2008 Yearbook

i n r e v i e w 41 Handmade bricks in the Vale of York Having worked in the brick industry throughout his career, Associate Member David Armitage purchased a majority holding in York Handmade Brick in 1988. Since then, he has devoted the second half of his career to establishing that company as a niche supplier of bespoke handmade bricks and related products. When I started at York Handmade in 1988 we inherited a derelict factory in the Vale of York. It had previously made products for land drainage and had little equipment of any immediate use for making bricks by hand. However, the main requirement, a supply of suitable clay, is found in rich abundance in our area of the Vale, and the Triassic mudstone clay we use has been the ‘bedrock’ on which the local brick industry was founded. Today it is especially suitable for making products for the historic environment as it is extremely flexible in terms of the shape and the size of the products that can be made from it. At the outset we decided to convert the factory for hand-making bricks and related products. (We always emphasise the related products as the historic environment has a high demand for special shapes and sizes.) One of the main reasons for converting this factory was its location: we are based in an area with a rich heritage of fine brickwork. Beautiful brick- built villages are characteristic of the area and some of its most important historic buildings are built of brick, including The Merchant Adventurers Hall in York, and Beningbrough Hall. Our original slogan was ‘real brick making returns to the Vale of York’, but it did not take long to realise that we could supply a much wider market. As far as our customers are concerned, our job is fairly simple and in reality is that of the artisan brick- maker. Our brief normally involves a meeting with the clients, some digital photography and the commissioning of a mould to suit whatever shape is required. The essence of handmade brick production is flexibility. The shaping of our bricks continues to follow traditional manufacturing methods which haven’t really changed over the centuries. The moulds are of wood and must be accurately made, so we are particularly fortunate that one of the main stakeholders in our business is a local joiner who has been with us since we started. He produces high quality moulds efficiently and speedily to meet almost any requirements. While a standard brick mould is rectangular with a square perimeter (see illustration), non-standard shapes can be quite complex. For example we recently provided the specials for the restoration of a Tudor barley-twist chimney. This required a mould which opened at the sides on a hinge. A slightly contradictory requirement is that we have to produce bricks that do not look ‘manufactured’ and appear natural in their environment, while at the same time being durable. Uneven firing temperatures were acceptable in the past when less well-fired bricks could be used for interior walls, but in conservation work almost all brickwork is for exterior use, and must be frost- proof. So although the moulding Bricks being made by hand in the Vale of York