The Brick Works, Kent - May 2012

[Flyboy]

History

Hammill Brick occupies the site of the former Hammill (or Woodnesborough) Colliery. Construction was started in 1910 by Arthur Burr's Goodnestone & Woodnesborough Colliery Ltd, and an extensive range of surface buildings had been erected by 1911 including an engine house, workshops and a chimney.

No further work was to be undertaken until a branch from the East Kent Light Railway was completed, and by 1914 no sinking had yet started. At the outbreak of WW1, all further development of the site was halted for the duration of hostilities. Shortly after the war started the colliery was taken over by the Army for a cavalry re-mount unit, a large number of horses being stabled in the colliery buildings.

Around this time Intermediate Equipments, the Holding Company, began to dispose of surface plant that had already been installed.

After the war, no further development was undertaken, but apart from the wooden headgear the surface buildings were still complete in 1923 when the mine was sold to Pearson & Dorman Long, owners of Betteshanger Colliery.

They kept the mineral rights and sold the colliery to the Hammill Brick Co. who built a brickworks on the site utilising some of the old colliery buildings, opening in June 1927.

Hammill Brick continued trading until 2006, when a downturn in fortunes lead to the site running down. Despite an attempt to revitalise the company, the brickworks shut in 2008 and has been run on a care & maintenance basis ever since in the hope of keeping the site viable for a buyer.

The Visit...

I had heard about this site through word of mouth, and it didn't take long to find it, by means of Google Earth. I waited until I had a day free, and headed down to Woodnesborough. This site is unmissable if you are passing, as it is of fair size in rural surroundings. For the whole two hour period I was on the site, I saw (or heard) not one soul - just the odd car passing by.

Aerial View

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/Untitled.jpg

My Photographs...

Convenient Parking!

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0067.jpg

Don't know why this was left here, but it certainly worked as a visual deterrent until I got close enough to see the flat tyres!

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0069.jpg

Bricks, anyone?

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0071.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0073.jpg

Nissen Huts.

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0078.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0107.jpg

Engine House.

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0079.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0089.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0081.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0082.jpg

Shillings!

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0083.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0096.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0090.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0110.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0113.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0114.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0119.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0120.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0121.jpg

Handily, someone was standing by to provide a sense of scale...

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0122.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0123.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0131.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0133.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0132.jpg

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z330/flyboy747/IMG_0128.jpg

[Clough]

That's a nice site, love the pic with your bike next to it

[Little Dave]

Cracking report fella, complete with a bit of background info - Just how it should be done :thumb

[the kwan]

Quality report man, I love the look of this place and you done it justice..nice work!

[GeoVDUB]

Lovely stuff boss- More like this please!

[jST]

Yes bro, this is a report I admire and raise two thumbs to.

[fowle]

Good work, i salute you and give you a gold star!

LLS road trip ? toad rtip ? bumming ? road ? bumtrip ?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Ffi7yIm3-e0/TOXeD2trwRI/AAAAAAAAEDY/mkmFonbYlSw/Troll%20face_thumb%5B2%5D.png

[ROYALBOB]

Yep looks a sweet site

[Little Dave]

Did somebody say "Road Trip"?

[birdinanaviary]

RoooooooOadddddd trriiiiiiiip

What an excellent report, I take my ginger wig off to you

[yorkietommo]

Fook me, that's a beast of a site.

Nice one! :thumb