Samuel Daubney Hibbert, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield

S.D.H. - S.  Samuel Daubney Hibbert - Sutton.
My first trade directory entry that I have found for Samuel Daubney Hibbert as brickmaker is in White's 1872 edition with the address of Mount Street, Sutton in Ashfield. Samuel is then recorded in Kelly's 1876 & 1885 editions as brickmaker on High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Although I do not have the exact location for his yard, an option is set just behind St. Joseph's Club on High Pavement which is named Quarry Yard on street maps. This site was used for many years by Taggs Coaches & today houses have now been built upon it. 

Updated 9.3.16; 12.3.16 & 28.3.17.
New research has revealed that Samuel was also a builder & he is listed in the Builders section of Kelly's 1885 edition at High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield. I have since found out that Samuel's builders yard was actually on Mount Street which was situated just off High Pavement, as recorded in his 1872 trade directory entry. I have to note that a brickworks is not shown on maps on Mount Street, so the Quarry Yard option looks likely, but cannot be confirmed as a brickworks is not shown as such on maps at this location. My next finding in the 1904 edition of the Nottingham & District Trade Directory, Builders section, records S.D. Hibbert (exors. of), 14, High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield. Now this address of 14 High Pavement was the builders yard belonging to another building firm called S.H. & F.W. Beeley. So one can only assume that the Beeley family were administrating Samuel's business in that year as the executors. 
During my visit to Nottingham Archives on Thursday I came across a document recording that S.H. & F.W. Beeley (builders & contractors) of 14, High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield had taken over Samuel Hibbert's building company after his death. 

Added 29.3.20.

This mint Hibbert brick has come from the recently demolished stone terraced houses next to the car repair garage on Mansfield Road, Sutton. These houses to my knowledge had stood empty for at least 45 years. 



   

Riddings Wall

A fellow brick collector in Ironville, told me about this wall on West Street, Riddings, Derbys. After asking the owner for permission to take photos, here are the results, with info. The wall is the house's boundary wall to the road, about 4 houses down West Street, so it very easy to find, but parking the car you have to go much further down the street because of yellow lines. They are nearly all local bricks & was constructed by the previous owner of the property.

Riddings bricks where made in Jacksdale, Notts, by James Oakes & Co. (Riddings Collieries) Ltd. He owned several collieries, a very large iron works, situated next to the Cromford Canal and on another site next to Pye Hill Colliery, he manufactured clay pipes and bricks. The Oakes family lived at nearby Riddings House, an 80 acre estate in Riddings, Derbyshire. Nothing is left to see, on either site, to remind us of these glory days of manufacturing, only his bricks!

The Alfreton Brick Company were in operation by 1895 & their brickworks was situated off Alma Street on land which today is partly industrial and part Alfreton Town's football ground. Sometime between 1916 & Kelly's 1922 edition when they are listed as the Alfreton Brick and Tile Co. Ltd., works; Mansfield Road, Alfreton, the company had relocated to James Lawrence's works on Meadow Lane, just off Mansfield Road in Alfreton. The last trade directory for A. B. & T. Co. is Kelly's 1928 edition.

Edwin Glossop's brickworks at Ambergate had its own railway siding connecting the main line at nearby Bullbridge, to transport his bricks wide & far. Clay for his bricks was transported via tramway from quarries up the hill to the east of his works. The brickworks is last recorded on a map for 1980. Houses are now built where Edwin's brickworks once stood.

Link to photo of works.  

http://www.archive-images.co.uk/index.gallery.php?gid=191&img=16

Charles James Saunders was the owner of Collieries near Chesterfield & produced bricks at Storforth Lane, Hasland between 1887 to 1941 & at Newbold between 1887 to1908. I have a mining reference to him owning a pit near Alfreton called Brockwell in 1937, were he could have made this brick, but I have also found that there is a Brockwell Lane in Chesterfield, so this could be the location for his pit ?

Salterwood pit & brickworks was near Denby, Derbyshire & was owned by the Denby Iron & Coal Company. The pit closed in 1920 & the brickworks remained open until a date unknown (around 1970's/80's) & was owned by the Butterley Brick Company when it closed.

Updated 21.3.15. 

I now believe this brick was made by the Park Foundry Company in Belper, who are listed as brickmakers in Kelly's 1899 edition. It may have only been around 1899 that the company made bricks as it's core business was to be in producing solid-fuel appliances. 

The Park Foundry Co. was founded in 1850 & was registered in 1900. The company is then recorded in 1949 as being part of the Radiation Company making the Siesta stove at Belper.

