Stewartby Brickworks - Bedfordshire, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 52° 04.203 W 000° 30.940
30U E 670271 N 5771741
Plans were afoot to demolish the last remaining brick chimneys at Stewartby Brickworks but then a preservation order meant they became the last of their kind and they remain as an important landmark as part of Bedfordshire's heritage.
Waymark Code: WMAWEB
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/03/2011
Views: 5
These four chimneys are the last of the 167 which used to exist at Stewartby Brickworks. One chimney has 'Stewartby' painted on it and the remains of the kilns are preserved in the grounds of the old site. Some excellent photographs can be seen here:
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Wikipedia describes the brickworks here:
visit link
'The town takes its name from the Stewart family, whose famous son Sir Malcolm Stewart bought the London Brick Company in the town in the 1920s. The site is due to close in 2008 as the owners, Hanson, cannot meet UK limits for sulphur dioxide emissions. The four chimneys remaining were due to be demolished upon closure but these have since been listed for preservation of Bedfordshire's brick-related history and will remain.
Stewartby brickworks was home to the world’s biggest kiln and produced 18 million bricks at the height of production.
BJ Forder & Son opened the first brickworks in Wootton Pillinge in 1897.
Wootton Pillinge was renamed Stewartby in 1937 in recognition of the Stewart family who had been instrumental in developing the brickworks.
The firm became London Brick Company and Forders Limited in 1926, and shortened to London Brick Company in 1936.
At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 brick chimneys in the Marston Vale.
In the 1970s Bedfordshire produced 20% of England’s bricks.
At its peak London Brick Company had its own ambulance and fire crews, a horticultural department and a photographic department, as well as its own swimming pool inside the factory, and ran a number of sports clubs.
More than £1 million was spent on Stewartby Brickworks in 2005-7 in an attempt to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions.
The factory used Lower Oxford Clay, which is made up of 5% seaweed, formed 150 million years ago when it was on the sea bed. This removed the need to add coal to the fire, as the organic material burned.'
Today the chimneys and kilns are Grade II Listed from 9th January 2008. A chimney sits atop each kiln and they are constructed of red/yellow brick which is laid to English bond. Tapering towards the tops the chimneys have iron hoop banding to create stability and some steel platforms with steps are visible (especially on the named chimney) which were used to monitor smoke quality when testing of emissions was ongoing.
In 1979 these were the largest brickworks in the world and a close relative or ours worked here for many years.