Bricks from a historic kiln available for donation

Tuesday 19 February 2019

500 unfired bricks that were emptied from a 92-year-old kiln at Brickfield House during a structural survey report are available for people to collect.

Guernsey Water is offering ‘Best bricks' to islanders interested in owning a little bit of island history.

The bricks are unfired and were emptied out of the Brickfield House kiln while it was being surveyed, which will provide a basis for a conservation plan in order to protect the kiln and maintain its structural integrity for future generations. 

Guernsey Water’s Capital Delivery Manager, Mark Walker, said: “The only other intact kilns in Guernsey stand at Oatlands, so it’s quite special to have one here at our headquarters. Although we will be keeping 1,000 bricks for conservation and local heritage purposes, we thought this was a great opportunity to share some local interest with islanders.”

Pictured: Originally constructed in 1927, replacing an earlier bottle kiln on the site owned by the Best family, the kiln remained in production until 1947, when it was filled with bricks for the last time.

People are invited to collect a ‘Best brick’ from Guernsey Water’s Brickfield House site in St Andrew's, between 10:00 and midday on 23 February as long as supplies last.

Donations are welcome and proceeds will be passed on to La Société Guernesiaise and The National Trust of Guernsey.

As the bricks are unfired they are fairly fragile and unsuitable for any building purposes.

Pictured top: Some of the "Best bricks" that will be available for people to pick top for a donation.