The company later traded under the Parkray name & was then taken over by Tube Investments, then Hepworth. The Belper stove works closed in 2003.

A report from the London Gazette 1892, states that Solomon Beardsley and William Pounder, brickmakers of Ilkeston, are dissolving their company by mutual consent from the 29th day of January, 1892. All debts due to and owing by the said late firm will be received and paid by the said Solomon Beardsley.—Dated this 29th day of January 1892. 

Also, Solomon Beardsley of St Mary Street, Ilkeston is recorded in Kelly's Trade Directory for 1888 as brickmaker.

T. Slack of Green Hillocks, Ripley, was a brick and tile maker between 1860 and 1864.

John Bakewell, brickmaker of Birchwood, Somercotes, is first recorded in  Whites 1857 Directory followed by Kelly's 1864 edition through to the 1900 edition. It's in Kelly's 1904 edition that it is first recorded as J. Bakewell & Son & then again in 1908. In the 1912 edition the owners of the works are now recorded as Bakewell Bros. with another works at South Normanton near Alfreton. The 1916 edition onwards only records the Somercotes works & 1925 is the last entry for the brothers.

William Henry Slater and Joseph Slater had two brickworks, one on Uttoxeter Old Road, Derby, operating between 1860 and 1887 and in Denby between 1874 and 1941. 

James Lawrence is recorded in the 1911 census as a brickmaker - employer in Alfreton, previously he had been a miner & I have established he owned the Mansfield Road Brickworks (actually on Meadow Lane & next to the colliery) from the mid 1890's to possibly the early 1920's when the Alfreton Brick Company are first listed at this works in Kelly's 1922 edition.

This could have been made by Charles Shelton & Son of Waingroves, Ripley who is recorded in Kelly's Trade Directory for 1891. I have found another one of his bricks stamped with Ripley in the reverse & is very similar.

Henry Shaw, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield

Henry Shaw was born in 1842 in Greasley, Notts., his father Joseph was a brickmaker & later a builder & Henry aged 19 was a miner in Greasley. We later find Henry moves to Sutton & I think I have the right man from the census, as the 1871 census records Henry Shaw a builder & married to Mary (nee May), living with Mary's parents on Forest Side, Sutton. Now Mary's father Thomas May was a shoe maker & this ties in with Henry being later recorded as a shoe maker as well. However we next find in the 1881 census that builder Henry is now married to Sarah who was eleven years younger than Henry & they had a daughter aged 2 called Elizabeth & they where living on Mansfield Road, Sutton. I am taking it Henry's first wife Mary had died. This info then all ties in with White's 1885 edition which records Henry Shaw as Builder, Contractor & Shoe Dealer on Forest Side, Sutton-in-Ashfield. So at this 1885 date I do not know if he had started making bricks as there is no reference to him as being a brickmaker. 

Local historian, Luther Lindley wrote in his 1907 book, that Henry Shaw was a builder, contractor & brickmaker, with the address of Eastfield Side who had established his business in 1868 & was employing 50 males with Mr. R.W. Doughty as Works Manager. I then found Robert Doughty was his son-in-law & was married to his daughter Elizabeth. With this 1907 account of Henry Shaw recording him as a brickmaker I found Henry is recorded as a brickmaker in Skegby in White's 1894 edition. This entry is then followed by the entries for Henry in Kelly's 1904, 08, 12 & 16 editions at Skegby as a brickmaker. I have established the location of his brickworks from other brick makers working in Skegby & some later info regarding another Mr. Shaw who I write about later. I have used the 1899 OS map below to show Henry's works which I have coloured purple & this works was accessed off Dalestorth Road. Please note the dotted line along this road denotes the parish boundary between Skegby & Sutton with Henry's brickworks being in Skegby. Henry died in February 1917 & I am taking it this is when the brickworks closed. It appears son-in-law Robert Doughty continued to run the building & contractors side of the business as he is named together with wife Elizabeth (Henry's daughter) as joint beneficiaries of his Will which equated to £6083. 15s. &  8d.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1898.

This example is a normal house brick, found in a garden not to far from Henry's works. The brick shown at the top of this post is plinth stretcher brick.

I now fast forward to 1928 & we find Kelly's 1928 edition records this purple coloured works as being owned by The Sutton-in-Ashfield Brick Company on Dalestorth Road. This is the only entry for this company & information gathered from Nottingham Archives & the London Gazette has revealed the answer why this is the only entry.

