York Handmade Brick Company

The York Handmade Brick Company is a specialist brickmaker based in the village of Alne, North Yorkshire, England. The company was founded in 1988 from a previous brickmaking venture on the same site and has won many awards for projects that its bricks have been used in, and has supplied bricks for several notable buildings throughout the United Kingdom.

York Handmade Brick Company
TypePrivate
IndustryBrickmaking
PredecessorAlnebrick
Founded1988
FounderDavid Armitage
Headquarters
Alne, North Yorkshire
,
England
Key people
David Armitage (chairman)
Revenue£2.275 million (2018-19[1])
Number of employees
30 (2019)
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The company was previously either Alne Brickwork Co. or Alnebrick when it was bought in 1988 by David Armitage, who retains the chairmanship, though his son runs the day-to-day business.[2] The brickworks is located in Forest Lane, Alne, and was also formerly a pipeworks with excellent clay resources on site which had been utilised for brick-making since the 1930s.[3][4] Up until 1986, a narrow-gauge 2-foot (0.61 m) brickworks railway also operated on the site conveying quarried clay to the working sheds.[5] The new company applied for an extension to its quarrying area and in 1998, a 25-year operation started that would yield over 500,000 tonnes (550,000 tons) of clay from the land surrounding the works.[6]

In the financial year 2018-2019, the company turnover was £2.5 million and it had 30 employees.[7]

Besides having its bricks used in buildings such as The Shard and London Bridge railway station,[8][9][10] the company's London Yellow bricks are also used for housebuilding in the Greater London area, which saw York Handmade produce over 130,000 bricks for this market.[11] A contract in 2010 to supply 400,000 bricks for Chetham's School of Music was valued at over £500,000.[12]

The company have also supplied bricks for repairing bridges over the River Swale in North Yorkshire,[13] larger bricks to repair the city walls of Rostok in Germany and they have also been exported to America and Japan.[3] One of their most expensive brick creations was for the One Molyneux Street housing complex in Marylebone in London. Each brick cost £793, with 116,000 being used in the construction. According to one property journalist, the bricks are the second most expensive ever created.[14]

In 2012, the company was featured in an episode of the Guy Martin fronted programme How Britain Worked. The team at York Handmade helped Martin create a brick in an episode entitled Coal.[15] In 2014, the company was asked to supply 47,000 bricks for a restoration project at Dumfries House in Ayrshire. The bricks themselves resembled the ones used at Hampton Court Palace and were designed by Prince Charles.[16]

Significant projects

Awards
  • 1995 - Supreme Brick Building award for St Bridget's Church in Belfast[32]
  • 2005 - Brick Development Association award for work on the walled garden at Scampston Hall, near Malton[33]
  • 2015 - Brick Awards (best outdoor space) Belvedere and Queen Elizabeth Walled Garden at Dumfries House in Scotland[34]

References
  1. Bridgen, Mike (27 March 2020). "Brick company's best year will help deal with virus". Darlington & Stockton Times (13–2020). p. 56. ISSN 2516-5348.
  2. Casci, Mark (8 January 2018). "Profile: David Armitage, York Handmade Brick Company". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  3. Wilkinson, Paul (8 August 2003). "All for the love of a good brick". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  4. Bean, Dan (26 March 2018). "York brick worker designs and creates new machinery". York Press. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  5. Shepherd, Cliff, ed. (1993). "Alne Brick Co Ltd". The Industrial Railway Record. Birmingham: Industrial Railway Society (139): 394. ISSN 0537-5347.
  6. "Brick firm to build on 10 successful years". infoweb.newsbank.com. 24 June 1998. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  7. "Brick company enjoys one of most successful years in its history". Darlington and Stockton Times. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  8. "York Handmade supplies bricks to London's iconic Shard development". York Press. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  9. Bridgen, Mike (13 April 2018). "York Handmade bricks used in London projects". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  10. "York Handmade wins tallest building contract". Insider Media Ltd. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  11. Bridgen, Mike (3 March 2018). "York Handmade to make yellow bricks for London's houses". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  12. "York Handmade supplies bricks to London's iconic Shard development". York Press. 3 February 2011A. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  13. "Brick company cements reputation with award". infoweb.newsbank.com. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  14. Knowsley, Jo (15 October 2019). "Property: The most expensive bricks in the world (apart from a gold Lego one, that is)". Metro Newspaper UK. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  15. "York brick firm to feature in television series". infoweb.newsbank.com. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  16. Richardson, Andy (11 August 2014). "Prince Charles praises northern brickies". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  17. "York Handmade Brick Company lined up to help restore Highbury Stadium". York Press. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  18. "Centres of success for Handmade". The Yorkshire Post. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  19. "York Handmade completes £15,000 contract". Insider Media Ltd. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  20. Darley, Karen (20 November 2013). "Yorkshire company supplies bricks for injured jockey's centre". Gazette & Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  21. Bridgen, Mike (16 May 2014). "Racecourse's new look is thanks to brick firm". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  22. Hitchen, Andrew (3 June 2016). "York Handmade Brick company provides 30,000 bricks to create new library building". York Press. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  23. Lavigueur, Nick (27 August 2017). "Opening date set for new £9m Halifax central library". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  24. Knowlson, Laura (22 June 2017). "Brick order flies out". York Press. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  25. "York Handmade Brick plays pivotal role in new art and design centre at Pocklington school , The York Handmade Brick Co Ltd | Articles | Articles and news | Building Centre". buildingcentre.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  26. Snowden, Ros (16 July 2018). "Yorkshire firm lends expertise to iconic Scottish church". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  27. Bridgen, Mike (1 November 2019). "Company makes mark in capital with bricks for station". Darlington & Stockton Times (44–2019). p. 69. ISSN 2516-5348.
  28. Knowlson, Laura (12 April 2018). "Brick maker's London order". York Press. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  29. "London's biggest £92m brick building launched". London Property News | londonlovesproperty.com. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  30. Chapman, Hannah, ed. (8 November 2019). "Contract to supply bricks for cathedral". Darlington & Stockton Times (45–2019). p. 60. ISSN 2516-5348.
  31. Chapman, Hannah, ed. (17 January 2020). "Bricks used in university lodge". Darlington & Stockton Times (03–2019). p. 52. ISSN 2516-5348.
  32. "Library project hailed at awards". The Halifax Courier. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  33. "Building an education brick by brick". infoweb.newsbank.com. 10 March 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  34. Knowlson, Laura (30 November 2015). "Brickmaker wins national award for project overseen by Prince Charles". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
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