Lots of images of named bricks

I have just come back from a week around Matakana (Northeast of Auckland) and I found a building with lots of lovely old bricks embedded in pathways around it.  Here are some pics. I know NOTHING about bricks but I thought we should have a record. According to Gail Henry and others, Amalgamated Brick and Pipe (the precursor of Crown Lynn) was formed by the amalgamation of several brickworks. R.O Clark Hobsonville; Gardner Brothers and Parker, New Lynn; New Zealand Brick and Tile and Pottery Company, New Lynn; Carder Brothers, Hobsonville; Glenburn Fireclay and Pottery Company, Avondale; and Archibald Brothers, Avondale. So there are some pretty important bricks here!  The building where I found them is a bit further down the side road past the famous Matakana Markets.
Let's start with my favourite.  RO Clark Hobsonville. Rice Owen Clark, grandfather of Sir Tom Clark.

Arch Hill B&T Co

Avondale B&P Co

B T A

Carder Bros & ?

Crummer perhaps? Correction, Kat says this is Brunner. Thanks for that info.

Glenburn Avondale

Goodlet?

Granger B&T Co Ltd

J Granger and Son's

J J Craig Auckland

Kamo

N B C

Nelson Brick & Tile Co

Northcote

NZ Brick Co New Lynn

Russell and Bignell Wanganui

Thistle

Todd

W Hunt Auckland

Welgas

Neighbours (I think) Westport

There are also some indecipherable ones.  
POSSIBLY A Dolphin

And a diamond - was there a Diamond brickworks??

Some of the older looking bricks have two 'blips' - is this where the clay was poured/extruded into the mould?

I think I've seen JJ Craig on bricks before.

Craig was a builders' merchant in Auckland.

His own house in Omana Road Epsom, designed by top architect AP Wilson and burned down by Mark Lyons in recent years, at about the time of its centenary, was a fine example of polychromatic brick work (wall surface patterned in designs in bricks of many colours). As far as I am aware Craig did not make his own bricks. Who knows?

The Kamo brick is from up our way of course. When Bill Gummer designed the Auckland Wintergarden he specified a differently proportioned brick, more like a Roman brick.

Don't know about the diamond. Maybe it was a standard frog shape.

Wonderful collection of images Val.

Neat pics Val...I have a #6 down its stamped Brunner from Brunner Mine from near ..Greymouth

ahh, I wish the pictures would show up! I love old bricks. I have a pile of old ones that I purloined from the dump, plus some special ones that came from hubby's old homestead down south. Those bricks were made at Milton pottery. Needless to say, I have them tucked away in boxes.

I see the pictures now, they must have taken their time loading.

Thanks, Maryr, a great collection of photos for this site. I also love old bricks.

Kiwi Alan collects named bricks so may be able to identify some. Lisda Truttman writes about early brickmakers too. Goodlet is a NSW manufacturer.

https://atributetoaustralianchristians.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/john-goodlet/

Diamonds, Clubs, Spades and Hearts were common frog shapes and collectors aim to get the deck of cards ie all four. Bricks were used as ballast and thrown away before ships collected the timber or whale oil or seal skins or later refrigerated meat etc that were going back to the old country. Captain Adair on the road to John Bethell's beach made models of many of the early ships.

Early brickmakers often ended up with cancer of the tongue or mouth from licking clay to see if it would "answer" the test of the "kill" or kiln. Early Wesleyan and CMS missionary diaries describe attempts to make bricks or of getting them from whalers who pulled apart the on board blubber rendering ovens or try-works before the return home. In 1816 Irish convict Tully Mathews arrrived at the CMS settlement and contracted to make bricks for them. A good clamp kiln firing was at best 33% successful producing a third clinkers or overfired bricks, a third doughboys or underfired bricks  and a third bricks that "answered." Ironically Tully had been transported to NSW in 1809 on the 'Boyd' later burned to the waterline in a notorious event in colonial history.

Samuel Marsden trained Maori brickmakers at his North Parramatta Rangihu or Rangihoua trade training school. And of course most early Crown Lynn productionwas as delicate and subtle as a brick.

Wonderful. Thank you Tony. There are so many unrecorded stories about bricks and pipes.
The unsung heroes of the ceramics industry.

Hi, I have found some bricks named A DOLPHIN & CO ARCHHILL AND FF ARCH HILL.  Are these of interest to anyone?

Jakaree wrote:Hi, I have found some bricks named A DOLPHIN & CO ARCHHILL AND FF ARCH HILL.  Are these of interest to anyone?

Hi there, this group on Facebook would be very interested.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1439167462832105