On the Company's letterhead deposited with the Archives & dated 15th September 1926, the name, address & owner of the works is given as The Sutton in Ashfield Brick Co. works, Skegby, Managing Director, Mr. Shaw with James Leece as secretary. So who this Mr Shaw is I am not 100% sure. I have found a Walter Shaw who is recorded in Kelly's 1904 edition as brickmaking at Forest Side, but I have not been able to trace him in the census or establish exactly which brickworks he was running as all works can be accounted for at this date, unless he was working for Louisa Barke who is recorded as a brickmaker on Mansfield Road in 1904 with her husband now working at a second works in Skegby in 1904. It seems to fit ?  Then is this Walter Shaw related to Henry Shaw the previous owner of this works ? Henry did not have any sons as far as I can trace, unless Walter was born to Henry & Mary, Henry's first marriage ? Then if this is correct why isn't there any trace of this Walter Shaw in the census ? This Walter Shaw could easily have been Henry's nephew. If I get the answer, I will update the post. 

So this 1926 S-in-A Brick Co. letter is to Bennett & Sayers, brick machinery manufacturers in Derby to supply new machinery & parts.
The next letter dated 17th July 1928 from Bennett & Sayers to the S-in-A Brick Co. states that B & S can no longer supply any more goods until "your account has been substantially been reduced, please send remittance as promised in June as we can no longer afford to give such prolonged credit."
There is an exchange of several letters during the next few months with B & S then threatening to take legal action under the Hire Purchase Agreement. In one reply in August, the brick company blamed a misunderstanding with the clerk & sent £20 0s 0d & promised to send more money. But this did not happen because in October, James Leece writes to B & S saying "because no bricks have been sold we cannot send anymore money & I will put this problem to the Directors next week." 
This resulted in a letter dated 28th October 1928 to B & S from Arthur Edward Cripwell, accountant for the Company stating that the Shareholders had agreed a motion to go into Voluntary Liquidation & Mr. Cripwell had been appointed Liquidator. In reply B & S said they would come & remove supplied machinery as under the Hire Purchase Agreement. Mr. Cripwell then made a request to delay this as he had already received one or two inquiries about the sale of the yard. B & S agreed.
As time went on & the sale did not happen, B & S then said they would now remove the machinery, but this did not happen either as Barclay's Bank who were part of  the Hire Purchase Agreement stopped this, saying that "The plant would be sold with the yard."
I am sorry to say that I do not know what happen next as there is no more correspondence between the several parties concerned deposited with the Archives. With no buyers for the yard or evidence in Trade Directories of New Owners, one can only assume that everything was sold at auction or taken back by Bennett & Sayer. The London Gazette dated 13th of December 1932 records the Sutton in Ashfield Brick Co. Ltd. had been struck off the Companies Register.  


Further research has revealed that Richard Carter worked at this yard before Henry Shaw with Richard being recorded as brickmaker in Skegby in White's 1872 & Kelly's 1876 editions. It was from a Mansfield Advertiser  "For Sale by Private Contract Notice" dated 1st of March 1878 for this works that revealed the location of Carter's yard. The notice is as follows - " A valuable & freehold estate comprising of around 12 & half acres, including all plant & machinery, buildings & kilns. The land is also very valuable for building purposes. It has an excellent bed of clay which is seven feet thick & the entire property is in the parish of Skegby with having a large frontage to Wragg's Lane from Sutton Forest Side to Dalestorth. The above Estate will be sold with or without mineral rights. The brickyard has being doing good business under the occupation of Mr. R. Carter. For more details please contact W.A. Vallance, Builder & Valuer of Mansfield, agent for Mrs. Shelton the owner of the land." 
So this account records Carter's brick yard as being on Wragg's Lane & this road was later renamed Dalestorth Road & is shown as such on a map dated 1887. Today this road is still known as Dalestorth Road & leads up to the 18th century Dalestorth House. Today modern houses now occupy this former brickworks site which I remember being built, but what year I cannot remember, possibly in the 1960's/70's. The houses which front this site on Dalestorth Road were built in the 1940's/50's. 

Beeley Bros. Brickmakers, Sutton in Ashfield

Samuel Hibbert Beeley & Fredrick William Beeley are recorded as Builders, Contractors & Farmers on High Pavement, Sutton in Ashfield, a family business which had been established by these two brothers in 1743, according to local historian, Luther Lindley. This company is recorded from 1899 to 1941 in White's Trade Directories & was run over the years by several members of the Beeley family. 

I next find in the trade directories, William Beeley junior, who I believe is related to the Beeley's above. In Kelly's 1876 & 1881 editions William Beeley junior is recorded as brickmaker in Sutton-in-Ashfield, residing in Mansfield. The location of his brickworks is not recorded.

