Ambergate Brickworks

Establishing the correct timeline for the different owners & brickworks at Ambergate has been a mammoth task, so I am indebted to David & Gill Hirst in their help in writing this post. If any new info comes to light, it will be added a later date.

First of all, none of the brickworks were actually in Ambergate, but in hamlets near by. The name must have been used as it is the largest village in the area. So with the help of David & Gill, we have established there were three brick making sites, two of which at the same time were owned by the same company. To differentiate the three sites I have put them under the headings of Buckland Hollow, Sawmills & Riversdale, as these are the names of hamlets today. The Ambergate Brickworks/Company name has been used at all three sites at different times & the maps I have used, record one name when the name of the works had changed many years before. So by presenting the sites individually you should be able to follow each timeline.

Buckland Hollow

This site was located behind the present day Excavator Public House, Buckland Hollow in the Starven Valley / Starving Valley. On this 1921 map it is spelt Starvehimvalley and the Ambergate Brick Works is now disused. This was the first of the two sites belonging to the Ambergate Brick & Tile Company, the other being at Sawmills. (The Excavator Pub do very nice meals, I have enjoyed Sunday Lunch there many times).

  © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1921.   Map supplied by Martin Cockayne - Taylor.

The first reference I have to the Ambergate Brick Company is a Derbyshire Times advert dated 24th of April 1875 when the company was advertising "Patent bricks" in any quantity which could be put into canal boats. For price etc apply W.B. Chamberlain, works manager, Ambergate Brick Co.  Kelly's 1876 edition is my next find for the Ambergate Brick Co. with W.B. Chamberlain listed as manager & works, Heage. Buckland Hollow / Starven Valley at that time was in the parish of Heage.

Three years after this trade directory entry I have a newspaper cutting advertising, Sale of Stock in 1879 and then another cutting advertising the sale of everything in 1880. Date when the company first started is unknown, but, it mentions in the second article that the Works & machinery had been designed & erected within the last few years, so the newspaper advert date of April 1875 may have been when the company first started producing bricks & tiles.

Photos of Adverts by MF from David & Gill's collection.

I recently photographed these defused bricks on what was the railway line to the works, which is now a public footpath from behind the Excavator pub.

Tile made at the works between 1876 &1880, according to David this design is not recorded in the pattern books.

Photos of Bricks & Tile by MF from David & Gill's collection.

Examples of bricks made by the A B&T Co. We believe they were made on this site, but they could have been made at Sawmills. 

This was the only company that operated on this site.

Sawmills

                            
 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1900.         Photo of map by MF from David & Gill's collection.                                                                                                                                    

Map showing location of the brickworks in Sawmills in 1900, marked A B&T Works. I believe this works was sold at the same time as Buckland Hollow in 1880 because by 1881 there is a new company operating on this site.

The Bull Bridge Brick Company is first recorded in Kelly's 1881 edition at Ambergate, Belper with Samuel Hall as secretary & again in 1887 &1891, but in these two editions the works is recorded as Heage, Belper. This is still the Bull Bridge/Sawmills works & the works continues to be recorded at Heage in future directory editions. 

In Kelly's 1895 edition, William Eaton is recorded as being the co-owner with Samuel Hall, who is recorded as secretary as well. 
I have a reference from Matlock Archives with the address of the works as The Brickyard, Ripley Road, Sawmills and this location is recorded on future maps. 

In an article in the 2008 edition of Mining History, found at the National Archive in Matlock, states that BBB used the Bull Bridge Mine to extract coal and clay. The clay was used to produce Red Wares (earthenware pots). From the web I found that the Mine was in operation in 1896. Continuing until June 1902 when the Bull Bridge Brickworks Pit (William Eaton) working the Alton, Naughton & Belper seams was closed by Arthur H. Stokes, Mines Inspector. Another pit was opened in 1915 at the brickworks by T.B. Hallsworth. 

This 1899 newspaper cutting below, informs you that the partnership of Hall & Eaton operating as the Bull Bridge Brick Co. had been mutually dissolved & Mr. William Eaton had now taken full charge of the Bull Bridge brickworks, operating it under his own name. 

Photo of newspaper cutting by MF from David & Gill's collection. 

William is recorded as living in Normanton, Derby with his works in Heage (Belper) in Kelly's 1904 edition. This is still Sawmills as it was then within the parish of Heage.

From the library I have found two Census entries for William.

The first in 1881, William born 1858, aged 23, bricklayer, married Hannah Parry on 23/2/1878.

