Main Picture - Mr David Dyet, kilnburner, of Bonnybridge at Bonnyside Brick Works
BRICK MAKING - TOUGH LIVING IN BONNYBRIDGE!
The history of BRICK MAKING is a fascinating one - even the Egyptians had paintings in their tombs showing how bricks were made in the time of the Pharaohs.
Click on the picture below to go to a website with more information about how the Egyptians made bricks.
It was VERY hard work, usually done by Jewish slaves from Israel.
However, even today near the River Nile people in the Third World are still making bricks in the same back-breaking way.
However, not all African Brickworks are like this - some are very modern indeed!
Click on this link to see "The Birth of a Brick" a short film showing how modern machinery makes modern brick making MUCH easier
The rocks under Bonnybridge are a rich mixture of minerals - especially coal and clay - often together in the same mine.
Although Bonnybridge never became one of the main coal-mining areas there was enough near the surface to encourage the development of industry. Later coal could also be brought in barges along the canal or by railway.
One thing that the area around Bonnybridge had was lots of CLAY. However this clay is not the soft gooey stuff that you see on potters' wheels or like children's plasticene. This clay is a solid hard rock laid down millions of years ago a mud at the bottom of lakes and seas. Over the years it was squeezed to form a solid, hard rock like any other rock - but this rock could be crushed by hammers or machines into a very fine powder. This powder is then mixed with water to make the gooey clay which can be moulded into bricks.
Not just any old clay, but special clays which could be used to make a whole variety of different BRICKS and TILES.
There were quite a number of brickworks in the area, and the quality of the bricks was very high. They used the canal and the railways to move the bricks all over the country - and even abroad!
Clay mining in the area used the "room and stoop" (or 'pillar and room') method of mining.
Basically this meant keeping the roof from falling in by leaving massive 'pillars' of clay unmined to support the roof while digging away the rest to take to the surface.
To see a video of how this works in a MODERN coal mine go to this site.
You used to be able to visit Birkhill Clay Mine near Bo'ness to see what it looks like in real life but it is now closed for safety reasons.
The history of BRICK MAKING is a fascinating one - even the Egyptians had paintings in their tombs showing how bricks were made in the time of the Pharaohs.
Click on the picture below to go to a website with more information about how the Egyptians made bricks.
It was VERY hard work, usually done by Jewish slaves from Israel.
However, even today near the River Nile people in the Third World are still making bricks in the same back-breaking way.
However, not all African Brickworks are like this - some are very modern indeed!
Click on this link to see "The Birth of a Brick" a short film showing how modern machinery makes modern brick making MUCH easier
The rocks under Bonnybridge are a rich mixture of minerals - especially coal and clay - often together in the same mine.
Although Bonnybridge never became one of the main coal-mining areas there was enough near the surface to encourage the development of industry. Later coal could also be brought in barges along the canal or by railway.
One thing that the area around Bonnybridge had was lots of CLAY. However this clay is not the soft gooey stuff that you see on potters' wheels or like children's plasticene. This clay is a solid hard rock laid down millions of years ago a mud at the bottom of lakes and seas. Over the years it was squeezed to form a solid, hard rock like any other rock - but this rock could be crushed by hammers or machines into a very fine powder. This powder is then mixed with water to make the gooey clay which can be moulded into bricks.
Not just any old clay, but special clays which could be used to make a whole variety of different BRICKS and TILES.
There were quite a number of brickworks in the area, and the quality of the bricks was very high. They used the canal and the railways to move the bricks all over the country - and even abroad!
Clay mining in the area used the "room and stoop" (or 'pillar and room') method of mining.
Basically this meant keeping the roof from falling in by leaving massive 'pillars' of clay unmined to support the roof while digging away the rest to take to the surface.
To see a video of how this works in a MODERN coal mine go to this site.
You used to be able to visit Birkhill Clay Mine near Bo'ness to see what it looks like in real life but it is now closed for safety reasons.
Company Name | Location of Brickworks | Dates of opening and closing |
Bonnybridge Brick and Tile Works (Bonnymuir Brickworks) |
Bonnyside Rd | 1836 - 1968 |
Messrs J Dougall & Sons (Bonnyside Fireclay Works) |
Bonnyside Brickworks, High Bonnybridge | 1896 - 1967 |
Dyson Refractories (formerly Bonnyside Fireclay) |
High Bonnybridge | 1967 - |
Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co Ltd (Griifith's) later known as Bonnybridge Refractories Ltd | High Bonnybridge | 1874 - 1972 |
Messrs John G Stein & Co Ltd - Milnquarter Firelclay Mine | Milnquarter | 1887 - 1971 |
Messrs John G Stein & Co Castlecary Works (later known as GR-Stein Refractories Ltd) |
Allandale (one of the biggest brick-making companies in the world at that time!) | 1904 - 1980 |
Cannerton Brick Co, Ltd | 1932 - 198?... | |
Broomhill Brickworks (The Broomhill Firebrick Co) |
Bonnyhill Rd | 1915 - 1980 |
Alexander Campbell & Co (Roughcastle) Ltd | 1897 - 1970 | |
Glenyards Fireclay Co | Greenhill | 1913 - 1920 |
Greenhill Fireclay Co | Greenhill | closed 1922 reopened 1922 - 1952 |
Dykehead Ganister and Fireclay Co Litd | Dykehead | 1920s.. |
Click on the pics to see larger copies and additional information.