Established in 1896 we take pride in manufacturing a range of genuine traditional handmade bricks and specials, both in metric and imperial sizes. We also offer an extensive range of standard and bespoke hand thrown specials.
We are one of the few remaining true handmade brick works that has survived a transition within the UK brick industry. Whilst investing some of the latest technology to remain efficient and economical we have maintained the essence of what makes our bricks truly unique. Keeping handmaking skills alive as well as producing the Beckley brick, which is made using a traditional Berry machine dating as far back as the early 1900’s.
Genuine Handmade Sussex Bricks
Sussex Handmade Brick is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty near Hastings, Southeast England. We manufacture a diverse range of traditional, genuine handmade bricks and specials made from the area’s unique and finest natural ‘brick earth’. This is found only in the West Sussex, East Sussex and the Kent region.
Our brick earth is carefully excavated from our own quarry near the brick works, meaning there is minimal impact on the environment, as well as keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum.
Clay to Brick:
A TIME-HONOURED CRAFT
Once stockpiled, our brick earth is loaded into a hopper, where it is then lightly processed through the plant. Water is added to obtain the correct moisture content, to where it is then carefully milled and pugged reducing it to a malleable consistency retaining the correct plasticity into manageable sized clots of clay for the hand makers. The clots of clay are then sanded by hand by the individual makers and hand thrown into traditional wooden moulds. The mould is struck with a traditional bow wire to remove any excess clay, the maker gently turns the mould over and taps each corner, enabling the brick to come out from the mould onto a metal tray. The tray is then placed onto a stillage where it awaits the drying room.
Each brick can contain up to a pint of water when it is made, this has to be removed before the brick can be fired. During the drying process the brick will shrink by an average of around 8% and a further 1-2% in the firing.
The ‘green’ bricks are carefully dried in individual drying rooms, largely utilising the waste heat recovered from our kiln helping to our reduce carbon emissions. Once the bricks are dry, they are then graded by hand onto pallets waiting to be set by hand in the kiln.
Our intermittent gas fired kiln holds approximately 50,000 handmade bricks. The bricks are carefully and precisely set by hand by the brick setters, allowing sufficient air flow gaps between each layer of bricks.
The firing and cooling process takes up to seven days and nights. Temperatures ranging from 1,040°C to 1,095°C enables us to create our distinctive rich colours and high quality, complementing the handmaking process.
Due to the natural high silica content found only within the area’s unique ‘brick earth’ the brick, when fired at different temperatures creates a rich palette of colours. These range from subtle oranges to plum reds through to purples and browns.
Our bricks have always been in demand, especially in high quality new builds and conservation areas. They have been used on some of the most important and prestigious buildings throughout England.
At Sussex Handmade Brick we pride ourselves on our commitment to you, the customer. We invite you to visit the works to take a factory tour and see how our bricks are made and help you choose the brick that best suits your individual requirements.
Whether your project is large or small, standard or bespoke, please do not hesitate to contact us.