The 1911 Census now has William 53 & Hannah 54 living at 159, Burton Road, (Normanton) Derby, with children, Florence Edith, Nellie, Arthur Reginald, Edward & Fanny. Occupation - Brick Manufacturer.

I have also found from 1895 to 1899 William Eaton operated a brickworks in Normanton, Derby & from 1906 William was also involved in the running of the Derby Brick Company.

Kelly's 1916 edition is the last entry in William's name. The 1916 map below still records the BBB works as Ambergate.

   © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1916.         Photo of map by MF from David & Gill's collection.

Photo by MF from David & Gill's collection.

With the omission of William's name on this brick, I can only assume that he was no longer in charge of the company & it was being run by one of his sons or the works was under new management & from my next finds it appears to be the later. 

I found a record of the death of a William Eaton aged 76 in Derby in 1933 & this matches up to date when we know he was born. 

   © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1935.         Photo of map by MF from David & Gill's collection.

This 1935 map finally records it as the BBB Works. 

I have a radio interview (Down Your Way) from 1970's which the gentleman Mr. Bill Tomkins talks about his time at BBB working for the very nice, Mr. Eaton. Although no dates were given, I have calculated from his age and number of years that he worked at each job he did, that he started at the brickworks in 1901 and left around 1935 to work at Stevenson's Dye works across the road.

A Sheffield Independent newspaper article dated December 1930 reports the Midland Refractories Co. Ltd. had been formed in 1916. This new company then took over William Eaton's Bull Bridge brickworks in 1916 to produce bricks & refractory materials for the steel industry. This article also states that General Refractories Ltd. of Sheffield was a large shareholder in Midland Refractories. So the bricks just stamped Bull Bridge may have been made by this new Midland Refractories company using William Eaton's moulds without his name on. The first trade directory entry for Midland Refractories Co. Ltd., Bull Bridge, Derbys appears in Kelly's 1922 edition. The last entry for Midland Refractories in Kelly's is 1941. 

At a date unknown Midland Refractories was fully taken over by General Refractories of Sheffield who in turn merged with the John Stein Group in 1970. This new group was straight away purchased by the Hepworth Iron Co. renaming to Hepworth PLC soon after & in another 1970's Down Your Way radio interview with Sawmills Works Manager, Ernest Thomson, he was introduced as manager of General Refractories / Stein Refractories. 
He talked about the works only producing refractory bricks when production ceased in 1937, with the company being put up for sale under it's original name of Midland Refractories. It was his job to oversee the removal of the machinery which was then sold. But with the outbreak of WW2 & the need for refractory products once more, machinery was quickly replaced from other works within the Group & the production of the raw material to produce refractory goods was resumed. 
The Sawmills Works then continued to produce the raw refractory material only for General Refractories / Stein / Hepworth's other refractory works around the country until it's closure around 1981. 

The site was then taken over by Lockwoods (Transport & mushy peas fame) around 1983/4 & they are still there today. 

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1961.         Photo of map by MF from David & Gill's collection.

1961 map showing Midland Refractories, Sawmills works on the right hand side of this map, marked Works.

This bridge was the main access road into the Ambergate/Bull Bridge/Midland Brick Works for many years until G.R. / Stein's / Hepworth put in the new present day road in the mid 1970's. Originally the Cromford Canal and a railway line passed under these arches, both being used to transport coal & goods to & from the Works. 

Riversdale

The brickworks at Riversdale was owned by Edwin Glossop and it is recorded from this local advert that the works was in production in 1925. I have a reference to the brickworks starting in 1917, but this needs to be verified.

  Photo by MF from David & Gill's collection.

We first find Edwin recorded as taking over ownership of the Bull Bridge Mine, Sawmills from William Eaton in 1918, with J. Cockayne being the under manager for both men. This pit continued under Edwin who worked the Belper Lawn seam and in conjunction with the Midland Refactory Co. worked the Alton seam until the expiry of the lease on 4th June 1925. It may have been at this point Edwin started his brickworks at Riversdale, a short distance from Sawmills and next to his home at Ridgeway, were in Kelly's Trade Directory in 1922, he is recorded as farmer.
It is not until 1928 that Edwin is first recorded in Kelly's Trade Directory as brick manufacturer.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1935.         Photo of map by MF from David & Gill's collection.

Edwin's brickworks is on the left hand side of this 1935 map and is just marked Brick Works.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1937.         Photo of map by MF from David & Gill's collection.

1937 map showing that Edwin's works has now been renamed Ambergate Brick Works.

