Brownhill Brickworks, Newarthill, Wishaw, Lanarkshire.
06/10/1937 – The Scotsman – New Lanarkshire Brickwork. A new brickworks now in course of erection by the United Collieries Ltd at Cleland, Lanarkshire, is expected to be in operation before the end of the year. The work is being built alongside Brownhill Mine, belonging to the same Company, and it is stated that debris for the manufacture of the bricks is available in sufficient quantities in the immediate neighbourhood to keep the brickwork employed for about 25 years. The debris drawn from the mine workings is to be taken directly to the kilns and manufactured, into composition bricks, thereby rendering a bing unnecessary. The brickwork will have an output 20,000 bricks a day. Brownhill Mine is at present working the Humph coal seam. Its thickness is about 16 inches, and the area of coal available will provide employment for about 150 men for a number of years. Boring operations are at present being conducted in the Newarthill district on behalf of the United Collieries Ltd in an endeavour to prove the existence of lower seams.
31/12/1937 – Motherwell Times – Two kilns are now operating the new brickworks laid down by the United Collieries at Cleland and production should start in about a week’s time.
Below – 1938 – According to Canmore, the Brownhill Brickworks were in and around the area marked with the red cross.
03/01/1938 – The Scotsman – The new brickworks at Cleland which are being erected by the United Colliery Company are nearing completion and two of the kilns are already in operation. When the remaining kilns are completed the new brickworks will produce thousands of bricks per day. (Note – SBH – I believe this is a reference to the Brownhill Brickworks.)
12/08/1938 – Motherwell Times – … A farmer in the vicinity has been informed that a part of his field may be required any time now for mining operations in connection with the new mine to be sunk by United Collieries, Ltd. The company already owns the Brownhill Mine and Brickworks situated between Newarthill and Cleland, and the enterprise shown by the company is regarded as a hopeful augury for the future. It is expected that the new mine will be one of the largest yet sunk in the Newarthill district.
1947 – United Fireclay Products Limited comprised of the Etna and Atlas Firebrick Works, The Bathville Pipe Works, the UNICOL Tile Works, all at Armadale and the Brownhill building brickworks at Clelland, Lanarkshire. Lower demand for refractories led to the Etna Works being converted to making building bricks under the ETNA brand and the closure of the Atlas Works in 1973. Gibbons Dudley took over the United Fireclay Products in 1971 and they were bought over by Steetley Ltd in 1981 who then sold the Etna and the Brownhill Works to GISCOL Ltd.
Below – 20/11/1964 – Wishaw Press United Fireclay Products advert with reference to Bathville pipes and fittings, Etna and Brownhill building bricks.
23/03/1973 – Wishaw Press. The United Fireclay Products Limited, a member of the Gibbons Dudley Group have a vacancy for an engineer for the maintenance of Mitchell clay working and brickmaking machinery. Apply The Manager, Brownhill Brickworks, Cleland.
1981 – The 1985 publication ‘A survey of Scottish brickmarks’ suggests that the works were demolished by this date.
Robertson, Love & Co were liquidated in 1916 but continued to make firebricks as part of United Collieries Ltd. When coal was nationalised in 1947, the brickworks were reorganised as United Fireclay Products Ltd. and comprised the Etna and Atlas Firebrick Works, the Bathville Pipe Works, the UNICOL Tileworks, all at Armadale and the Brownhill…
Robertson, Love & Co were liquidated in 1916 but continued to make firebricks as part of United Collieries Ltd. When coal was nationalised in 1947, the brickworks were reorganised as United Fireclay Products Ltd. and comprised the Etna and Atlas Firebrick Works, the Bathville Pipe Works, the UNICOL Tile Works, all at Armadale and the…
Robertson, Love & Co were liquidated in 1916 but continued to make firebricks as part of United Collieries Ltd. When coal was nationalised in 1947, the brickworks were reorganised as United Fireclay Products Ltd. and comprised the Etna and Atlas Firebrick Works, the Bathville Pipe Works, the UNICOL Tileworks, all at Armadale and the Brownhill…
West Works Brickworks, Armadale, West Lothian. To be read in conjunction with the page for the United Fireclay Products Limited. Below – 1955 – These buildings are believed to be the West Works (Note – SBH – This information has come from a former employee there). 1960 – An article entitled ‘A look at the…
John Watson of Glasgow bought the Bathville site in June 1859 for £10, 000 and shortly after built a brickworks to use the fireclay being mined with the coal. John Watson & Co were to become one of the biggest coalmasters in Lanarkshire, but in 1874 they ran into financial trouble and the Bathville works…
1952 – Glasgow Iron and Steels’s first venture in brickmaking was in 1952 when it commissioned and built the present Birkfield Brickworks in Carluke and this was consolidated in 1954 with the purchase of the Motherwell Brick Company Limited. Nevertheless, brickmaking remained an ancillary part of the company operations until 1976. 11/01/1952 – Carluke and…
Carfin Colliery Brickworks, Carfin, North Lanarkshire. (Note – SBH – When researching these works it is often very confusing whether information gleaned should be recorded on this page or the page for the Carfin Brickworks. If anyone believes information is wrongly recorded then please let me know). Canmore – This brickworks is not named on the…
Found on the old site previously occupied by Giscol when they took over the Etna Brickworks, Bathville, West Lothian. The bricks are cored and are stamped on a stretcher. They are dated 29/03/91 and 07/11/91. It looks like they were used to build some sort of office block on the site. Now demolished and mostly…
Robertson, Love & Co were liquidated in 1916 but continued to make firebricks as part of United Collieries Ltd. When coal was nationalised in 1947, the brickworks were reorganised as United Fireclay Products Ltd. and comprised the Etna and Atlas Firebrick Works, the Bathville Pipe Works, the UNICOL Tileworks, all at Armadale and the Brownhill…
Found on the old site previously occupied by the Etna Brick Works, Bathville. United Collieries, Bathville and thereafter United Fire Clay Products, Bathville. . . . .
