The 19th Century - an Ideal Location
In 1852, Peter Harris and George Pearson acquired
the lease of the site, then 6 acres, and further increased the area
to 9 acres in 1872.
Between 1852 and 1874, the amount of fireclay extracted from the
Staffordshire coalfields increased fivefold, and by 1874 there were
20 different firms involved; an indication of the expansion of the
industry.
A typical 19th century Black Country firebrick-works required local
mineral reserves, including clay pits to provide the ceramic raw
material and coal mines to provide fuel. Other resources available
here at Brierley Hill included iron, lime and sand, all essential
ingredients.
The site was also bounded by the Stourbridge Canal to the west,
Brettell Lane to the south, Bull Street to the north, and the Great
Western Railway to the east. The Black Country Tramway network ran
along Brettell Lane.
Transport links were therefore present all around the site. Active
coalmines were present to the east, west and north. Brierley Ironworks
to the north and Brettell Lane Lime Kilns to the south-west. In
fact the site and its location were ideal for a successful business,
proved by the fact that it still continues today, producing high
temperature ceramics for the furnace industry operated by Dyson
Industries Ltd. of Sheffield.
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