From the 1861 Census I have found that William aged 33 in 1876, had a brother John aged 26 in 1876, who may have be working with him, with this brick being stamped Brothers or William jnr. could have just been using the family business name as above ? 

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1887.

Originally I was unable to name the owner of the brickworks which was next to Blackmires Farm on this 1887 map. I have recently found out that it was owned & run by William Beeley (senior).

William is recorded in the 1864 edition of the Nottingham History Directory & Gazette as farmer & brickmaker at Blackmires. William Beeley is next recorded at Forest Street, S-in-A in White's 1885 edition & residing at Blackmires. As there is no works recorded for William junior in the trade directories, he may have worked with his father ? 

I have just found this map at the library & although it is dated 1899 it shows a brick kiln on Priestsic Road just off Forest Street (marked green), this is where I think William or William junior & John could have made their bricks after moving from Blackmires Farm as recorded in White's 1885 Directory.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1900

Photo by Edwin Starr.

My next finding is an advert in the Derbyshire Times dated 15th April 1891. This is the sale of Blackmires Farm, Brick Works, Hotel, Public House & Contractor's plant by J. Jeeley, Auctioneer & Valuer. The article mentions probate transfers, so I take it that William senior has passed away. 

On the 1900 Ordinance Survey Map of the area, Blackmires brickworks is no longer recorded only the farm, which in the 1901 Census is now owned by William Antill (farmer) & his family. Factories & industrial units are now built on the land which was formerly the farm & brickworks.

At first I thought that the two recorded William's may have been the same person, but with me finding the 1876 entry as William junior & living at Mansfield, I now know that the 1864 William at Blackmires was his father & this has been backed up by the 1861 Census.

I have one further little bit of information found by Marg at Sutton Library that in the 1861 Census, a William Tomlinson, Master Brickmaker was living/boarding with William Clay at Blackmires Cottage. This cottage could have been on Blackmires Lane, which ran from Newark Road to Blackmires Farm & is now named Hamilton Road. So this William Tomlinson may have worked at or owned the Blackmires brickworks before William Beeley ?

Thomas Slack, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield

I first found in the 1871 census that Thomas Slack b.1831 in Sutton in Ashfield is listed as a Journeyman Brickmaker & was living with his wife & young children on Blackmires Lane, Sutton. Now there was brickworks at Blackmires Farm which was owned by farmer/brickmaker William Beeley, so I am assuming Thomas was working for William Beeley at this date. 

The 1881 census now records Thomas Slack as a Brick & Tile Manufacturer living at Grange Cottage, Dalestorth Road with his wife Alice & four sons, John (24), Herbert (22) & Joseph (18) who are all listed as brickmakers, then Thomas junior (15) is listed as a labourer. With this brick yard being shown on the 1887 map Thomas Slack may have established this works in the mid 1870's with him moving to Grange Cottage. 

The 1891 census records Thomas Slack aged 60 still living at Grange Cottage with his wife Alice (58) & children, Elizabeth (26) dressmaker, Thomas junior (25) & listed as Brick Carrier & Hannah (24). 

Trade directories record Thomas Slack as brickmaker at Grange Cottage, Sutton in Ashfield, first in Wright's 1883 edition & then in Kelly's directories for the years 1891, 1893, 1895 & 1899. As no works address is given for Thomas Slack in trade directories I have identified that Thomas owned the yard just a short distance from his home. The 1898 O.S. map below shows Thomas' brickworks & his home, Grange Cottage, both coloured yellow. Today Grange Cottage has been replaced with a modern house & is now numbered 50 Dalestorth Road, with the garden still occupying all of the yellow area. A row of bungalows have also been built on the land between this plot & Dalestorth Road. Please note the houses on the opposite side of Dalestorth Road are in Skegby & the dotted line represents the parish boundary between Sutton & Skegby.  

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1898.

The next owner of this brickworks was George Boot around 1907. 

Walter Straw, Brickmaker, Sutton in Ashfield

With new information coming to light, I have now re-written this entry. The Straw family started as earthenware potters branching out at a later date to make bricks.

Census records reveal that there were two potters by the name of Walter Straw in Sutton in Ashfield. Walter senior (1830 -1888) was followed in the family business by his son Walter junior (1860 -1915) & it was Walter junior who was the brickmaker/potter.

A recent visit to the National Trust's Mr Straw's House in Worksop has also revealed that Benjamin & William Straw who moved from Sutton to run a grocers shop in Worksop were the sons of Walter senior & brother to Walter junior & with kind permission of the House Steward of Mr Straw's House I have added my photo of Walter senior to the post. Walter's photo hangs in one of the bedroom on the top floor.

