Walbottle Brick Works

Walbottle Brick Works. Only the chimney is still extant. Owned by Kirtons in 1927. The yard produced very good quality "Newburn" red bricks and "Walbottle" white bricks. Originally Walbottle firebrick works and owned by the Walbottle Coal and Firebrick Company, the brickworks stood beside the Union Pit. Kirton and Sons took over the brickyard in about 1912 and opened a shale quarry next to the mine. In addition, clay was extracted from a clay pit on Hogg’s Lonnen (Lemington Lane). In 1932, four old Newcastle kilns were demolished and replaced by an eight-chamber semi-continuous kiln whose flue was connected underground to the chimney of the main kiln. The brickworks closed from 1939 to 1945. The works then had two machines that could press 24,000 bricks each day. The bricks burned in a 16-chamber continuous kiln, each chamber holding 15,000 bricks. The chimney stood 150 feet tall and was demolished in 1979.
Dates: Walbottle firebrick works 1869 – 1906
Kirton’s Yard Newburn brickworks 1912 – 1965
Manufacturer from 1920-1965 was M Kirton and Sons.