BRICK BUSINESS This interest group looks at Bricks, Brick Architecture, old and new. If it contains brick, terracotta or clay tile we look at it and discuss it! And just look around you – we live in Emsworth, Hampshire, real brick county. For very obvious reasons, houses and public buildings are constructed in the material that lies beneath the topsoil. In the Cotswolds it is stone, here we ‘harvest’ the clay and make it into bricks. That’s how it started. Now, our local brickworks (Lumley,
Rowlands Castle, Hayling Island, Burrfields Road, Cowplain) have all closed and like many things, production is centred at larger works. These are concentrated in Surrey, Sussex and Kent, the Midlands and the North, in fact anywhere where there is suitable clay in large quantities.

We have examined the history of the brick from 10,000BC to the current time. We look at PowerPoint presentations of villages, towns and cities, in Hampshire and Sussex, and their brick architecture. In June 2025, we will look at Salisbury in Wiltshire. Where next, you may ask?

We meet currently in Mountford Three in the ECA at at 2:15pm on the fourth TUESDAY in the month. DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS A MALE-DOMINATED GROUP! We actually have more Lady members than Men! If you wish to join us, please email: Alan Borrow at brickbusiness@emsvalleyu3a.org. Any new member joining will be most welcome – there is no particular level of knowledge that we have reached, you will slot in well!

A typical meeting attracts about 25/30 members.