Broom, Brownlee and Bruce, Greenhill, Falkirk are listed as the makers of Claynows bricks by Falkirk Museums and Archives and they may well be correct however I suspect there will be a connection to the details noted below.
1841 – 1842 – Alex Paterson, manager, Clayknowes Brickworks, ho. 486 Gallowgate and John Johnston, proprietor of Clayknowes Pottery, Brick and Tile Works, house Blair lodge.
Below – 13/08/1842 – The Scotsman – Clayknows Brick and Tile Works, Gallowgate, Glasgow for sale. Alexander Paterson.
1847 – 1848 – John Johnston, Clayknowes Pottery, Brick and Drain and Tile Work, Gallowgate Road, house Comely Park, do.
Below – 07/08/1848 – Glasgow Herald – Drain tiles and pipes on sale at Clayknowes Tilework, Gallowgate Street, Glasgow. Apply John Johnston at the works. 28/07/1848.
1849 – 1850 – Clayknowes Pottery, 624 Gallowgate.
1849 – 1850 – John Johnston, Clayknowes Pottery, Brick and Drain-tile and Drain-pipe, tile work, Gallowgate Road, house, Comely Park, do.
13/05/1850 – Glasgow Herald – Valuable properties in Glasgow – to be sold by public roup … that other valuable property on the south side of Gallowgate Road called Clayknowes consisting of 17203 square yards, bounded by the Gallowgate Road on the north along which it extends 175 feet. This property is surrounded by a high brick wall and is also suited for a large Work requiring extensive accommodation or it may be continued in part as a drain, tile and pipework as at present having on the ground a steam engine, clay mills, patent drain, tile and pipe machines, extensive drying sheds, kilns, stoves and other conveniences for their manufacture and for which the work now commands a steady and increasing demand. Apply to Mr Johnston, Comely Park, Glasgow.
1850 – 1851 – John Johnston, Clayknowes Pottery, Brick and Drain-tile and Drain-pipe, tile work, Gallowgate Road, house, Comely Park, do.
Below – 1852 – John Johnston, brick and drain tile and drain pipework manufacturer, Clayknowes Pottery, Gallowgate Road, Glasgow.
Below – 1878 – A reference to Clayknows in Slaters Advertiser for Denny Stirlingshire but also note the reference to Glasgow. (So was the Clayknowes Pottery in Gallowgate Glasgow part of the same company that owned the Clayknowes Brickworks in Bonnybridge?)
So are bricks marked Claynows from Gallowgate, Glasgow or Bonnybridge? I suspect from my find locations that they are from Bonnybridge as I have found some on and near the Clayknowes Brickworks site at Bonnybridge.
This product is in the possession of Ian Suddaby. Ian states – “Gustav Bischof was Professor of Technical Chemistry at the Andersonian University in Glasgow and in 1863 he invented and patented the process of filtering water through spongy iron and sand to purify it. It won a number of international medals from 1872 on….
Found by Gloria Conti in the Grahamston, Falkirk area. This example is not in my possession. This brick was likely made by the Greenhill Fireclay Works, Bonnybridge. Believed to be sited at Clayknowes and later taken over and renamed the Greenhill Fireclay Company. . . .
J & M Craig, Dean, Hillhead and Perceton Fire Clay Works, Kilmarnock and Longpark Pottery, Kilmarnock. (Note – SBH – I have created separate pages for Perceton, Dean, Hillhead and Longpark. Where information does not relate to a particular works, such as Craig family history, I have added it to the Perceton page.) Below –…
Found by Graham Tait (Tattie) at Drum Farm, Bonnybridge Yet another badly stamped variation with an ‘E’ missing. These bricks were likely made by the Greenhill Fireclay Works, Bonnybridge. Believed to be sited at Clayknowes and later taken over and renamed the Greenhill Fireclay Company. . . .
23/05/1860 – Glasgow Herald – Sudden death – 22/05/1860 – About half-past 6 o’clock, as John McLachlan, labourer, was working at Pottery Brick Work – wheeling clay from the mill to the man who was moulding bricks. He suddenly staggered and would have fallen to the ground but was caught by the moulder, in whose…
c. 1775 – Brickworks started? 07/03/1829 – Edinburgh Evening Courant – Houses at Rosebank, Westend of Portobello to let … To be seen by applying to the superintendent of the brickwork there … 01/06/1829 – Edinburgh Evening Courant – Several newly painted houses to let, with good gardens at Rosebank, Westend, Portobello. For particulars apply…
Blackfriars Pottery, Melville Street, Blackfriars, Perth. (Note – SBH – I am uncertain whether this pottery was manufacturing the goods listed below or just stocking them) Below – 01/05/1817 – Perth Courier – Blackfriars Pottery, Melville Street, Blackfriars, Perth. On sale wholesale and retail at low prices, Brown and black glazed ware of all kinds…
Found on the old James Dougall site at Bonnyside. Clayknowes Brickworks, Greenhill, Bonnybridge. This version has letters with serifs. I wonder why the makers dropped the ‘K’ and the ‘E’ when stamping the bricks? The stamp may be STUBAL or SETUBAL. The first and or second letters are not clear. Stubal is a town in…
Found in Bonnybridge. The first ‘G ‘ is in a different style of font as it has serifs. The ‘R’ is reversed and upside down. The 2 x ‘E’ are reversed. This brick was likely made by the Greenhill Fireclay Works, Bonnybridge. Believed to be sited at Clayknowes and later taken over and renamed the Greenhill…
The company was formed and held mineral leases, including fireclay at Stand and Raebog, New Monkland and at Shotts, Lanarkshire and Fauldhouse, West Lothian. It was owned by Shanks of Barrhead. 10/04/1937 – The Scotsman – The Stand Fireclay Company ( Ltd . ), Victorian Pottery, Barrhead. Private company to carry on the business of…
