Constructions from clay: the centenary of Northcot Brick

Exhibition sponsored by Northcot Brick

Originally named The Northwick Brick and Tile Works, it was set up 100 years ago to provide employment and housing locally after the First World War. This thinking echoed Arts & Crafts ideas from C. R. Ashbee setting up the Guild of Handicraft in 1888 to the establishment of the Rural Industries Bureau in 1925.

The founder

Edward George Spencer-Churchill, cousin of Sir Winston Churchill, had inherited the Northwick Park estate in 1912. Shocked by the rampant inflation and unemployment after the end of First World War, he employed geologists to find suitable material locally for a new industry. They suggested that the extensive deposits of blue clay would be perfect for brick making, including building houses.

What makes these bricks special?

The character of the local clay deposits is very unusual. They date from Jurassic period, about 170 million years ago, when the area changed from a hot and dry to a warm and wet climate. The clay is very dark when dug and a warm orange when fired for brickmaking. Two plesiosaur skeletons have been excavated from the site and ammonites turn up on a regular basis.

Major project

The brickworks flourished, famously providing the bricks – about 6.1 million Golden Brown pressed bricks – for London’s Battersea Power Station designed by the renowned architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1930s. A brickmaker throws between 800 and 1000 bricks a day. The building was listed II* in 2006 and in 2012 work began on its restoration using Northcot bricks once again. The story of how David Hills, the conservation architect working on the project, managed to trace the original brickmakers and how Northcot responded to the challenge is an entertaining and serendipitous one. Northcot ended up providing 1.3 million bricks to restore the 1930s and 40s parts of the Power Station.

A wide range of projects:

• Shrewsbury Flaxmills Maltings is one of the most important buildings of the Industrial Revolution and the world’s first cast-iron framed building. Its conservation was undertaken in 2017 including the cleaning and re-laying with lime mortar of the original ‘great bricks’, one-third larger than standard to save on George III’s brick tax.

• Radley College Chapel, Oxfordshire. Northcot created three bespoke brick blends in imperial sizes that matched the colour and texture of the existing Chapel, both internally and externally. The complexity of the architectural features also required 87 different brick specials, which were made with over 50 different bespoke moulds.

• Northcot House, a thoughtful exercise to create a house to emulate a 19th-century farmhouse to fit in with the historic village of Pirton, Hertfordshire.

• Newport Street Gallery, London was the realisation of Damian Hurst’s ambition to make his contemporary art collection available to the public. Early 20th-century industrial buildings were restored and two new buildings built. Two distinct blends of bespoke brick were created to harmonise with the original brickwork.

• Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester where the imposing north façade features an intricate ‘slash and stich’ brickwork pattern, drawing inspiration from fabrics within the gallery’s extensive textile collection. This was created from a variety of handmade ‘special’ bricks, which link together to give the impression of interwoven textile threads and torn fabric, which has been stitched back together.

• The Ice House at Croome Court, Worcestershire was restored to its original 18th-century glory using Northcot bricks created to match the original. A new oak structure was then put up covered with long straw thatch.

• Marston’s Brewery, Burton-on-Trent. Its Grade II listed building includes a Victorian chimney – a local landmark. It was restored using a new brick created by Northcot to match the originals.

Something for everyone

The exhibition will have a wide appeal and include hands-on activities for families including events around the skeletons and ammonites found on site. The ‘Rosie and Jim’ episode that visits the brickworks will also be available.

Also on show will be Sir Antony Gormley’s video of his visit to Northcot before his recent exhibition at White Cube, London where his installation was created using specially commissioned bricks. Olivia Tracey, assistant curator at Court Barn, comments:

‘we’re hugely excited to be collaborating with Northcot Brick, a local bespoke brickmaking company with a rich heritage and diverse contemporary commissions. The exhibition will have something for all ages, whether you’re local to the area or visiting the Cotswolds over the summer. We can’t wait to explore all things bricks and brickmaking and showcase the
brickworks’ stories past and present.’

This exhibition is curated by Mary Greensted, freelance curator and Chair of the Guild of Handicraft Trust, and Olivia Tracey, assistant curator, working closely with the Northcot Brick team.

EVENTS

One on One: 11.30 Saturday 12 July

Michael Brown – Managing Director, Northcot Brick – will be talking about developing a market for Northcot Brick and some of his favourite projects.

One on One: 11.30 Saturday 2 August

• Connor Matthews – former Northcot brickmaker and now Sales and Production Coordinator will be talking about his experiences of brick making and some of his favourite projects.

One on One: 11.30 Saturday 9 August and 11.30 Saturday 23 August

• Alan Banyard – fossil collector – will be talking about how he got involved at Wellacre Quarry and some of his interesting finds – with handling pieces. Suitable for fossil enthusiasts of all ages

Friday 5 September Doors open at 5.30, talk starts at 6.00 pm, Chipping Campden Town Hall 

The 2025 Ashbee Lecture:

The Brick that Time Forgot: Rebuilding Battersea (An Architect and Brickmaker’s Tale)

A talk by Dale Moss, General Manager of Northcot Brick and David Hills of Roger Mears Architects, Conservation Architect, Battersea Power Station Project. Booking required. £15.00 to include a glass of wine.

This event has been organised by the Friends of Court Barn.

You may also be interested in this:

Northcot: A personal story