Bradford Colliery Brickworks operated on the site of the
Bradford Colliery
Bradford Colliery was a coal mine in Bradford, Manchester, England. Although part of the Manchester Coalfield, the seams of the Bradford Coalfield correspond more closely to those of the Oldham Coalfield. The Bradford Coalfield is crossed by ...
in
Bradford, Greater Manchester
Bradford is a district of east Manchester, England, two miles north east of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 15,784. Historically in Lancashire, after the closure of its heavy industries Bradford was for many years an econo ...
, then in the
historic county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
, England, between the early 1870s and 1903. To exploit the seams of
fireclay
Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumin ...
found between the coal seams, colliery manager Edward Williams built a large kiln to a design patented in 1870 by Friedrich Hoffmann, which permitted the continuous production of bricks. One of the largest brick-making facilities in the area, the kiln was more than long and wide, and probably contained 12–14 separate firing chambers.
The kiln fell into disuse after the colliery's fireclay workings were abandoned in 1903, and it was eventually demolished in the late 1940s. An archaeological excavation carried out in the early 21st century could find virtually no trace of it.
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{{coord missing, Greater Manchester
Brickworks in the United Kingdom
Demolished buildings and structures in Manchester