The last Kelly's Directory entry for Edwin is 1941.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1943.         Photo of map by MF from David & Gill's collection.

1943 map showing the location of Edwin's Ridgeway Farm and Ganister Mine near his brickworks.

During my research visiting the former site of Edwin's brickworks, I met a lady who remembers Edwin or Teddy as he liked to be known with great affection, living in one of Teddy's houses which fronted the works on the main Ripley Road. She told me that when there was no demand for bricks and there was a surplus, Teddy gainfully employed his men to build these houses.

There is a change of ownership in 1947 when the Butterley Brick Company purchased the Works, this being only the second company to operate from this site. Butterley also at the same time purchased the Blaby Brick & Tile Works in Leicestershire.

Photo from David & Gill's collection.

In 1955, Butterley changed it's name to Butterley & Blaby Brick Co. Ltd. incorporating both the Blaby & Ambergate works. This 1960's photo shows the sign board of the new Company at Ambergate.

Butterley was taken over by the Wiles Group in 1968, later to become Hanson. The group changing it's name several more times, but included the Butterley name in all of them. 

I have just found out (1.10.14) that the Ambergate works closed in 1970, with the site in 1973 being then used by Mr. Chapman for his skip hire business. 

The old works was then demolished around 1998, being replaced with modern designed houses.

Update 15.11.15.

Hugh Potter, archivist at The Friends of the Cromford Canal has sent me this transcript of an interview with Stan Byard, an elderly resident of Sawmills about his memories of the three brickworks in Ambergate. I have to note that Stan in places is talking about all three works at the same time & each works is not separated like I have done in this post.

Stan Byard (b c.1916)

Brickworks had a chimney with EGRA 1917 “Edwin Glossop Ran Away 1917” really “Edwin Glossop Ridgeway Ambergate 1917” in white bricks. Still going after the war. Tony’s dad worked there after he came out of the army. Beyond Buckland Hollow was Ambergate Brick Company, funnily enough. I’ve got bricks in there with Ambergate Brick Company, Bullbridge Brick Co, which was also William Eaton (where Lockwoods is), and I’ve got one of William Eaton. If you go sorting through undergrowth behind the Excavator (Buckland Hollow) you still find some bricks. And that big cottage on hillside is Hillside Cottage. You go up the road to Heage and there’s a bit of a road down, though mostly they go across Jimmy’s land as a short cut. BBC (Sawmills) kilns were 2 or 3 big ones like a round beehive and you fed fires through little holes half way up. Teddy’s (Glossop's) was a big long one and they set bricks up down below and there were little portholes that they put fire down and fire dropped between bricks and sometimes they made a mistake and they put it too near bricks and that’s why you sometimes see a burnt brick, a blue one, or two stuck together.

They made a lot of firebricks here (BBC - Sawmills) and fireclay for furnaces. They made ordinary bricks at ABC. BBC used to crush granite and they’d bring it by rail; they had a little siding. Later on they brought Chrome from Italy which was cheaper than getting granite from round here. If you got a hole in fireback you could always go and get a bit from someone up here to fill it in; no need to go to shop for it. One brick says “Edwin Glossop, Double Pressed” but they weren’t double pressed - they weren’t pressed twice they pressed two together. They came down out of pan house. Clay from clay hole came down by a little truck on a like a wire rope. It went into the pan house where there was a big crusher where a big wheel ran round, crushed it, then it went into the dust room, then down a chute and a bloke had a pug mill - like a big bath turning round like a grinder in the house.  He mixed water with it till right consistency then went down to press shed, all mechanical, and there were two bricks side by side. He had a single press - that was one brick. When we went to school you could walk round, do ‘out. Bloke would be sat with barrow taking them off the press and he’d say have a go and he’d have a rest whilst you put them onto the wheel barrow.

Sadly Stan recently passed away, aged 99 on the 3rd November 2015.

Hugh has also sent me details of six traffic permits issued on the Cromford Canal which he is presently transcribing, detailing the transporting of bricks from Ambergate Brick Company's Buckland Hollow works to Nottingham in the 1820's on the canal boat Gabriel Brittain. So this date takes the operation of the Buckland Hollow works back even further in time than the 1876 date originally found. 

I would like to thank again David & Gill who helped me with this post, who are actively involved with the Bull Bridge & Sawmills Area Civic Society and The Friends of the Cromford Canal, which you might find of interest. So I have posted the links below. Also thanks to Hugh Potter, archivist at The Friends of the Cromford Canal for the information that he has supplied.

http://www.bullandsaw.co.uk

http://www.cromfordcanal.info