Staffordshire blue brick is a strong type of construction

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

, originally made in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

The brick is made from the local red clay,

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

, which when fired at a high temperature in a low-oxygen reducing atmosphere takes on a deep blue colour and attains a very hard surface with high crushing strength and low water absorption. Brickworks were a key industry across the whole

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and were considered so important that they were designated as a

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, w ...

during World War Two. The Black Country was a major producer of clay for brickmaking, often mined from beneath the 30 foot Staffordshire coal seam. The industry dates back to at least the 17th century, however brickworks really took off in the 19th century. A key date is 1851 when the Joseph Hamblet brickworks were founded in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

, which became one of the largest producers of Staffordshire blue bricks. Other sites produced these as well, including Albion in West Bromwich, Cakemore works at Blackheath, Springfield at Rowley Regis, John Sadler, Blades and New Century at Oldbury, Coneygre at Tipton, and Bentley Hall near Darlaston."The bricks that built the Black Country", Black Country Bugle, 12 May 201
accessed 30 June 2016
/ref> This type of brick was used for foundations as well as being extensively used for bridges and tunnels in

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

construction, and later, for railways. Its lack of porosity makes it suitable for capping brick walls, and its hard-wearing properties make it ideal for steps and pathways. It is also used as a general facing brick for decorative reasons. Staffordshire Blue bricks have traditionally been "Class A" with a water absorption of less than 4.5%.

References

External links

thepotteries.org - Brick making in Stoke-on-TrentKetley Brick CompanyStaffordshire County Council – Clay and Shale (PDF)

mister.red - a collection of images of different "blue" bricks seen in the UK
Bricks Buildings and structures in Staffordshire Architecture in England {{material-stub

See also

References

External links