So I start with some information about Walter senior who is only listed in trade directories & the census as a potter & these listings are as follows. Also to note in these listings is that Walter first owned a pottery on Eastfield Side (name of the road & coloured yellow on the map below) & then set up a second works called the Red House Pottery on Mansfield Road.
1861 Census Walter Straw, earthenware pottery maker, 30; wife Charlotte, 30 & Walter junior, 1, living on Eastfield Side.
Morris 1869 edition, Walter Straw, pottery manufacturer, Eastfield Side, S-in-A.
1871 Census Walter Straw, pot manufacturer & farmer, wife Charlotte, sons Walter junior, Benjamin, William, living at Red House Pottery, Mansfield Road.
Kelly's 1876 edition, Walter Straw, garden pot & earthenware manufacturer, Eastfield Pottery Works, Eastfield Side. 
1881 Census Walter Straw, potter & farmer of 33 acres, employing 6 men & 16 boys, 2nd wife Elizabeth (Charlotte had died), Walter junior, 21 & listed as a potter, Benjamin,19, William, 16, both listed as grocer apprentices, with all the family living on Mansfield Road (next to the pottery works).
White's 1885 edition, Walter Straw, manufacturer of garden pottery & glazed earthenware, Forest Side Potteries.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1877.

Now on to Walter Straw junior the maker of these W. Straw bricks & local historian Luther Lindley wrote in 1907, that Walter Straw (junior) owned two potteries, but are now closed. His residence was built on a site which formerly stood a windmill & his stack yard was on land next to the Baptist Church off Eastfield Side (name of road, coloured yellow). The 1877 map above shows Straw's two potteries, Red House Pottery coloured brown was opposite the school on Mansfield Road & the second was on Eastfield Side also coloured brown. The corn windmill (brown) is where Walter junior around 1900 built his grand house called Herne House. Today it stands on the corner of Skegby Road & Hill Crescent. I have added a 2018 photograph at the end of the post of this much extended house which was made into flats many years ago, but the front of the house although updated with modern windows & a new roof basically remains the same. Local legend says that he built his house not fronting Skegby Road, but at an angle so it faced his pottery works opposite, so he could watch to see if his workers arrived on time for their shift. All the streets & buildings on this 1877 map situated around Walter's stock yard next to the marked Baptist Church no longer exist. After they were demolished Tudsbury hosiery factory was built on part of the land, but today that has also been demolished & the cleared site is waiting to be redeveloped. First this land was going to used for industrial units, then it was changed to houses & now in 2018 an application has been put forward to build a Lidl supermarket there.

Walter senior died in 1888 & from 1895 Walter Straw (junior) is listed in directories in the Brick & Tile Makers section as well as in the Earthenware Manufacturers section. So the trade directory & Census entries are as follows.
1891 Census, Walter Straw, single 31, pot manufacturer & farmer, step-mother Elizabeth, 50 & brother Frank Straw, 16, all living at Red House, Mansfield Road. S-in-A.
Kelly's 1895 edition, Walter Straw is listed at Eastfield Side in the Brick Makers section & at Forest Side in the Earthenware Makers section. 
1901 Census, Walter Straw, single 41, Brick Manufacturer, step-mother Elizabeth, 60, both living with a servant at 28, Skegby Road, Herne House, S-in-A. Walter's new house is not shown on the 1898 revised OS map, so the building of Herne House must taken place around 1899 - 1900 with him being in residence for the 1901 Census. 
McDonald's 1903 edition - Brick & Tile Makers section, Walter Straw, Mansfield Road, S-in-A. 
Kelly's 1904 edition contains the last trade directory entries for Walter listing him just at Sutton in Ashfield in both the Brick Makers section & the Earthenware Makers section.
1911 Census records Walter as a retired potter, single & still living at Herne House with his step-mother Elizabeth now aged 70. 
Walter died in 1915 aged 55. 

I originally thought that Walter junior made his bricks at one of his two pottery sites, the Red House Pottery site being on Mansfield Road same as recorded in McDonald's Directory, but with Kelly's 1895 directory recording him as brickmaking at Eastfield Side, I now think he owned the red brickworks as shown on the map above, with this area of Sutton being marked on an older map as East Field. This works was only a short distance from his potteries & his grand house which I have coloured brown on the map above. Another fact which has drawn me to the conclusion that Walter owned the red coloured brickyard is that his father owned the next field to this brickworks & is numbered field 506 on the map above. This fact has come from an article wrote by local historian Luther Lindley in 1907, in which Lindley states Walter Straw (senior) owned the land (field 506) on Outram Street where St. Michael's Church was built. The sum of £2,000 was paid to Walter (senior) for the land & the church was opened in 1887. 

