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Euston Estate Brickworks
"Rumour has it that brickearth (a portmanteau term) was quarried here as early as the eighteenth century. A small part of the history of Barnham brickmaking is recorded in the sole surviving ledger, covering the period 22 August 1895–30 December 1912, held by the Euston Estate (East Farm is just one of several properties on the ca 2530 ha estate). So perhaps more than 150 years of brickmaking are unrecorded. Brickearth digging took place seasonally until the 1930s to supply the Barnham brickyard".
"There were two principal types of clay- and silt-rich brickearth: one produced white bricks, the other red ones . Bricks and related products were made for a great variety of uses on the Euston Estate, but the brickyard also operated on a commercial basis, supplying Lord Iveagh on the neighbouring Elveden Estate, as well as numerous local builders and others."
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"Although the records are incomplete, the peak period of brickearth quarrying and brickmaking probably occurred at the start of the twentieth century. The south and west wings of Euston Hall were destroyed by fire on 5 April 1902, the fourth occasion on which the premises were badly damaged by fire. Rebuilding took place with little delay. Brickyard ledger entries for ‘Mr Heath Euston Hall’ start on 8 June 1903 and end on 15 April 1912, but 89% of the material was produced in the second half of 1903 and in 1905. " |
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The Suffolk Heritage Explorer records Barnham Brickworks as "Euston Estate Brickworks. Operated by James Pooley 1855 to unknown; John Bolingbroke 1885-1906; Frederick Pryke 1906 to 1910; George Steward, 1910 to 1929.
Marked 'Brick Kiln' on OS 1st edition one inch map, 1836.
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The Clay Pits Somewhat unusually, the claypits supplying the works were some distance across the fields to the south. Suffolk Heritage Explorer highlights one of these pits as Monument BNH 150, Gravel Pit near brickyard, (Paleolithic), where two handaxes have been recovered. However, this is not the main claypit where extensive excavations have taken place over many years. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, a disused clay pit near the village of Barnham, Suffolk, was known to contain artefacts from the Lower Palaeolithic. Initial excavations took place between 1989 and 1994, producing artefact assemblages and floral and faunal remains dating to the Hoxnian Interglacial, approximately 400,000 years ago. Modern excavations have taken place since 2013, partially run as a three-week student field school each summer. "We are reinvestigating two different lithic assemblage types at the site — one without handaxes (Clactonian) and one with handaxes (Acheulian). Research during the 1990s concluded that both assemblage types were found in similar deposits at different parts of the site and were therefore at least geologically contemporary. A more complex picture is emerging through our recent fieldwork, which re-examines the evidence with improved resolution of the geology. It seems that the non-handaxe assemblage is slightly earlier than the handaxe assemblage, and that two separate human populations are represented." |
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Summary of the owners or managers
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Time Team investigation At nearby Elveden Holiday Village, the old clay pit was investigated by Nick Ashton (British Museum) and others. Hand axes and flint flakes were discovered indicating early human activity. The finds were so important that the site featured in an episode of "Time Team" broadcast on Channel Four on February 6th, 2000. The site appeared to be an ancient river bank between two chalk cliffs dated at around 400,000 years ago. It is similar to this site at East Farm, Barnham, which is only five miles away. Barnham was included in Time Team's investigations and the team attempted to investigate whether both sites were along the same Pleistocene river system.
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British Brick Society newsletter "Information No 26, April 2014,
Suffolk Heritage Explorer Reference ELV 174 and ELV 008
Suffolk Review, Vol 5, 1980 - 1988 on ‘Suffolk Brickmaking’ by Robert Malster. (Suffolk Local History Council, Summer 1983, Vol 5, No 4).
Suffolk Industrial Archaeology Society newsletter No 21 September, 1988, "Brick Kilns in Suffolk" by C J Pankhurst
Pathways to Ancient Britain website
The Elveden Estate website
Website - David Kitching's website - Brick Section
Website - Martyn Fretwell's blog on bricks etc
Photos of bricks by Martyn Fretwell unless stated.
Time Team on YouTube:- Time Team video
Page created on 26th September, 2023
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