Iris Brickworks

Separate commerical organisation rather than attached to a colliery. A quarry was opened in 1903 by the Standard Brick Company under the direction of Joseph Blackey. The Heaton yard was part of a much larger business with ten other sites. By 1908 the company was in receivership and the Heaton site, together with Pelaw brickworks, appears to have been bought by James Frazer. John Moorhead was appointed manager. Bricks used in the development of Heaton between 1903-1916 (Simonside Terrace, Wharton Terrace, Trewitt Road, Tosson Terrace, Cartington Terrace and south side of Biddlestone Road). The Heaton site employed only 9 men. The offices were located in Milburn House, and later Collingwood Street and Queen Street. Moorhead managed the Iris Brick Works at Pelaw and Heaton for 30 years. The Heaton brickfield was abandoned during the Second World War. The site was sold in 1945 to the city. It was used as a rubbish dump until the early 1950s. Now a park. Photos of the brickworks from the 1930s are shown in Turnbulls book.