Ballachulish Slate Quarry and Brickworks, Ballachulish, Lochaber, Highland.
Below – 1870 – North Ballachulish slate quarries but where were the brickworks located?
Below – 06/12/1944 – Daily Record – Debris from the Ballachulish slate quarries is to be processed to make bricks, and among the happifying thoughts which the news inspires is a slight surge of relief that the Minister of Fuel and Power didn’t get there first.
Below – 05/12/1944 – The Scotsman – Ballachulish Slate debris may become bricks. Millions of tons of waste material, the accumulation of more than four centuries at the Ballachulish slate quarries, may be used for the manufacture of bricks after the war. Sponsored by the Scottish Development Council and with the co-operation of the quarrymasters, experiments are being made for the purpose of finding commercial uses for slate debris. Several truckloads of waste slate from the dumps at Ballachulish have been railed South where a new brickmaking process is to be tried out. If the experiments prove successful brick-making plants will be set up at Ballachulish which will provide work for many more men. The West Highland slate quarries ceased production on the outbreak of war, but the greatest boom in the history of the industry is expected at the close of hostilities when millions of slates and bricks will be required for housing schemes in all parts of the country. (Note – SBH – but where were these brickworks located and which brickworks were used to test manufacture bricks from the debris?)
Below – A brick manufactured from crushed slate and the product of the slate debris from the Ballachulish slate quarries. This is in the possession of Moses Jenkins.
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The following refractory castable test samples were found during ground works at the Manuel Brickworks, Whitecross by Ian Suddaby and myself. These laboratory test samples are cement-based and have been marked with a marker type pen. Below – The cut edge of each sample. Below – some close up photographs of the cut edge. ….
Found at the Alloa Tileworks, Forthbank. These roof tiles appear to have been pressed or moulded using a cement mix. Alloa Tileworks, Forthbank, Alloa, Stirlingshire. . . . .
Alloa Tileworks, Forthbank, Alloa, Stirlingshire. 1913 – Works not present on this map. Below – 1946 – Alloa Tileworks, Forthbank (At B.M. – 20.28) Below – 1951 – Alloa Tileworks, Forthbank. Below – 1967 – Alloa Tileworks, Forthbank. Below – An assemblage of ‘Alloa’ roof tiles found on site. These look as if they are…
Many thanks to Lindsay Smith and Ian Roy for assisting in the finding and recovery of this brick from the Newpark Estate in Bellsquarry, Livingston area. Shotts Sand-Lime Brickworks, Shotts, North Lanarkshire aka locally as the ‘White Brickworks’. 06/05/1924 – The Scotsman – Electrical engineer’s visit to Shotts Works – Members of the West of…
Found by Ian Suddaby in the Dumbarton area. This example is not in my possession. Scottish Dunbrik Ltd, Stannergate, Dundee. . . . .
Russell Roof Tiles Below – 20/09/1990 – Galloway News – Russell Roof Tiles Ltd wish to recruit an Assistant Production Manager for their production facility at Lochmaben Nr Lockerbie The Company which is a member of the Alexander Russell Group of Companies manufactures quality roof tiles slates together with accessories in a highly competitive market…
Russell Roof Tiles 11/06/1987 – Galloway News – The Annandale Tile Co (1986) Ltd manufacturers of quality concrete roof tiles is a recently acquired subsidiary of the Alexander Russell group of companies. Their plans for business development have created an opportunity for an additional sales executive to represent their product range throughout North Cumbria, Borders…
Found by Ian Suddaby. These examples are not in my possession. They are made from cement/concrete, not clay. Ian states – These roof tiles were made by Russell Roof Tiles, possibly at Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire. The company was started near Glasgow by Alexander Russell in 1892. They’re made of a type of concrete, not clay. Nice though, and…
In ‘The British Clay Worker’ magazine dated 15/12/1952 there is an article entitled ‘Recent patents. An improvement hollow building brick or block. Stanislaw Sulich, 35 Grampian Road, Torry, Aberdeen. No 682,010’. This invention relates to an improvement in or modification of the building brick or block claimed and described in Patent No 607,557. This invention…
I have included this page for interest sake. In May 2021 I visited Geoff Hancock in the Sandford, Strathaven, Lanarkshire area. Geoff showed me a number of Ballachulish slates that were removed from the steading roof of his old farmhouse. These slates were stamped ‘Registered trade mark. Ballachulish Slate Quarries Co Ltd. Argyllshire’ alongside a…
