Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry

Found by Pogribnyy Artem near Kharkov, Ukraine.

Pogribnyy states –  “The firm “Glenboig” was popular in Ukraine and Russia in the 19th century. The sign was equal to the sign of quality. Therefore, at the end of the 19th century, Kuznetsov’s firm, which produced bricks with its own initials, also produced refractory bricks with the Glenboig stamp. I found this brick in the ruins of the Kuznetsov faience factory near Kharkov.

In the village of Budy near Kharkov there was a very large factory of Kuznetsov for the production of faience ware. In the neighbouring Yekaterinoslav province, Kuznetsov had another factory where he produced bricks for his stoves. I found these bricks with a characteristic stamp with the initials “M S K” (Mikhail Sergeevich Kuznetsov) in large numbers on the ruins of a factory in Budy near Kharkov. I also found many ‘Glenboig’ and ‘London’ bricks there. The structure of the brick, the design of the brand and the letters completely match the original Kuznetsov bricks. Based on these three factors –

1. Glenboig bricks are found in the Kuznetsov factory in large quantities.

2. The design and structure of the bricks are identical.

3. Popularity of Glenboig in Ukraine and Russia

This is all just my opinion. There is no known documentary evidence that the factory produced fake bricks”

Below – This is suspected of being a fake ‘Glenboig’ brick and manufactured by Kuznetsov in Ukraine.

Below – A brick manufactured by Kuznetsov in Ukraine. Note the similarities in colour, shape and composition of the brick and indeed the design of the stamp.

The stamp on the brick stands for – “Товарищества Матвея Сидоровича Кузнецова -Partnership of Matvej Sidorovich Kusnetcov.

Below – Pogribnyy states – “This is the old Kuznezov factory in Budy near Charkov. The Kuznetsov and Glenboig bricks were in the same place. Furnaces were built from these bricks”.

Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire.

Alternative brickworks include:

• Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire.
• Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire

See this link for a similar forged Glenboig which may well have been manufactured by Kuznetsov too. Click me.

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A c.1913 Glenboig Union Fireclay catalogue states – The fame attained by the Glenboig brands has led to some dishonest imitations by makers of inferior goods. The word Glenboig which is our trademark and trade name is used in various ways by the parties referred to, who also imitate the form of our stamps and purposely stamp indistinctly. We would, therefore, warn buyers, when not buying directly from the Glenboig Union Fireclay Limited, to make sure that one or other of the brands shown on page 9 is clearly impressed upon the goods and not to be satisfied by any other use of the name Glenboig.

The Scottish Refractory Industry 1830 – 1980 book by Kenneth W Sanderson states with regards the section on the Glenboig Union Fireclay Company “… Reports were received that firebricks made in Germany and shipped from Hamburg and Antwerp to the Black Sea ports were branded with Russian characters which translate phonetically as ‘Glenboi’. Customers in Southern Russia were circulated to warn them of this attempt to mislead them”