Pictures of Coal Fired Kilns and Stacking and Loading Bricks and Tiles at Ruabon Brickworks.

Pictures From A Different Age

A nostalgic look at what used to be, in the few pictures that have survived the many changes through the years. Ruabon red facing bricks and terracotta floor tiles were manufactured by the Ruabon Brick and Terracotta Co.Ltd., for which they were well known. The pictures shown in these pages were taken in the 1950's. The claypit is now a landfill site and the brickworks site is now a trading estate.

Pictures of People at a Brickworks

The people in the pictures were employed in different processes in the manufacture of clay bricks and clay flooring tiles. Amongst the people working in the brickworks at the time were father and son, father and daughter, uncle and nephew, brothers, sisters, cousins. The working environment in the brickworks ranged from fresh air in the claypit, a dusty atmosphere in the drying sheds, and the smell of oil in the air near the tile presses. Probably the most dangerous work was that on the hand operated tile presses, where there was a danger of losing the tip of a finger or two, during a lack of concentration. The number of people working in the brickworks at the time the pictures were taken, was in the region of 80 and despite the working conditions and the occasional bust-up, there was generally a good relationship between them.

Making Clay Floor Tiles and Skirting Tiles

The main items manufactured at the Ruabon Brickworks were building bricks and ceramic floor tiles, in red or heather brown. Raw clay from the claypit on the opposite side of the road was processed in the brickworks. For the making of clay floor tiles, the processed clay was forced under pressure through a die into strips of suitable width and thickness, then wirecut into the required size; mostly 6"x6" and 9"x9". After cutting, the tiles were loaded onto barrows and wheeled to the tile presses. The tile presses were hand operated and could be dangerous. The pressed tiles were then hand finished, loaded onto barrows and taken to the drying sheds.

Making Clay Bricks and Stacking Kilns

There was a similar process in the manufacture of red or brown facing bricks, mostly wirecut bricks. The drying sheds in the pictures below could be very dusty, particularly so when dry clay from stock was being ground before processing. After the Ruabon bricks and clay floor tiles had been correctly dried, they were wheeled to the kilns to be stacked. Stacking followed a proven method with spaces being left between tiles and bricks in certain areas of the kiln to assist the circulation of heat when the kilns were being fired.

Firing Kilns and Stacking Tiles on Yard

The final process in the manufacture of Ruabon Red Facing Bricks and Ruabon Terracotta Floor Tiles might well be considered to be the most critical. If the firing process of the kilns is at fault the end result could well be a disaster. Upon the experience and skill of the kiln foreman would depend whether there were any floor tiles and building bricks coming out of the kilns, to maintain the reputation of the Ruabon Brick and Terracotta Co.Ltd.