick making was established at this coal & gangster works when William joined Henry in the mid 1880's. William Crapper died on the 8th of October 1887 aged 74. After spending several hours searching Ancestry & Family Search website I have established William & Henry were uncle & nephew. Henry's father was Jonathan Crapper, a farmer & shoe maker 1803-1887, who was brother to William Crapper 1812-1887. Jonathan & William's father was Joseph Crapper 1773-1852 who in the 1851 census is listed as a retired miner aged 78 & living with William in Storrs, Bradfield. 

Photo by Frank Lawson. 

With Frank Lawson photographing this H. & W. C. in a Sheffield only brick collection I am taking it that the letters stand for Henry & William  Crapper. An April 1892 newspaper job advert by Henry Crapper records he was requiring an experienced Brick Burner accustomed to operating a Hoffmann Kiln. Henry Crapper is listed in Kelly's 1893 edition at Wisewood, Sheffield & the location of the Wisewood Brick Works can be seen on the surveyed 1901/03 map below coloured yellow. This works is also named as such on the 1890 map.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey surveyed 1901/03 published 1906.

Photo by Frank Lawson.

With these three bricks being stamped Exors, I found Henry had passed away on the 13th of June 1893 aged 49 & his works was being run by the Executors of his Will, William Frankish & Marshall Nuttall. White's 1897 edition reads Henry Crapper (Exors of), Wisewood, Loxley.  

A June 1899 newspaper article advertises the Wisewood Brickworks at Stud Fields was being put up for sale as a going concern & I next found the new owners of this works to be Crappers Brick Co. Limited which had been registered in August 1899 with a capital of £5,250 in £10 shares. The local business men behind this company were John & William Hayhurst, Frank Eyre, Henry Ripley & Robert Craig. The entry in White's 1901 edition is the first listing for Crappers Brick Co. Limited, with Robert Craig as Secretary; office address, 22, York Street, Sheffield; Works, Loxley.  

White's 1905 edition lists the Crappers Brick Co. & Robert Craig, but this time just with the office address. This company does not appear in White's 1908 edition, so I am assuming the works had closed by then. I next found the 1920 map shows the Boundary Rolling Mill (steel) had been built on this former brickworks site. 

The Wisewood Brick Co. / Brick & Tile Co.

Photo taken at the Barlborough Heritage Centre.

The Wisewood Brick Co. was registered on the 28th of August 1899 with a capital of £3,000 in £10 shares as brick, tile, pipe & terra cotta manufacturers, dealers in gannister, coal, sand, stone, lime & timber etc. The first directors of this newly formed company were Frederick Crawshaw, Authur Bescoby, Frederick Laycock & William Frankish who became Managing Director. Now William Frankish had administered Henry Crapper's company after his death up to when the Crappers Brick Co. took over the Wisewood / Studfield Works in June 1899. Therefore I have come to the conclusion William Frankish with having had a taste of running a brick works had decided to set up a new works just a little further down the Loxley Road to compete with the Crappers Brick Co. By calling his company the Wisewood Brick Co. I bet it caused some confusion for a while with Crappers operating the Wisewood Brickworks. 

The Wisewood Brick Co. is first listed in White's 1901 edition with William Frankish as Managing Director & I have coloured this new works purple on the 1920 OS map below. I also note by the 1920 map the works now had a Hoffman Kiln replacing the Staffordshire or Newcastle kiln shown on the 1901 map. 

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1920.

The Wisewood Brick Co. is next recorded in the London Gazette as being voluntarily wound up at an extraordinary General Meeting of the Company on the 16th February 1904. This Freehold works was put up for sale at an auction on the 6th March 1904. 

White's 1905 edition reveals the new owners of this works were the Wisewood Brick & Tile Co. Ltd, Wisewood, Sheffield, but I've not been able to find who was behind this new company. White's 1908 now records the Wisewood Brick & Tile Co. with the address of Loxley Road, Malin Bridge, Sheffield.

Photo by Frank Lawson. 

This frog design was used by many local brick companies & we can date it's introduction to around 1910. The Wisewood Brick & Tile Co. does not appear in White's 1919 edition, however I found the Loxley Road, Malin Bridge Works is listed as being owned by the Sheffield Brick Co., so it appears the Sheffield Brick Co. had taken over this works by 1919. In August 1919 the Sheffield Brick Co. were advertising for a Brick Burner at their Loxley Road Works. With this Loxley Road Works not being listed along with Sheffield Brick Co's other works in White's 1923 edition, I am assuming it had closed by 1923.  

Photo by Simon Patterson.

It is unknown who made this Loxley brick, but it will have certainly been made at one of works in the Loxley - Wisewood area. 

C. Keyworth.

Photo taken at the Barlborough Heritage Centre.

Charles Keyworth is recorded as the proprietor of the New Patent Plastic Brick Company on Halifax Road, Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield from 1898 to 1913. Mrs Elizabeth Brindley is then recorded as proprietress at the works in 1916. A gentleman on the Sheffield Forum website has put forward the theory that Mrs. Elizabeth Brindley could have been Charles' married daughter & had taken over the works after his death. The Wadsley Bridge works on Halifax Road is then recorded as being operated by the Sheffield Brick Co. in Kelly's 1919 edition & this works is still shown as being in operation on a map dated 1948.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey revised 1901.

Photo by MF courtesy of the Frank Lawson Collection.

Photo by Frank Lawson. 

The New Patent Plastic Brick Co. example above was more than likely made during Charles tenure of the works. The 'New Patent Plastic' part of the company's name suggests that the works was now using a Hoffmann type kiln to produce their bricks. Many brick companies which includes Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds & Leicester to name a few added Patent to their company name after they had built these patented Hoffman kilns which vastly increased their brick production output.

 Photo by Frank Lawson. 

Frank has found two examples of these key bricks in Sheffield, so he has suggested that Charles Keyworth may have made these bricks with the key mark being his trade mark.

Photo by Frank Lawson. 

This Wadsley Bridge Brick Co. brick could have been made by Charles before he renamed his company to the New Patent Plastic Brick Co. From the few trade directories that I do have dated 1901 to 1908, the works is listed as the N.P.P. Brick Co., so I am working on the theory that the company could have existed just as the Wadsley Bridge Brick Co. before 1901. Only by finding earlier trade directories will resolve this matter. 

I wish to thank the following in helping me bring the history of these Sheffield brickmakers to the web :-

Malcolm Adlington & Michael Hardy - 20 Well family info & photos

Frank Lawson - photos & info

Simon Patterson - photos

Barlborough Heritage Centre - photos

The contributors of the Sheffield History website