the brick works
In the early twentieth century brickmaking slowed down and some brick works closed but
around these firms communities grew and so did the effects on these communities.
Here is Part 3 of our feature on the brickworks– Building the future
The extraction of clay
(mainly digging by hand)
from the early days was
not very scientific and
therefore a little hit and
miss, but when London
Brick took over, science
gave a more accurate
way of finding and
digging the gault clay.
Making bricks is not just a simple process of digging the clay, moulding
the bricks and firing them. Straw is no longer used but again science plays
its part and chemists are used to get the right mix for production.
Some of the chimneys needed to create the updraft for firing the bricks
were built in the 1870’s and were 230ft tall and the square base of each was
approximately 15ft across. These chimneys became a landmark that could
be seen for miles in the countryside.
At the turn of the twentieth century three brick yards were still operational
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November 2015
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– the Arlesey Brick Company, the Arlesey Station Gault Brickworks and
the London & Arlesey Brick Company. By 1908 when the Victoria County
History of Bedfordshire was published only the Arlesey Brick Company was
still working.
Co-op Terrace along the High Street almost opposite the end of Lynton
Avenue is a permanent reminder of the use of the Arlesey White facing
bricks, as are many terraces in the village. Inner skins of the houses built in
the early twentieth century were also built with the common brick, many with
on the button, 32 Stotfold Road, Arlesey. Bedfordshire. SG15 6XT www.onthebuttonarlesey.co.uk