I have now added the 1898 map below which shows the red brickworks in relationship to St Michael's Church (blue). This area of Sutton by 1900 was now called New Cross.  I have to note & this is a little bit confusing is that all this part of Sutton from New Cross along Mansfield Road (green) & including Eastfield Side (road of that name & coloured yellow) to Sutton reservoir is now called Forest Side. It appears this brickworks closed after Walter retired from brickmaking & this may have been shortly after 1904, his last trade directory entry.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey 1898.

This W. Straw example has come from a house in the New Cross area which is only a short distance from Walter's brickworks. 

Walter Straw's Herne House in 2018 photographed from Hill Crescent. I don't think he would be able to stand at his bedroom window to look over to his pottery today as the view is totally obscured by two large trees. The Red House pottery site is now occupied by a plumbing salesroom & before that when I was a lad the buildings were a Wolseley & Riley car showroom.

With recently visiting Mr. Straw's House in Worksop the National Trust are displaying a wine cooler which is thought to have been made at Walter Straw's Sutton pottery, but the guides told me that the pot is not marked & they cannot say for certain that it was made at Walter's pottery. What they have told me is that Benjamin & William Straw, Walter senior's sons, sold there fathers pots & earthenware in their grocers shop in Worksop & the Trust have sent me a newspaper advert dated 2nd of April 1886 for the Straw's grocers shop advertising Mr. Walter Straw's Sutton-in-Ashfield made earthenware, a copy of which is displayed below. 

My photo of the wine cooler reproduced with the permission of the House Steward of Mr. Straw's House, Worksop.

Advertisement reproduced with the permission of the House Steward of Mr. Straw's House, Worksop.

If you would like to visit Mr. Straw's House in Worksop which has chiefly remained unchanged since the 1920's please see the link below as you have to book your visit due to the size of the house.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mr-straws-house 



While I was searching trade directories for Walter Straw as brickmaker in Sutton in Ashfield, I was finding in the Brick & Tile Makers section listings for William then Walter Straw as brickmaker in Farnsfield, Notts. These entries had got me stumped until I came across an extended family tree of the Straw Family on Ancestry. This family tree showed that William Straw 1824-1904, a potter was born in Sutton in Ashfield & was the older brother of our Sutton Walter (senior) 1830-1888. So it appears William moved to Farnsfield to make pots & then bricks. William was then followed at his Farnsfield works by his son Walter 1863-1954. These are the trade directory entries for Farnsfield Straw's as brickmakers - William, Kelly's 1876 & 1885. Walter, White's 1894, then Kelly's 1895, 1900, 1904 & 1908. 

I am now wondering if William & Walter also stamped there bricks "W. Straw". It's one I will have to investigate. 
Update - After talking to locals & scouring Farnsfield for Straw made bricks & visiting the sites of the brickworks & pottery of which there are no remains of all & are now in private gardens, I have come to the conclusion that the Straw's did not make the standard house bricks for the time, but made the smaller hand made bricks which can be seen in buildings throughout Farnsfield & these Straw made bricks were made so they matched the existing bricks when alterations or extensions were made to buildings in the village. If by chance a Straw stamped brick does turn up, I will add it to the post.

Below is the 1883 OS map of Farnsfield showing the Straw's brickyard & pottery. 

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1883.

Wharton & Chambers, Brickmakers, Kirkby-in-Ashfield & Kirkby Station Brickworks

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

In the 1912 & 1916 editions of Kelly's Trade Directory, Wharton & Chambers are recorded as brickmakers at Hodgkinson Road, Kirkby in Ashfield. Notts. This is all the information that I have been able to find about these two brickmakers. Their yard is shown on the 1898 map above coloured green & this yard is still shown on the 1938 map, whether W & C were still at this yard at this date is unknown. 

The 1877 map below shows that this yard (green) is just shown as brick kilns & was accessed via a lane which later became Hodgkinson Road. Maybe there was a brickmaker called Hodgkinson around 1877 & working there, hence the road being named after him ? 

