Watnall Brickworks, Nottingham - March 09

[85 Vintage]

Another site visited with Kaputnik on a recent sunday driving around Nottingham.

Neosea has done a thread previously here. I found a bit of info on this page too.

Quote from above :

Did you know that Watnall brickworks made the bricks not from clay, but from colliery spoil? One of the sources of this spoil was by rail from Moorgreen pit, a train came every day at approx 3:30 pm with about 10 wagons of spoil, and then after much puffing (ah the days of steam) and shunting dropped the wagons off and returned to Moorgreen with the previous days empty wagons.
Moorgreen Pit

We also got spoil by road from Wollaton colliery. I believe this was because Wollaton pit was in a built up area and there were no tips attached to the colliery, the only way to dispose of the waste was to cart it away by road. One of my duties was to book the lorries in at the Watnall brickworks.

The waste was then fed into a crushing machine were it was ground to a texture finer than talcum powder. It was then mixed with water to form a 'puddle' clay. It was then put into moulds and shaped, under pressure, into bricks. These were then put into the kilns to bake for about 14 days. The works produced common bricks, these were used to build the inner walls of buildings, none of your breeze block inner walls in those days. We also supplied 'puddle' bricks to the East Midlands collieries. These unbaked bricks were used to stop up 'Gob' fires down the mines.

The brickworks site and land around it totalling 48 acres is for sale, a snip at £2,000,000!

I found this pic whilst searching the tinternet..

As it is now..

The kilns were numbered 1, 2 and 3 (from left to right) with No. 4 kiln being behind No. 3.

No.3 & No.4

Up the inside of No.2 chimney,

Almost mint brick

 

[Trinpaul]

There's something very monolithic about those chimneys against the sky great shots

 

[Neosea]

Nice one guys, thanks for the mention.

 

[Lightbuoy]

Like the "then & now" shots -thanks

 

[Goldie87]

Ah cool think I have been past here a few times but never actually checked it out

 

[85 Vintage]

Cheers peeps.

Like the "then & now" shots -thanks

When I found the 'then' pic, thought ooooo I took one from a similar angle, very similar as it turned out.

 

[Kaputnik]

Meant to have a look around here since seeing Neosea's pics, so as we were near, we had a nose around, the place is popular with trailbike riders, and a group of people with air rifles were taking pot-shots at who knows what,
85vintage takes a look into one of the chimneys...

not too sure what these pulley wheels would have been for... all the chimneys had them...

view from inside a chimney...

a tunnel went about 20ft or so underground and then turned a corner, maybe an air shaft?

quite a day for chimney visits, that sunday, as we'd just come from seeing the dyeworks one being blown down,
thanks for looking.

 

[ricasso]

nice one, like the before and after

 

[Mr Sam]

grat scott!! theres are the ones you see from one of the motorways arent they, keep meaning to have a check

 

[85 Vintage]

a tunnel went about 20ft or so underground and then turned a corner, maybe an air shaft?

quite a day for chimney visits, that sunday, as we'd just come from seeing the dyeworks one being blown down,
thanks for looking.

When are we going back equipped with wet gear and finding out? Don't think the dog idea would work

Good pics mate

 

[Foxylady]

Interesting site. Nice to see the pics inside the chimneys too.
Kaputnik...love the pic of the pulley against the brickwork. That's brill!
Good stuff, guys.

 

[Lightbuoy]

Some excellent additional pics Kaputnik!

Love that shot looking out from the chimney base

Cheers!

 

[Lightbuoy]

.....Don't think the dog idea would work

Good pics mate

Unless it's a Rescue dog?!

 

[Amiee]

Ohh I wonder.. are these visable from the Motorway?

 

[Kaputnik]

Yep, they're the ones.
you should have got up earlier and come with us!

 

[Black Shuck]

Brilliant chimneys guys. I keep expecting to see Fred Dibnah walking round saying Did you like that!

 

[Neosea]

Cool photos Kap.