R.E Cook Remembers ...

"I was born next door but one to Harris & Pearson in 1935. My mother, Elizabeth Cook, worked there for about 15 years in 1942 till 1957. I also worked there, my first job when I left school at 15 until I went into the army. I worked as a page to Billy Jones who was the brickmaker. We made bricks by hand rolling clods of clay, punching it into moulds and bumping it on a big wooden table, cutting off the surplus clay with a wire and laying them on a hot floor.

The manager was Charley Salt. The yard foreman was Charley Richards. George Barker was in charge of the mill. There was a belt driven motor which operated a crusher where the old bricks were crushed and mixed with the clay from Whittymore Mines in the mill. The mixture had to be just right.

Fred Biddlestone was the tempera and in charge of the pug where the clay came out and cut into wire cuts 12 at a time, loaded on to a barrow and the setter's would set out the kilns. The bricks would be in the kilns about 3 days, then the drawers would empty the kilns. The bricks (were) then loaded on to barges. The woman did the loading."