The following bricks were found by John Gibson and to Mark Courneyea.
John states – We are researching the history of a munitions factory in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, which was built in 1941, and we have almost finished a book on the factory.
On a site visit a few days ago we came upon two firebricks marked “GARNKIRK” and we immediately realised they had an interesting history of their own, as we could nor recognise the name at all.
Soon afterwards I came across your site and found the story behind them – or at least a part of it.
We do know that bricks were often imported to Australia from an early date, often as ship’s ballast, to be sold on arrival, but just how these two bricks came to reach Ballarat in 1941, we can only speculate.
What we do know is that we found them close to a building that was used for the recovery of strong acids used in the making of munitions and that process involved boiling nitric acid in large pots. The bricks may have been used as linings to the fume chambers and vent stacks associated with that process and which stood close to the spot where we found them, or they may have come from a portable heat-treating furnace that we also know was used in the vicinity after the munitions factory closed down at the end of the war. Whatever they were used for, they are still in very good condition, considering their age and probable use.
The ghost image in the cement of one of the bricks is that of a ‘Northcote’ brick. We are not sure at present if the Northcote Company, who were in Melbourne, ever made firebricks, but I will try to clear up that point soon.
Below – Garnkirk Warranted Patent – Garnkirk Fireclay Works, Garnkirk, Lanarkshire.
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Below – ‘Northcote’ – Melbourne, Australia.
Julkia Rizzi states this Thistle brick was photographed as part of a coal-burning fireplace in a house in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein & Co, Anchor Brickworks, Denny, Stirlingshire. Milnquarter Fireclay & Gannister Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire . .
Found by Sævar Gardarsson in an old house in Reykjavik, Iceland that was built in 1920. Prestongrange Brick and Tile Works, Prestonpans, East Lothian. . . .
Brian Tarbuck states this brick was found in Augusta, Maine, USA while replacing a water pipe. Allan & Mann, Port Eglinton, Glasgow Alternative brickworks include: Rutherglen Pottery, Glasgow. Mallsmire Works, Myrtle Park, Crosshill, Glasgow. ,
Found by John Barnard at Fitzroy, Falkland Islands. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein & Co, Anchor Brickworks, Denny, Stirlingshire. Milnquarter Fireclay & Gannister Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire .
Many thanks to Vladimir Smirnov for highlighting this brick to me which was found in the vicinity of the St. Petersburg Region, Gatchina Region, Russia by a brick collector, Alexander Korolev. It was discovered the stove of a private house. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein &…
Found by Glyn Harrison at an unknown location in New Zealand. This example is not in my possession. Douglas Fireclay Works, Dalry, Ayrshire. The reference to Bigelow on this special undoubtedly refers to the Bigelow Arch Company of Detroit, USA. Bigelow-Liptak Corporation was originally incorporated in 1927 with the merger of the Bigelow Arch Company of…
Found by Ken Sousa in Massachusetts, USA. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
Found by Claudio Ernesto Rios. Claudio states – The bricks were found in the City of Zárate, Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a fridge (almost totally destroyed today) the fridge’s name was Smithfield Refrigerator of English capital, built in 1903, so I would believe those bricks were manufactured in the last decade of the 19th century….
Found by Patricio Peralta in an old bakery, Lincoln, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. “Calder British Made”. Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co Ltd, Bonnybridge. alt Calder Firebrick Works, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. alt Chapelhall Works, Lanarkshire. Hepworth Ceramic Holdings plc (GR-Stein Refractories Ltd. parent co) bought the Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co. Ltd in 1972, closed Bonnybridge…
Found by Senja Salmi in Sääksjärvi, Mäntsälä, Finland. Senja states – We are not sure how old this house is but at least about 100 years old and it was built by the last blacksmith of this village. Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co Ltd, Bonnybridge. alt Calder Firebrick Works, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. alt Chapelhall Works, Lanarkshire….
