Issue 46 April 25 web - Flipbook - Page 46
Northcot celebrates
100 years of craftsmanship!
This year, Northcot Brick is celebrating a century of award-winning traditional brick-making!
Located in the village of Blockley in Gloucestershire,
Northcot is one of the country's last remaining independent brickworks, a hidden gem, which still produces
traditional bricks much sought after for their warm tones
and distinctive character.
Its ability to manufacture a diverse range of handmade,
wire-cut, reclaimed-style bricks, and bespoke blends that
match the most regional and historic brick types, has
earned it the title of ‘Home of Master Brickmakers’.
Flagship heritage projects that have required its specialist
skills include the restoration of Battersea Power Station,
Radley College Chapel Extension, Shrewsbury’s Flaxmill
Maltings and the Newport Street Gallery, plus several
Historic England and National Trust properties.
The company has also won many top building industry
accolades, including five Brick Development Association
‘Supreme Awards’, and is associated with several RIBA
National Awards and a Stirling Prize-winning project.
A history of traditional brickmaking
Originally known as Northwick Brick & Tiles, the
company was established in 1925 by Captain E. G.
Spencer-Churchill, cousin of Winston Churchill (an enthusiastic bricklayer in his spare time) to provide jobs for
the local population and families living on his estate.
Concerned about the high levels of unemployment in the
area, he hired a team of geologists to survey the land with
a view to growing material for basket making. Instead,
they discovered a vast seam of Lower Jurassic and Middle
Lias blue clay, which was excellent for making bricks.
Image, Battersea Power Station photo by David Jerred Miles
Encouraged by his friend, the renowned architect Sir Giles
Gilbert Scott, Captain Churchill established the brickworks, providing employment for around 300 men and
women.
As its reputation grew, its bricks were used in many
high-profile buildings and when Scott designed the
Battersea Power Station in the 1930s, he chose the company’s Golden Brown pressed bricks for Europe’s largest
and most iconic brick-built building.
Almost a century later, Northcot was tasked with
making 1.3 million bricks entirely by hand in two blends
