Making Bricks

The process of making bricks can be divided into a number of stages.  Each stage will be looked at in turn.

Extracting
the clay		 Treating
the clay		 Making
the bricks		 Distributing
the bricks

Extracting the Clay

Not all of the clay that is dug from a pit can be used to make bricks.  The weathered surface of the Oxford Clay and younger clays above it are called callow.  This cannot be used to make Fletton Bricks and is removed and dumped on the pit floor.

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Stewartby Pit Stewartby Pit November 1936
Callow Conveyor at Stewartby in 1953 Callow Conveyor at Stewartby in 1953

In the early brickworks, clay was extracted entirely by hand using long crowbars. The working face of the pit was stepped and men worked on each level. Clay from different levels reacts differently when fired. Mixing the clay from all the levels produces clay of a more even consistency. The first mechanised extraction of clay was carried out by steam powered machinery.

Extraction of Clay Extraction of Clay

Giant free hanging draglines are also used to extract both the callow and the brick clay.The largest draglines could extract 12 tons of clay in a single scoop and had several motors producing a total of 700hp. Such a machine could move 40,000 tons of clay each week. Now that demand for bricks is lower, smaller machines are used.

Rookery Pit operating at night Rookery Pit operating at night
A dragline bucket tipping clay A dragline bucket tipping clay

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