T H E   D E R E L I C T   M I S C E L L A N Y

West Hoathly Brickworks came to my attention just as it was announced that it would be completely demolished; a casualty of the unprecedented market downturn brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic, it had actually ceased production three years earlier but only recently been completely abandoned following its sale to a housing developer. I had expected some sort of security presence, or else that the place would have been completely trashed, but to my surprise I found neither. Apart from a bit of graffiti, I saw little sign of vandalism, and although wind-blown sheeting gave me a few false alarms, I had the place entirely to myself. My only disappointment was that the machinery had already gone, though it was still easy enough to follow the route of the raw clay into the factory, through the plant and presses into the dryers and then out into the clamp sheds.

Boosted by the railway which brought sand, coal and town-ash and sent bricks to the growing towns of East Grinstead, Lewes, London and Brighton, the brickworks flourished, becoming one of the area's main employers. Although the railway closed to goods traffic in 1958, the 1960s marked a decade of growth for the company: in 1961, Hudson's acquired the Laybrook Brick Co. Ltd. based in Thakeham near Pulborough, becoming Hudson's Laybrook. Shortly afterwards, the company added the Sussex Tileries at Horam to expanding businesses in warehousing, haulage, plant-hire and aggregates. In 1967 Hudson's bought the patent of the Berry semi-automatic triple-mould brick machine and began manufacturing these and other machinery in a section of the works at West Hoathly.

Main gate. Office building. Workstation. Quality Assurance office. Manufacturer's plate from one of Hudson's semi-automatic brick machines. Break room. Obligatory workplace pinup. Yard and engineering department - the oldest surviving part of the works. Clocking-on machine. MORE PICTURES [+/-] Spare sweeper brushes. Barium carbonate is used in brickmaking to prevent efflorescence, or salt scumming, on the surface of fired clay. MT stores. The clay pit flooded after working stopped in 2021. Clay prep and entrance to factory. Main factory: space formerly occupied by brickmaking plant. "Put up again thy shovel into his place..." "West Hoathly 1" moulds abandoned outside the factory. Transfer-car run; stairs to pit head. Dryer transfer floor. Between factory buildings: laboratories and water tower. Laboratory. Driers - kiln end. Dryer burner and top end. On top of the dryers. SEEB 11kV substation. Remains of the specials kiln. Clamp sheds: because the clamps were dismantled after each burn there isn't a lot to see here. Rejects pile. Self-portrait without PPE. Back to top.

Unfortunately the recession of the 1970s marked a downturn in the construction market which left Hudson's in deep financial trouble; management saw no other choice but to spin off the brickmaking and engineering divisions, which were sold to Leicestershire-based Ibstock Brick.

Ibstock oversaw a programme of modernisation and rationalisation: the engineering business was wound up in 1982 and the plant modernised to allow greater production volumes. West Hoathly with its high output of traditional multi-stock bricks and handmade specials was well-placed to take advantage of housing booms in the 1980s and early 2000s, and even managed to weather the slumps of 1990 and 2008.

West Hoathly bricks were prized for their irregular, rustic appearance: Unlike many other works, West Hoathly continued firing bricks in traditional clamps throughout the life of the plant: stacks of 30,000 - 150,000 unfired or "green" bricks were made on level floors of burnt brick and burning, which took between 2 and 3 weeks, was achieved by filling channels in the floor with coke. This was a cheap yet inefficient way of making bricks, losing a lot more heat than permanent kilns, however, the use of town ash (domestic rubbish containing a large amount of ash and partially-burnt cinders) reduced the need for coal by providing a built-in fuel which was consumed during firing leaving characteristic pock-marks. As well as imparting the aforementioned rustic appearance, this gave the bricks excellent porosity and frost-resistance. After firing, the clamp would be allowed to cool and dismantled to access the bricks inside, which were graded and sold by appearance and quality. The works seemed to have a good future, with permissions being sought for new excavations providing high-quality Wadhurst Clay. A large banner with the message "GET BRITAIN BUILDING" was a familiar sight for passengers on the Bluebell Railway for many years and bricks were sent to projects across the country.

However, in 2020, due to "more subdued market conditions" brought about by the devastating financial impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, Ibstock Group reported pre-tax losses of £52 million: management made the drastic decision to close three factories, including West Hoathly. All production ceased the following year, though the works continued to serve as a distribution depot for Ibstock products in the area. The site was sold in 2023, swiftly followed by a planning application for 108 new houses, which was granted in early 2024.