"Brick works & kilns. Operated by: Edmund Tricker 1844-1855; John Tricker 1855-1864; Mrs Mary Ann Tricker 1864-1865; Mrs Mary Ann Segers 1865-1869; Alfred Segers 1869-1874; Joseph Seagrave 1874-1892; David & Cross 1892-1896; Cornard Brick & Tile Co (owned by Grimwood & Son) 1896-1964 (S1). Brick works + 2 kilns marked on OS 1904 25" map."

With regards to markings, C H Blowers wrote that,

"As far as can be ascertained, no name or mark was made on the bricks produced by Seagrave or by Grimwood. The names TRICKER CORNARD and H.J.SEGER / CORNARD are marked in the frogs of the bricks. Prior to 1939 the name CORNARD SUFFOLK was marked in the frogs of bricks made by the Cornard Brick and Tile Company Ltd.

A very comprehensive catalogue of moulded bricks was published by the company in 1937, which clearly showed the vast range of patterns which could be produced."

Big contracts using bricks from Little Cornard

Cornard bricks have been used on many important contracts. Greene King's Brewery a Bury St Edmunds is largely built of Cornard Reds, as were the hangars at Stradishall Aerodrome, also in Suffolk. Shortly after they were built, the 1939-45 war broke out and they had to be covered with camouflage paint.... One of the most interesting jobs for which these bricks were supplied was the extension for an Art Gallery at Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich, Suffolk.

Over a hundred different moulds of very complicated patterns were used at Christchurch, and, from observations at the building in 1978, it appears that after some thirty years they have blended in very well.

Girton College, Cambridge was erected with Cornard bricks, the work being carried out by George Grimwood and Sons of Sudbury, from 1873, to designs by Alfred Waterhouse.

The late Mr Alan McQuhae, a director of the Cornard Brick and Tile Company Ltd told Bill Blowers that he clearly remembered a contract at Colchester Barracks, where he supplied hand-made Red facings in l926 for £4 lOs Od per thousand delivered.
He really wanted £4 12s 6d!

The basic clay for both Red and White bricks was dug in the winter. It contained a high proportion of flint, necessitating a thorough washing before the resultant slurry was run into ponds known as wash pits. In the spring the clay was dug out again to be made ready for brickmaking.

This clay was then processed through the pugmill to thoroughly mix and compact the clay ready for moulding into bricks.

More labour was needed in the spring than in the winter, as there were no facilities for brickmaking in the bad weather and frost was a serious problem. The men, therefore, used to work in the local maltings during the winter and return to the brickyard in the brickmaking season, usually from March to September or early October depending on the severity of the weather.

It is recorded that a good hand-moulder working long hours would make up to 6000 bricks per week, and in the 1930s, would be paid 12s 6d per thousand for Reds and 13s 6d per thousand for Whites. This included payment for stacking in the hacks to dry, before placing in the kilns.

Before the 1939-45 War there were two simple up-draught kilns each with a capacity of 30,000 bricks, and again, as for many other works, this necessitated closure during the war years because of the glow from the burning kilns.

In 1945, two independent down-draugh­t kilns, one of 15,000 and the other of 30,000 capacity, were erected. These gave better control of firing, as pyrometers were now used, and these were inserted through the cooling holes in the dome. Com­pared with the old up-draught kilns, a saving of some 30 per cent in fuel costs was achieved.

• 1700 to 1840......Unknown owners
• 1841 to 1853 Edmund Tricker
• 1853 to 1855 John Tricker
• 1856 to 1864 John Tricker
• 1864 to 1865 Mrs Mary Ann Tricker
• 1865 to 1868 Mrs Mary Ann Segers
• 1868 to 1869 Mary Ann and Henry John Segers
• 1869 to 1874 Alfred Segers
• 1874 to 1892 Joseph Seagrove
• 1892 to 1898 Joseph Seagrove and Davis & Cross
• 1898 to 1919 Arthur Grimwood
• 1919 to 1939 James McQuhae, trading as The Cornard Brick and Tile Company
• 1939 to 1945.......Works closed down
• 1945 to 1964 The Cornard Brick and Tile Company
• 1964..............Works closed permanently

The site today has some housing along the road, but there is also a collection of workshops on the site known as the Old Brickworks, Chapel Lane, Little Cornard. Martyn Booth, an internationally known luthier, has his guitar workshop in Unit 4.

The picture shows a customer collecting a new guitar. Martyn Booth is on the left, then David Addy holding guitar, then Graham Moore. The picture dates to 26th September, 2008. Mr Booth still occupies this unit in 2023 on a part time basis.