How to Research Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Brickmakers

摘要

In British Brick Society Information, 143, November 2019, the editor mentioned 'different authors requesting information about specific brickmakers' and asking about nineteenth- and twentieth-century research sources. This article is the author's experience in producing an index for use by family and local historians of the owners and workers on the brickfields. The note cited from the recent BBS Information suggests the use of trade directories but there are additional sources that can be used. The one problem with early directories is that they list trades by parish without giving a precise address. This is because everyone knew where the brickfields were and because the areas were not fully built up, strangers visiting the parish could either see or smell where the brickfields were located. In larger parishes with good clay soil, there may be more than one brickfield, each under different ownership.