The Historical Significance of Stewartby Brickworks, Stewartby, Bedfordshire
Author(s): K Morrison
Stewartby Brickworks, Bedfordshire, closed in May 2008. At one time this was not just the largest brickworks in Bedfordshire, nor even just the largest within the extensive Fletton-making industry that spread from Hunts to Bucks between the 1880s and the late 20th century. Stewartby could also claim to be the largest brickworks – in terms of output – in the world. Beside the brickworks, the company (until 1984, the London Brick Company) built a model village for its workforce. Begun in 1926, this was laid out on ‘Garden City’ principles. Successive groups of overseas workers arrived to work in the local brick industry and settled in the village and surrounding area with their families. In this way, Stewartby is a reminder of how Bedfordshire acquired its rich multi-cultural society. The Fletton industry is of particular significance, as huge numbers of mid-20th century buildings, the length and breadth of the country, are constructed of this type of brick, whether plain or decorative. One of the best known facing bricks is the Rustic Fletton, invented at Stewartby in 1923. With the closure of Stewartby, only two of the 50 principal Fletton brickworks remain in production (see Table 1). At its peak, Stewartby had numerous Hoffman kilns, with a total of 32 chimneys which were visible for miles in all directions. Although greatly reduced in number, the surviving chimneys are a dramatic and iconic feature in the local landscape, and are known not only to local people but to those who pass through the county. As Alan Cox has commented: ‘they could be, dare I say it, Bedfordshire’s answer to the Angel of the North or the huge white horse proposed for Kent’.1 Today only two kilns and four chimneys, listed in January 2008, survive. These kilns can now be dated as follows: CK1, 1931-32 (modified c.1937-38) and CK3, 1950-51. Both are rectangular Hoffman kilns with arched chambers along two sides, and with flat roofs. Variations on this type of continuous down-draught kiln were deployed for Fletton manufacture throughout its history, but examples survive today at only three sites: at Stewartby, where they have been decommissioned, and at King’s Dyke and the Saxon Works, Whittlesey, where they are still working. Of these, the Stewartby kilns are the earliest in date.
- Report Number:
- 6/2018
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 33
- Keywords:
- Brickworks Brick
