Dig yields clay for over 800,000 bricks

Our annual dig for the distinctive blue clay that produces our beautiful yellow and red bricks has produced approximately 2,290 tonnes of clay. Poor weather meant we had to cancel last year’s dig so we were particularly delighted with the run of dry weather we had this year.

The clay is extracted from the quarry behind our yard at Marks Tey. Two big excavators and two huge dumper trucks carried 90 loads of clay to deposit on the pile close to our works.

The clay is formed from deposits laid down between 300,000 to 400,000 years ago making them of national importance to micro-paleontologists. The site is designated a site of special scientific interest. As in previous years, Professor David Horne from Queen Mary University of London and the Natural History Museum attended with his team to collect samples of freshly exposed clay which will help improve our understanding of environmental conditions in the area 400,000 years ago.

Huge thanks are due to the guys from Quadrant Plant who completed the dig for us.