South Derbyshire Brickworks - part 1

In this first of two South Derbyshire posts I cover the brickworks which where located in Melbourne, Kings Newton, Ticknall, & Newton Solney.

Melbourne

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1881.

John Evans is listed in White's 1857 edition as brickmaker at The Common, Melbourne. As I do not have a map from that period showing John's yard, I have used a 1881 map to indicate the location of his yard in yellow & the road called The Common in red. Today this former brick yard is now a coal yard owned by John Smith. 
With Richard Bennett also stamping the reverse of his bricks Melbourne & being recorded in Kelly's 1881 edition at Melbourne, I thought Richard had taken over John Evans' yard, but as you can see no brickworks existed at this location in 1881 (see map above) & there are no more brickworks marked on maps in Melbourne at this date. I have found that Richard Bennett's brickworks was actually in nearby Kings Newton which was in the parish of Melbourne & I cover that works next. So it appears that after John Evans had finished brickmaking this yard closed for good.

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

Kings Newton

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1882.

This brick yard in Kings Newton was started by Henry Orton in 1853 after he had discovered good quality red clay on his land ideal for making pottery. After trial pieces had been sent to Stoke on Trent for firing, the results came back promising, so Henry established a pottery on his land. 

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

As you can see, Henry also produced bricks & he is listed in Kelly's 1855 edition as brickmaker in Kings Newton, Melbourne. I have also added the Kings Newton example below which may have been made by Henry ?

Photographed by Frank Lawson in Stanton by Dale, Derbys.

A web article states that after a few years Henry Orton's pottery failed & his property was sold in 1861, the brickworks was then run by an unknown brickmaker. At a date unknown Richard Bennett of Derby is recorded as owning the works up to 1899 when it closed. The site was later used as a landfill site. Today the site is occupied by a large industrial unit.

Richard Bennett was the son of Thomas Bennett, who started the Slack Lane brickworks in Derby in the late 1840's. Richard then takes over the running of the Slack Lane works in 1871 after his father's death. It is not until Kelly's 1881 edition that Richard Bennett is recorded in his own name at the Slack Lane brickworks. This Kelly's entry continues with the addition of several more brickworks owned by Richard & this includes the yard at Kings Newton. As previously said in the Evans entry this Kings Newton yard was in the Parish of Melbourne & Richard stamped his bricks both Kings Newton & Melbourne. Richard Bennett died in 1885 & the business is then recorded as being run by his wife, Elizabeth & the Executors of his Will operating under the style of Richard Bennett & Co. This Kings Newton yard had closed before 1899 with the 1899 OS map only showing the site marked as an "Old Clay Pit".

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

Ticknall

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1881.

The brickworks at Ticknall shown on the 1881 map above was an estate brickworks owned by the lord of the manor, John Harpur-Crewe, 9th Baronet of Calke Abbey, so there are no trade directory entries for this works. You will have noticed that I have put a red circle on this 1881 map, this was the new location of the brickworks as shown the 1899 OS map & it consisted of a Scotch kiln, drying shed, a gin circle & loading bay. I have also coloured the horse drawn tramway purple. This tramway was built in 1802 by the Ashby Canal Company to connect the potteries in the village, the brickworks & the lime works to the Ashby Canal. Pottery & lime was transported to the canal for distribution to all over the country & coal travelled in the opposite direction to the brickworks. The horseshoe shaped arched bridge which carried the tramway over the main road to the brickworks & was in use until 1915 can still be seen today. I have added this link so you can view this arch & read more about the history of Ticknall & it's horse drawn tramway.
http://www.ticknalllife.co.uk/ticknall-village-trail-2/

Update 18.5.18.
With just visiting Calke Abbey, I have now added a photo of a JHC brick found in the kitchen gardens, the 1899 map showing the new location of the works & a photo of the arched tramway bridge. The 1920 OS map no longer shows the tramway tracks. 

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1898.

John Harpur-Crewe was born 1824, inherited Calke Abbey in 1844 & died in 1886, so we can date this IHC brick between 1860 & 1886. Apparently it was common for a J to be written as an I in those days. 

