The East Anglian Film Archive, the first and largest Regional Film Archive in England, was established in 1976. Since 1984, EAFA has been owned and operated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), to support research and work to preserve our moving image heritage. More than 250 hours are freely available online as examples of the wide range of film which attracts interest the world over.
This film is part of Free
Making of Bricks
A detailed journey through the process of brickmaking, now mechanised after being made by hand for six thousand years.
From the collection of:
Overview
London Brick Company’s manufacturing site at Stewartby in Bedfordshire is located near rich deposits of Britain’s best clay for brickmaking. At the time this film was made, the company produced around seven million bricks per day. Early brick presses applied only two presses to the powdered clay in the moulds, but this was increased to four to achieve stronger bricks. For these ‘four-pressed’ bricks, the trade name ‘Phorpres’ was used.
600 Stewartby model village was designed and built in 1926 by the London Brick Company to provide housing and facilities for many of its workers and their families. The name was chosen to commemorate the Stewart family who had been directors of London Brick Company since 1900. Hanson plc acquired London Brick in 1984 and closed the brickworks at Stewartby due to issues with sulphur emissions. Hanson’s focussed manufacturing at Peterborough but their headquarters remain on the site which is also being developed for housing. Four of the original brick chimneys have been preserved as a reminder of the area’s heritage.