Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry

The Cadder Brick Co started these works in Balmuildy Road, Bishopbriggs. They were then taken over by the Alexandra Transport Company and then the Scottish Brick Company.

The Cadder Brick Co Ltd, Balmore Works, Balmuildy Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow.

Alexandra Transport Co., Alexandra Parade, Glasgow made Cadder bricks from waste out of mines and clay from Blairskaith Quarry in the Parish of Baldernock. There were repeated issues with this clay due to high lime content and insufficient mixing of the clay prior to moulding into bricks. Clay was also transported in for a time by lorry from Cumnock but this was too expensive due to the distance hauled. – Source Andrew Gemmell.

Canmore

30/09/1931 – Kirkintilloch Herald – New Company – Among the new companies registered last week was the Cadder Brick Co Ltd. Capital £4,500 in £1 shares. Private company to carry on the business of manufacturers and dealers in bricks, pottery, earthenware, china and terra cotta and ceramic ware of all kinds. Subscribers – A. A Stuart, brick manufacturer, Langlands, Carrick Drive, North Mount Vernon; Alexander Aitken, brick manufacturer, 27 Montrose Street, Clydebank and Howard R Kirk, brick manufacturer, Uladh Tower, Dalmuir.

28/07/1934 – Kirkintilloch Herald – A new Brickwork – Preparations for the opening of a large new brickwork have commenced at Bishopbriggs. A start has been made with the building of the chimney stalk and also a 24 chamber kiln, each chamber capable of holding 10,000 bricks. Machinery of the latest type suitable for dealing with a large output is also to be installed. A lease of the ground has been secured by Messrs The Cadder Brick Co Ltd, 250 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow from Messers Keir and Cawder Ltd, Bishopbriggs, the proprietors of the Cadder Estate. The new brickfield is situated on ground adjoining No 15 pit, a former colliery now closed and worked by Messrs Carron Coy, Falkirk. There is a large blaes bing at No 15 pit and also 2 other blaes bings at 2 old disused collieries nearby, which ensures a plentiful supply of material for many years. The opening of the brickfield will give work to a number of men in the district, who have suffered much unemployment since the closing down of the collieries in the vicinity.

Below – 28/11/1934 – Kirkintilloch Herald – The new Cadder Brickworks.

30/11/1934 – Kirkintilloch Gazette – The Cadder Brick Co Ltd has opened new works at Balmuildy Road, Bishopbriggs where kilns built by Messers Duncan Stewart Ltd, Bonnybridge are capable of an output of 180,000 bricks per week. Production began on Monday. It is expected that 40 employees will get work.

1936 – 1937 – The Cadder Brick Co., Ltd., brick manufacturers, 250 Alexandra Parade, E.1; Tel. No., Bridgeton 1125.

Below- 07/06/1937 – The Cadder Brick Co., Ltd., Balmuildy Road, Bishopbriggs.

17/07/1937 – The Scotsman – Demand for bricks causes cancellation of holidays. Owing to the orders on hand and the demand for bricks, employees of the Cadder Brick Co Ltd, Bishopbriggs are not being granted any holidays this year but are receiving double pay for 3 days, this being the length of the recognised annual holiday.

Below – 1938 – Site of the new Cadder Brickworks? (Note – SBH – Not sure why the brickworks are not detailed).

1939 – 1940 – The Cadder Brick Co Ltd, Brick manufacturers, 250 Alexandra Parade, E.1; Tel. No., Bridgeton 1125.

1939 – 1940 – R Smith & Co, Alexandra Transport Co. The Cadder Brick Co Ltd, Quarrymasters.

14/01/1942 – Kirkintilloch Herald – Allocation of £164 has been made to infirmaries by Alexandra Transport Company Ltd, Glasgow, and its associated companies, the Cadder Brick Company, Ltd., and Walkinshaw Brick Company Ltd., and various employees. A donation of £100 has been made also to the Red Cross Society and the Lord Provost Glasgow’s War Relief fund.

Below – 1944 – 1967 – Cadder Brickworks.

16/01/1952 – Kirkintilloch Herald – Messrs Alexandra Transport Company Ltd, Glasgow have received a contract for 2,000,000 bricks from Dundee Housing Committee. (Note – SBH – This may have been an order for their Scottish Dunbrik Brickworks in Dundee).

1969 – The Works were taken over by the Scottish Brick Company.

Below – 12/11/1975 – Birmingham Daily Post – SBC require a works engineer for the Centurion Brick Factory North of Glasgow.

1976 – Brick and Clay Record – Centurion – Face brick in Scotland. New plant for face brick production near Glasgow, Scotland.  Three chamber kilns can fire 72 million bricks per year.  Markets just starting.

Centurion was the name selected by the employees of Scottish Brick Co.  Ltd. for the new plant in Bishopbriggs Scotland.  Its location near the Antonine Wall, a major Roman civil
engineering project, was the inspiration for this modern face brick plant. Face bricks are just beginning to be an accepted building surface in this Central area of Scotland.  In the past, brick have been covered with stucco, particularly for home building.  The new plant represents a dramatic step forward by Scottish Brick Co. Ltd. to establish this new market.

Mine – high carbon shale –  High carbon shale is mined near the plant and is stockpiled until needed.  A front-end loader moves the shale to three hoppers feeding a double roll crusher.  Crushed material moves into the feed hopper, and then is taken automatically as needed to a system of three grinding mills.  Ground shale is conveyed to a double shaft pug mill mixer where some moisture is added.  One man operates this entire raw material preparation department.
The mix spends at least 20 minutes in a souring tower before feeding out the bottom and moving to the two extrusion lines.  Slugs of extruded clay are side cut, 20 at a time, and off-beared into docks on alternate sides for lift truck pick up.  Packages of 500 bricks are assembled here and taken directly to the kiln. Three chamber kilns, each with 28 compartments, are used to fire the brick.  Each compartment holds about 25,000 bricks.  In a normal cycle, four compartments are drying; six are pre-heat; five are burning more than 800 C.; five are cooling; one has the door top removed, and one has the door open.  The other six are working compartments.  Burners are on top, firing down the side of the setting.  Every 12 hours they are moved forward one complete compartment.
Bricks are unloaded by lift truck and banded into a 500 brick package without a pallet.
The Centurion plant is continuing to improve the manufacturing technique.  Additional clays for body composition are being tested and various surface texturing will be added.  As customer acceptance increases and Scottish Brick Co. is convinced that it will, Centurion will be able to meet that demand.

December 1976 – Brick and Clay Record –  Scottish Brick Corporation. Head office in Glasgow and at one time fifteen works in central Scotland producing pressed common bricks. They took over the National Coal Board’s Scottish brickmaking interests in the 1960s (Douglas). The new Centurion plant at Bishopbriggs, producing 72 million facing bricks a year, was opened in 1976. Facing bricks were rarely made in Scotland, the traditional material being stone or roughcast (harling). Carbonaceous shale is mined near the works, crushed, ground, and extruded. The bricks are cut by wires, twenty at a time. There are three kilns each with 28 chambers of 25,000 bricks capacity. (They are of a Dutch design, known as Vlammoven, similar to a transverse-arch Staffordshire kiln.) In a normal cycle, 4 chambers are drying, 6 preheating, 5 firing at over 800 0 C, 5 cooling, one has the top of the wicket open, one has the wicket fully open, and 6 chambers drawing and setting.

June 1984 – The Centurion Works were the only brickworks left in the ownership of the Scottish Brick Company. (A Survey of Scottish Brickmarks. Published  1885).

???? – The Works were closed and moved to the Tannochside Brickworks at Uddingston.