Brick making in Merseyside

We can’t see what’s in this man’s cart, but he may be sourcing raw materials from the Old Teapot quarry. Brick clays, like those quarried and mined at the Old Teapot, are rich in minerals, fillers, and fluxes, as well as impurities like iron compounds, carbonates and sulphates.

Once the raw clay is picked clear of unwanted matter, it is left in open pits for a few days to temper in the weather. With additions of water and other substances, the raw clay is mixed into a mouldable material.

A clod of tempered clay is thrown into a wooden mould. An experienced hand presses the clay into the corners—it takes lots of practice to ensure no air pockets remain to weaken the brick. The surplus clay is scraped off by hand and levelled with a strip of wood called a strike.

Before being thrown, the tempered clay is rolled in sand. The sand adds colour and texture, as well as making it easier to release the brick from the wooden mould.

Newly shaped bricks are too full of water for firing in the kiln, so the women in this image are moving bricks by trolley and laying them out in drying sheds. Without these climate-controlled spaces, drying is a time-consuming process—it can take up to 3 months!

Bricks are turned on edge and stacked after the first couple of days in the drying sheds. This saves space, but also controls the rate of drying. Uneven drying can result in distortions or cracks in the finished brick.

The next stop is the kiln: huge ovens with chimney stacks for venting exhaust, capable of firing hundreds of bricks at once.

This photo features a round-top kiln from a brickworks in Staffordshire. Aerial photos suggest that the Old Teapot Brickworks used long rectangular kilns.

Workers keep the kiln fires stoked continuously for two to three days and nights. With constant attention, temperatures reach between 900 and 1250°C.

Once the bricks have cooled, they are dispatched to buyers. These bricks may be on their way to help build the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral—the Old Teapot Brickworks supplied over 3.5 million bricks for construction of the cathedral’s crypt!