Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry

Glenelrig Brick Company Limited, Boxton Road, Avonbridge, Falkirk, Stirlingshire. (Note – SBH – See also the much earlier Glenellrig Brick and Tile Works).

(Note – SBH – I am sadly lacking information on these works. Please get in touch if you can help to fill in the gaps).

Below – 1944 – 1967 – Glenelrig Brickworks site. Note the only building referenced maybe the chimney.

Below – 25/04/1957 – Edinburgh Evening News –

Bricks from Craigend are being shipped all over the world but labour for this and the Glenelrig Brickworks has to be transported from outlying districts. The managing director at Craigend, Mr William H. Wilson (inset) has done much to improve the village amenities.

Standburn wants to stay on the map – The death knell sounded for the thriving little community of Standburn more than 20 years ago … In the meantime, on the site of a worked-out colliery, one local concern is carrying the village’s name to the world market. From Craigend Brickworks, fire bricks are being shipped to furnaces, steel works and ovens throughout Europe, Canada, Australia and the Middle East, the Argentine and many other export customers. On the home market too, the Craigend firm, which started with 12 workers in 1938distributes the Standburn product to British industry at home.

500,000 fire bricks(about 1200 tonnes) are loaded on railway sidings each day but to operate his works, managing director, William H. Wilson, who lives in Standburn, has to transport men from outside the village. Lorries travel to the Maddiston, Avonbridge, California and Whitecross areas to collect labour.

In an effort to improve village amenities, Mr Wilson has had a bus shelter built for the local people, has donated playing fields and is providing ornamental garden plots. His urgent call however is for a stable labour force.

The same call echoes from the other side of the village. At Glenelrig Brickworks, production development is held up by the lack of a steady force of suitable workers. Managing director John Reilly, who took over these works and started producing composition house bricks in January of this year, estimates that there are at least 30 years of life at his works. From an early output of 30,000 bricks a week, Mr Reilly now has men working on night and day shifts to push up production to 150,000 a week. A new mixture, which results in top quality bricks is Mr Reilly’s proud boast. The product of this successful blending of local raw materials assures a steady sale on the home market. With good local labour to keep machines in full operation, production could soon be developed from 600,000 bricks a month to 1,250,000. Meanwhile, lorries must be sent to other villages to transport the available workers.

14/01/1964 – The Edinburgh Gazette – Companies Act, 1948 Notice is hereby given in terms of Section 353 (5) of the Companies Act, 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6, Cap. 38), that the names of the under-mentioned Companies have this day been struck off the Register, and such Companies are hereby dissolved:  Glenelrig Brick Company Limited.

Below – 2009 – This is believed to what is left of a chimney at the brickworks.