Brickwork Items

Items from the London Brickworks Company from the Peterborough Area.

As well as international and British railway vehicles under the custodianship of IRPS we also have an expanding collection of artefacts from the Peterborough-based London Brickworks Company. If you have any further information, or if you worked in the local brick industries, we would love to hear both any information you have and any personal recollections you have. Please do not hesitate to get in contact by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

For related books see the IRPS online shop by clicking here.

Please follow the links to find relevant areas.

Winter 2012

A shelter has been constructed over the brickworks wagon to keep the elements off the cart. We aim to add a lot more information about the local brickworks to nearby displays over the summer.

 

 

lbc roof 01 lbc roof 02 lbc roof 03 lbc roof 04

 

Subcategories

  • Ground Haulage Wagon no. 180

    Status: Ongoing preservation to conserve originality

    Location: Wansford: On concrete base near Nord Express

    As well as international and British railway vehicles under the custodianship of IRPS we also have an expanding collection of artefacts from the Peterborough-based London Brickworks Company. If you have any further information, or if you worked in the local brick industries, we would love to hear both any information you have and any personal recollections you have. Please do not hesitate to get in contact by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

    For related books see the IRPS online shop by clicking here.

     LBC Wagon no. 180 at Wansford The carts in operation

    The Peterborough area was once world famous for its Fletton brick works. This wagon was used in an internal system on the Hicks Brickworks. It was used for the transport of Clay between the Hicks no. 1 Works and the Fletton LB Works. The line was double track, but unlike most railway systems had no locos. Instead wagons were clipped onto a continuous cable system.

    Preservation will be carried out in a conservative manor as full restoration would involve completely destroying the original fabric of the vehicle.

    The exact number of wagons used on the system is not known but a similar system serving Beebys Works was reported to have had 62 in use at any one time (with others spare or under maintenance).  The builder of the wagons is believed to have been Hicks Works but the design was an LBC standard. The vehicle has an oak frame and elm body. 

    The line was reported to have been installed in May 1929 and it included a bridge over the mainline adjacent to Hicks No 2 Works.  The cable was  reported to have to have been replaced every 30 Months. In this time clay sufficient for 216 million bricks in this time would be hauled! 

    Clay came from a number of sources. Originally from NP 1 pit, though it subsequently came from Beebys and finally Orton (Though this was latterly by conveyor). There was a ‘full’ and ‘empty’ line with this cable haulage (known as ‘Ground Haulage’ within the LBC).

    Length of line was nominally one mile. This was the last ground haulage system in used by the LBC who had several similar systems in use in the Peterborough area.

    Fletton bricks are no longer used for new construction of buildings, but are still produced for repairs and renovations.  The last Fletton brick works operated by LBC (now Heidelburg Group, Hanson Bricks) is the Kings Dyke Works at Whittlesey.   

     

    Opened

    Closed

    Hicks no. 1 Works

    1897/8

    29/1/82

    LB Works

    1889

    29/1/82

    Ground Haulage system

    5/1929

    29/1/82