Updated 21.2.17. 
Kelly's 1881 edition has revealed that there was a brickmaker by the name of Hodgkinson, so I was correct in my theory of this access lane being named after him. The entry is George Hodgkinson, Kirkby in Ashfield. I then found that this yard was then taken over by Thomas Brunt who is recorded in Kelly's 1888 & 91 editions at Kirkby Folly. In 1888 this part of Kirkby-in-Ashfield (today it's the town centre) is shown on maps as East Kirkby & was also known as Kirkby Folly. White's 1894 edition now records the owner of this yard as Mrs. Sarah Brunt, Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Kelly's 1895 & 1900 editions records T. Brunt as brickmaker at East Kirkby, so this could be Thomas again or his son ? Then Kelly's 1904 & 08 editions now records W. Brunt as brickmaker at East Kirkby, so possibly Thomas' son this time. This then takes us to the Wharton & Chambers entry in Kelly's 1912 edition for this works.

The brickworks which I have coloured red on the 1898 map above was owned by Benjamin Holmes & I covered Benjamin & his sons in my previous post. The area which I have coloured yellow had been a brick works & I write about this yard next.

Photo by MF.

Photo by Frank Lawson.

 © Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1877.

Updated 3.1.17.

With just recently writing about Heanor brickmakers it has revealed who may have worked at the brickyard which was next to Kirkby railway station on Station Street (coloured yellow on the 1877 map above). To give you an idea of the location of this works it was situated between Station Street & Pond Street. 

So on to the information found. A family website has revealed that Alfred William Claxton before owning & running a brick yard in Heanor (1901 Census), he is recorded in the 1891 Census as brickmaker in Kirkby & living on Station Street with his second wife & their children & his children from his first marriage. His son Arthur aged 17 in 1891 & from his first marriage was also to become a brickmaker with his father at their Nelson Street yard in Heanor. 

So with Alfred living on Station Street, Kirkby in 1891 this has drawn me to think that he worked at this Station Street yard. Then with him being in Heanor by 1901 & this Kirkby yard is no longer shown on the 1898 map only as a clay pit, this is why I have come to the conclusion that Alfred was at this Station Street yard. When his Nelson Street yard Heanor had closed we find that Alfred/Arthur may have moved to Ripley to become brickmakers there as there is a listing for A. Claxton & Sons in Kelly's 1916 edition. 

Alfred & his family had moved to Kirkby from Norfolk around 1876 with his first wife Ann giving birth to their daughter, Frances in that year at Kirkby. The 1881 census records Alfred as a labourer & living with his family on New Street in Kirkby.

Also found in Kelly's 1876 edition that a Mr. Oliver (no initial given in this entry) is listed as brickmaker at the yard "near to the railway station, Kirkby in Ashfield." So it appears Mr. Oliver owned this yard before Alfred Claxton worked there. Morris's 1877 trade directory has revealed that Mr. Oliver's first name was Thomas & he is listed as brick & tile manufacturer in Kirkby. Then Benjamin Holmes is recorded as brickmaker in Kirkby from 1871, so he may have worked at this Kirkby Station yard before establishing his own brickworks on Portland Street in 1888. I have to also note that there is the option that Benjamin Holmes could have worked at the green yard owned by George Hodginson or another small yard at The Summit on Lowmoor Road as shown on a 1877 map. This Summit brick yard was taken over by the Butterley Co. when they sunk their Kirkby/Summit Colliery next to it in 1887. Please follow this Link to my Benjamin Holmes post to view this 1887 map which shows the Summit brick yard. (halfway down the post).

Benjamin Holmes, Brickmaker, Kirkby in Ashfield

Photo by Frank Lawson.

Benjamin Holmes was born in 1835 at Bagthorpe, Selston, Notts. In the 1851 census Benjamin is recorded as a brickyard labourer aged 15 & then in the 1861 census he is recorded as a Selston brickmaker & living with his brother-in-law Levi Hankin. By 1871 Benjamin had moved to Kirkby-in-Ashfield, living on Forest Street & still working as a brickmaker. In 1895 Benjamin had his own brickmaking business & brickyard on Portland Street, collecting clay from a field on Lowmoor Road. He also went to live on Portland Street. His two sons John (born 1873) & James (born 1875) took over the business at date unknown & in 1902 John & James established a new brickworks on Lowmoor Road. This was on the land that they had previously dug their clay from & this works covered a very large area of land which is now occupied by Tesco Express, Farm Foods & a Car Auto Centre, with the site extending from the back of these properties to the houses on Marlborough Road. The business prospered employing several local men which included Messrs J Radish, T Dring, W Smith, H Gregory, J Flint, J Butler, Sid Taylor, Tom Houlston, Sid Houlston, Earnest Marriot, Herbert Cutts, Bert Mercer & Jack Wykes. After John died in 1915, James carried on until his son, William (born1904) took over the business. The company ceased work when William & his workers were called up for war in 1939. After the war due to the deterioration of machinery & shortage of coal, William did not re-open the yard. The company was well known for producing top quality house bricks & so called ” Fancy Bricks” which can be seen on the houses in the streets around the works & district, which were built before 1939. The streets off Diamond Avenue are particularly rich in “Holmes’s Bricks.”  James passed away in 1959 & William in 1967.  Many Thanks to Betty & Joan, Benjamin’s Great-Grand Daughters for providing me with this information & photos. Betty & Joan are daughters of William & William was James' son & James was Benjamin's second son.

