Found on the site of the Jenny Lind Brickworks, adjacent to the Ravenscraig Steelworks, Lanarkshire.
Note the ‘2’ is set within a triangle shape.
John Bramall has pointed out that this is likely to stand for Morgan Refractories Ltd, a division of Morgan Crucible Ltd. They used a ‘triangle’ emblem as a trademark.
Morgan Crucible Ltd had an association with the Douglas Firebrick Company, Dalry, Ayrshire. Please read this as it is of interest. Click me.
John thinks such bricks may have been manufactured at the Douglas Fireclay Works by Morgan Refractories Ltd and states – I think they would have used MR for their Scottish made products – which I think would have been the high Alumina brands. I’d guess they’d also use the Douglas brand for the lower grade firebricks. Your Douglas piece refers to the triangle being used for Kyanite (higher alumina) raw materials. The Morgan factories in England didn’t make bricks except for plumbago products. Their big factory at Neston, Wirral might have made bricks at one time plus monolithics (Tri-Mor brand) but by the early 1970s were making ceramic fibres – they were early adopters of that technology – they had a manufacturing license from Babcock & Wilcox (inventors USA) and sold their product with the B&W brand name Kaowool. Looking at their current trademarks I can see that they still have Tri-Mor and I saw somewhere on their website that they are selling 90%-99.5% High Alumina bricks (made abroad? bought in?) – their SR brand. See here http://www.
It is likely from the composition of the brick that this is a press made, chemically bonded brick. These were not fired.
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Below – 05/09/1950 – The Scotsman – Annual report for Morgan Crucible Ltd.
Below – 08/1960 – The Refractories Journal – Morgan Crucible Group, Neston, Cheshire ‘MR2’ super duty bricks exported to The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, NSW, Australia. (Note – SBH – Does this infer that ‘MR2’ bricks, if they are the same as the one depicted here, were actually made in Cheshire, England?).
Below – 03/11/1978 – Liverpool Echo – Advert for Morgan Refractories. Note the ‘triangle’ emblem on the bottom line.
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 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 Eddie McLean in the Glasgow area. Douglas Fireclay Works, Dalry, Ayrshire. This example was probably manufactured by Douglas Fireclay Works under a licence from Detrick. The M.H. Detrick Company is a heat refractory manufacturing company, based out of Mokena, Illinois. The company primarily sells suspended refractory constructions and industrial heat enclosures to various businesses. Founded…
Found by Janet Archey in an avocado grove in Fallbrook, California. . . . . . Below – Nettle – D brick 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. Below – Douglas – D…
Many thanks to Charlie Terry for the following photographs and information. Charlie states – My great-grandfather worked at the Beaconsfield and Lefroy gold mines in Tasmania. He was an assayer. Some of the bricks are still in their original boxes and have been stored in a shed for decades. Below – An example of one…
Found by Joe Fletcher at “Turonville” in Tarana, NSW Australia. The property is a farm dating back to the 1850s. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
Found at Manuel Works, Whitecross by Ian Suddaby. This example is not in my possession The manufacturer of this checker is unknown although the find site would suggest it was made at the Manuel Works, Whitecross’ Scotland. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein & Co, Anchor…
Found by David Kitching at Dunaskin, Ayrshire. This example is not in my possession. Douglas Fireclay Works, Dalry, Ayrshire. . . .
Found by John Winter in an inner Brisbane Creek, Australia. Douglas Fireclay Works, Dalry, Ayrshire. . . . .
This brick is in the possession of Chris Tramacchi. It was found in Nerrdrie, Queensland, Australia. Note the thumbprint to the top right. Cumbernauld Fireclay Works, Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire. . . .