Photographed in the kitchen gardens of Calke Abbey, home of John Harpur-Crewe.

Photo by MF taken at the Silk Mill Museum, Derby.

The works continued to be owned by the Harpur-Crewe family after John's death & bricks were also produced with Ticknall stamped in them until 1939 when the works closed. I have to note that the 1951 OS map still records this brickworks, so there is the possibility that this works may have restarted after WW2, but I have found no written evidence to back this map up. 

The arched tramway bridge next to the entrance of Calke Abbey. 

Newton Solney

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1880.

Entry updated July 2022 with information & photos received from Jim Marbrow, Gt, Gt, Grandson of John Marbrow. 

This brickworks known as Brick Yard Farm was started in 1811 by William Hopkins b.1778 at Newton Solney, near Burton upon Trent. William Hopkins was primarily a farmer & maltster & was assisted by his daughter Ann on the farm & in the brickworks. The farm & brick works was then taken over by his son-in-law John Marbrow after his death in November 1838. John Marbrow was born at Brook End Farm, Repton in 1801. John's profession at the time of his marriage in 1827 to Ann Hopkins is given as a butcher. White's 1857 trade directory is the first listing found for John Marbrow as brick maker at the Newton Yard producing bricks, tiles, drain pipes & kiln tiles. John is also listed as a farmer in this directory. Jim tells me John then expanded his business by buying land in Newton Solney & Burton to build houses on, he also built the Brick Makers Arms in Newton Solney & the cottages next to it using his own bricks. 

There is the option that John or his son William made this Marbrow reverse Newton brick. 

The 1861 census records John Marbrow as a Brick & Tile Maker at Newton Solney. Also in this entry is John's son John junior b.1841 single, aged 20 & a Brick & Tile Maker, so working alongside his father. John's wife Ann died in August 1862 & John then married Elizabeth Watson three months later with the couple moving to Rugby before the end of the year. This move to Rugby was so that John snr could continue to expand his house building side of the business, building some of the houses on William Street & in doing so John snr passed over the running of his farm & brick yard to his eldest son, William Hopkins Marbrow b.1834. Jim tells me John junior then continued to work at the brick yard alongside his brother. I next found White's 1864 edition still lists John Marbrow as brick maker at Newton, so it appears the brickmaking side of the business run by William was still operating under John senior's name. Going back to the 1861 census for son William & he is listed as a Proprietor of Houses - a person who rents out properties, so I am assuming William was renting out the houses built by his father.

Jim tells me John snr died in April 1868 aged 67 in Rugby & shortly after his father's death John jnr moved to Derby to become the publican of the Wheel Inn while William continued to run the farm & brickworks. I am also assuming William was still renting his father's properties out. The 1871 census records William as a Farmer & a Brick Manufacturer employing 6 men & 1 boy. Trade directories record William Hopkin Marbrow as the brickmaker/owner of the Newton Solney works in Kelly's 1876 to 1891 editions.  Jim tells me William closed the brickworks around 1892 to concentrate on running the farm. William died in 1910. 

Jim has sent me three images of a kiln tile in his possession stamped John Marbrow, Newton Solney & the following newspaper info. In a July 1955 edition of the Burton Observer and Chronicle an article on a Eliza Salt who was celebrating her 100th birthday describes how she came to work for William Hopkins Marbrow at Brick Yard Farm, Newton Solney in the 1870s. She describes waking at 5 am, then trudging to work with 2 of her children in a clothes basket to make Kiln Tiles. She was paid 1 shilling per 100 tiles and was lucky if she made 10 shillings per week.

These floor tiles were manufactured to allow warm air from a fire to circulate through them to the room above to dry grain.

Kiln Tile photos by Jim Marbrow.

More can be read on kiln tiles at these 2 links. Link 1.  Link 2.

I wish to thank the following people who's help & information has helped me bring the story of these brickmakers to the web.

Philip Heath - Melbourne & Kings Newton Info

Jim Marbrow - Info & photos

Frank Lawson - photos

National Library of Scotland - use of their maps.