I get my kicks out of bricks!
Home / Brickmarks gallery / Britannia

Britannia

Found in Glasgow by Eddie McLean.

I am now certain I believe this brick was manufactured by Alexander Frew at the Rawyards Brickworks, Rawyards, Airdrie, Lanarkshire.

Alternative brickworks include:

  • Drumbathie Brickworks, Rawyards, Airdrie, Lanarkshire.

My reasoning is as follows.

  1. This ‘Britannia’ fire brick was found alongside the ‘Rawyards’ brick below. They were in the same pile of demolished rubble in Glasgow.
  2. The firebricks are very similar in size and shape. The ‘Britannia’ measures 9″ x 4 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ and the ‘Rawflat Glasgow” measures 8 7/8″ x 4 3/8″ x 2 1/2″ – The very slight differences may be down to firing shrinkage and warping.
  3. The composition of the fire bricks looks similar with the clay containing the dark iron spots.
  4. In particular the rear of the fire bricks both show an unusual configuration of what appear to be 4 round features in the mould, possible rivet or screw impressions.
  5. The only other ‘Britannia’ fire brick I am aware of was found by Robert Runyard at an old freezer plant in Puerto Bories in southern Chile. It was found alongside ‘Rawyards Glasgow’ bricks as well as other Scottish bricks such as ‘Thistle’, ‘Bonnybridge’, ‘Garnkirk’, ‘Forth’ and ‘Hurll’.

.

.

.

.

Below – The ‘Britannia’ brick found in South Chile.

Below – The ‘Rawyards Glasgow’ brick found in South Chile.

Tagged with: ,

Similar articles

  • Glasgow Rawyards
    — 10/07/2024

    Found by Ian Suddaby in the Ravenscraig, Motherwell area. This example is not in my possession. Rawyards Brickworks, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. . . .  

  • Scottish bricks found in Turkey.
    — 30/09/2023

    Many thanks to Aysen Demirkurt for the following information. The bricks in the photograph below form a step in the “The Women’s Library and Information Centre” in Istanbul, Turkey. The photograph has been turned on its side so the brick names can be read more easily. They read from top to bottom Scotia – The…

  • Rawyards Glasgow bricks found in Chile
    — 07/01/2023

    These bricks were found by Mary Anne Andrade Douglas. They were found at her grandfather’s house at Villa Punta Delgada, San Gregorio, Magallanes, Chile. Some of Mary Anne’s ancestors came from the Falkland Islands and Inverness and Ross-shire, Scotland. . . Below – Rawyards, Glasgow – Rawyards Brickworks, Airdrie, Lanarkshire.

  • Scottish bricks found in Borneo, Malaysia
    — 06/04/2021

    Many thanks to Daphne Lim for the following information and photographs. Rawyards Glasgow and Hurll bricks found in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. Daphne states – My name is Daphne Lim & I live in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo.  My (maternal) great, great grandfather Mr Chan Kho was one of the founding fathers of this small town of…

  • Scottish bricks found Quebec, Canada
    — 17/03/2021

    Many thanks to Chantal Soucy and Jean-Marie Fallu for the following photographs. These Scottish bricks were found on the Beach of Barachois, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, Canada. The bricks were found near two old sawmills erected around the beginning of 1900 by the Sherbrooke Lumber Co. and the Calhoun Lumber Co. There are still remnants of…

  • Rawyards Glasgow brick found in New Zealand
    — 02/03/2021

    Found in Riverton, New Zealand. The photograph and information were forwarded by Cedric Trounson. Cedric states – “Riverton is the second oldest European settlement in NZ and this brick was found where an early immigrant house had been built from maybe the 1840s. This was an early sealing and whaling settlement” . . . Below …

  • Glentore Fireclay Works, Greengairs, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
    — 13/11/2020

    Glentore Fireclay Works, Greengairs, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. These works may have been a fireclay mine as opposed to a works manufacturing products from fireclay. Many thanks to Tony Jervis for identifying these works and supplying much of the information below. This page should be read in conjunction with the Rawyards Brickworks page.  The 1936 –…

  • Scottish bricks found in Nova Scotia, Canada
    — 14/10/2020

    These bricks were found by Paul McCullum and his son, Sam, on the banks of the East River, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada. . . . . Below – Gartcraig – Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . Below – Boghead, Glasgow – Boghead Fireclay Works, Bathgate, West Lothian. Below – Hurll 4 – Garnqueen Fireclay…

  • Frew
    — 24/06/2019

    Found in Glasgow by Eddie McLean. Rawyards Brickworks, Rawyards, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Drumbathie Brickworks, Rawyards, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. . .

  • Rawyards Glasgow
    — 12/06/2019

    Found in Airdrie. Rawyards Brickworks, Airdrie, Lanarkshire . . . . .