Goulding Hall Brickworks, seen 1896
Goulding Hall Brick Works

opposite the Mount on Hamlet Road

Goulding Hall Brickworks

Haverhill enjoyed at least six brickworks sites. These are grouped both to the east of the town and to the west. On the east side, but located at the end of the High Street was John Hall's and later, Goulding Hall's Brickworks.

Mr Pankhurst dated it to 1885 to 1896, but could provide no map reference.

In fact we can see it on this six inch OS map from 1896. Note there are actually two brickworks shown in this view, but apparently the main works is between Duddery Hill and the Independent Chapel. Present day Mount Road goes through this site.

At this stage it is not clear whether the second site to the north, although connected by pathways, is a subsidiary of the main works, but this seems likely.


John and Goulding Hall sample bricks
 		In the 1841 census at Hall Farm, Haverhill there is a John Hall, Brick Factor, age 30 (rounded down) and a John Hall age 4. A female Eizar?? is 20. In this census adult ages are rounded to ten years below, and odd spellings are frequent.

John Hall was listed as a brickmaker in Haverhill in White's Directory of Suffolk in 1855, and in Kelly's 1869 and 1875 editions. By the 1879 edition it was listed as Goulding Hall, brickmaker. Goulding Hall seems to have taken over from John, on the same site.

Martyn Fretwell has researched the Hall family genealogy:-

John Hall was born in 1809
He had a sister named Eliza, born in 1805, who married Robert Goulding, a Grocer, in 1825 at Haverhill.
John Hall married Eliza, born c1818.

John Hall's first son James (b1842) became a Corn and Hay merchant
His daughter Eliza was born in 1844 and his second son Goulding Hall was born in 1845

In the 1851 census John Hall was listed as a "Brick and Tile manufacturer - Master employs 7 men".
In the 1861 census he was "Brickmaker Master employing 11 men and 2 boys".
John Hall died in 1876, and his son Goulding Hall, inherited the brickmaking business.

Goulding Hall closed this brickworks in early 1894.
In the 1901 census Goulding Hall was listed as a Commercial Traveller, and by 1911 he had moved to the Isle of Wight.


Site of Goulding Hall Brickworks by 1904
The area today

In 1895 the old brick works was bought by Mason and Son, the large local builder. Walter Mason had his own brickworks in Withersfield Road, and by acquiring this site he killed two birds with one stone. He eliminated any possible competition for bricks from this works, and had a prime development site for his building business.

Shortly afterwards Masons built Mount Road and Meeting Walk. By the time of the 25 inch 1904 OS map both brickworks on this site had disappeared and the new Mount Road was built with homes shown on both sides of that road.

Sale of Goulding Hall Brickworks
 		Summary of the owners or managers

  • Started before 1851
  • 1851 to 1876...John Hall
  • 1876 to 1894... Goulding Hall
  • 1894 ...Sold off completely

This article was compiled by David Addy based upon material from "The British Brick Society" .

British Brick Society newsletter "Information No 26, April 2014,
Suffolk Heritage Explorer Reference BOT 016
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 and supplements, No 21 to 23, 1988, "Brick Kilns in Suffolk" by C J Pankhurst
Website - David Kitching's website - Brick Section
Website - Martyn Fretwell's blog on bricks etc
Photos of bricks by Martyn Fretwell unless stated.

Page created on 25th November, 2023

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