Top Left - William 1904 - 1967. Bottom Right - James 1875 - 1959.

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

Benjamin's Portland Street works in 1900.

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

This 1921 map shows the new brick yard on Lowmoor Road. The old yard on Portland Street now has railway sidings on it & today this site is occupied by two factories, a builders merchants & a diy shop.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey 1938.

1938 map now showing Alexandra Street, Marlborough Road & Milton Street encompassing Holmes's brickworks.

With Benjamin's name being removed from the plate which made this brick, it will have been made by John & James after they had took over the running of their father's business in the early 1900's. 

This paving brick is shown in the catalogue below & will also have been an early example made by John & James. 

Some of Holmes's Fancy Bricks photographed in Kirkby with some featuring in this catalogue.

With Holmes being positioned central in this example, it will have been made by John & James.

Benjamin Holmes is first recorded in Kelly's 1888 edition at Kirkby Folly & this is followed by the same entry in Kelly's 1891 edition. From 1894 to 1900 editions the works is listed as East Kirkby. Then in the 1904 to 1925 editions the company is now recorded as Benjamin Holmes & Sons, East Kirkby. From the 1928 edition the works is listed as Lowmoor Road, East Kirkby. Benjamin's name & this address continues until the last available directory in 1941. 

As previously wrote Benjamin owned his own works on Portland Street in 1894/5 & his sons then established a new works on Lowmoor Road in 1902. Benjamin had passed his business down to his sons, with it then being passed down to his grandson, but the name of the company remained in Benjamin's name. As already said William did not reopen the works after WW2, due to the deterioration of machinery & shortage of coal. 

Going back to the entries for Benjamin in Kelly's 1888 & 91 editions & these entries record him as brickmaker at Kirkby Folly, so this now poses the question where was Benjamin working at these dates. I have found that Kirkby Folly was another name for East Kirkby, so there is the option that Benjamin first rented the Portland Street brickyard in 1888 before purchasing the land in 1895. Although I do not have any information from Benjamin's great-granddaughter's to collaborate this option, I think this is what happened.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with permission of NLS/Ordnance Survey 1877.

As previously wrote, Benjamin had moved to Kirkby by 1871 & he is recorded in the 1871 census as a brickmaker in Kirkby. So the only option is that he worked for someone else between 1871 & 1888. The 1877 map above shows that neither Portland Street or a brickyard existed at this date, (the location of which was in the next field above the red marked brickworks), so we know that Benjamin did not work there. 

This 1877 map does show three brickyards in East Kirkby at this date & I have established that the yellow coloured yard at The Summit was taken over & later expanded by the Butterley Co. who sank Kirkby/Summit Colliery next to it in 1887. The green coloured yard was owned by George Hodkinson in 1881 & the red coloured yard next to Kirkby Station was owned by Mr. Oliver in 1876. So Benjamin could have worked at any of these yards between 1871 & 1888. If I do find any concrete evidence for my theories, I will update the post.

Update 4.9.17.

After visiting the nearly demolished CWS building on North Street, Huthwaite, I found that the outer walls of this building had been made with "Holmes's bricks" with the same lettering as the top one below. The main part of this building which fronted North Street & High Street was constructed in 1907. So it will have been a very lucrative contract suppling all those bricks for the Holmes family. Six photos of the CWS building can be seen at this link under the heading of North Street. 

http://www.dawgates.co.uk/album/huth.htm

The following three examples will have been made by John, James or William.

Many Thanks to Steve & Tom, two of my "brick scouts" for finding me this Benjamin Holmes brick in Kirkby. It's a little battle worn, but the lettering is spot on.

Photos by Richard Bull.

A Holmes reverse Best Pressed brick found by Richard Bull at Pye Bridge, Derbys. in March 2023, one which I have not seen before.

Dave Skinner found this mint Benjamin Holmes in Kirkby in November 2024. This is only the third one to turn up, unless anyone knows otherwise. If so, please get in touch as I am after a mint one. Ta.