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Our Company History
Brickmaking began in 1863 when William Holman Collier came to the area from the Collier brickmaking business
in Reading.
A pair of downdraft kilns still survive from 1883. They are listed on The Industrial Register.
At its busiest, production was over 5 million pieces per year. The product range included bricks, flower pots, land drain
pipes, roofing tiles and fireplace briquettes.
Currently production is less than 1 million per year.
Site History
The clay used for brickmaking is a glacial/alluvial lacustrine deposit. The basin was formed by sub-glacial water during
an ice age. The deposits were then laid down over a 20,000 year period from meltwaters, during the inter glacial period, entering
the basin.
The clay pit is important geologically and is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
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