I’ve spent some time now looking around and researching what used to be a brickworks between Acklam Road and the Old River Tees in Thornaby. The brickworks was owned and managed by Henry Alcock, listed in an 1890 directory as a brick and tile maker of Bon Lea Terrace.

The area became part of the Head Wrightson sports ground, with tennis and football fields on the higher ground adjacent to the cemetery, and what was to become Thornaby Football Club’s stadium occupying land to the east of the brickworks site.

Looking at old OS maps (one of which reproduced below) it is assumed that the narrow gauge railway line must’ve travelled by some sort of gantry to an unloading point, that is unless the land to the right has been “built up” subsequently. This would place the unloading point be roughly at a point in the southern corner of the westerly extremity of the current football ground.

From there clay would have been unloaded and taken into the “factory building” to be processed and to the west of this factory building there would be what looks to be three single chambered kilns… Though there may also be a “Newcastle Kiln” on the map here behind the larger building.

I’ve found a few things when looking about here. One of such is that there doesn’t appear to be any remains, however. I have found some bricks here (pictured) which COULD be from the brickworks buildings. However there were other buildings on this site and I am completely unsure what time period or constructions on the site these bricks relate to. Also pictured is a brick column (potentially from some sort of gantry) in the undergrowth…

The pictured bricks remaining in situ are in a location which could tie in equally to a sporting pavilion or to the brick works.

Incidentally Henry and his wife Ann are interred nearby in Thornaby Cemetery, Henry rests a very short distance from the brickworks and associated clay pit which were behind the wooden fence beyond the cross of sacrifice.

So nothing concrete in terms of remains of a brickworks but I do hope you find this one interesting nonetheless!