1 EAGLETON NOTES: Brick Collecting

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Thursday 19 July 2012

Brick Collecting

Would you be surprised if I told you that people collect bricks?  Well they do.  How do I know?  I'll tell you a story - a mercifully short one.

A few days ago I received a text or email from a friend who had been out walking his dog.  I won't mention his name but his dog's Mollie.  Whilst out walking Mollie had met another dog and they'd got to talking about bricks the way dogs do.  The Other Dog "I believe you've been to Lewis recently."  Molly  "Yes, great place.  You should go there for romps on the beaches."  TOD "Don't they have an old castle that's being renovated?" M "They do indeed."  TOD "So they'll be knocking bits off it I expect."  M "I expect so."  TOD "I believe that bricks from the Lewis Brickworks were used in the building of the castle.  Any chance of that chap you stayed with up there getting me one?"  M "You want a brick???"  TOD "Surely do."

So CJ and I ended up there yesterday.  Whilst I was chatting to the rather bemused site manager and a chap from the city of my birth down in the North of England and obtaining a promise to keep me one if they found any and to pop back in a few weeks, CJ was ferreting around in the mud outside the site.  He found a couple of bricks:



I duly sent photos in case these were of any interest to the collector of bricks and this evening received the information that the bricks were produced at no 1 Knightswood Brickworks, Netherton, Glasgow grid reference ns540696 and no 2 Garscube Brick and Tile Works, Netherton, Glasgow grid ref ns546696 and that the brickworks were working from mid 1890s to circa 1914? .

I'm sure that collecting bricks can provide a wonderful social history interest.  As can collecting beer mats and other esoteric objects.

But........

There are obviously plenty of collectors and there is an international brick collectors society and plenty of websites and blogs dedicated to the sport.  By the way does anyone know what a brick collector is called?

And now to bed.

21 comments:

  1. well, I wish I had a brick from my former high school when it was razed! other than that no bricks for me...too heavy
    say hi to CJ!

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    1. Message passed on. Yes they are not exactly portable are they?

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  2. mmmmmmmm

    I see there is international brick collecting association and the term for collecting is "bricked" ie I have bricked for many years.

    brickologist??...........brickanpthropist???

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    1. I like that. I've decided I shall use brickologist. Thanks.

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  3. There is nothing on this planet that is NOT collected by someone or other, I guess.
    And why not bricks? Sure, a brick collector will certainly need more space for his collection than a stamp collector, but apart from that...

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    1. I'm sure you are right, Meike. Never having been a collector myself (except, as CJ points out, of CDs and books) I don't really understand it. Mind you as a child I did learn from stamps that Magya Post was he Hungarian stamp so there is some educational value I suppose.

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  4. Any sensible brick collector would surely build himself a little hut in which to keep all his information about bricks, and also sit in it to think about bricks.

    I suppose it doesn't work that way for them though :D

    Graham you come up with some interesting stuff!!

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  5. Thanks Jenny. Perhaps they do? Mind you unlike beer mats you can keep bricks in the garden. You could make a path of them and wander down it thinking thoughts of bricks and things.

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  6. A brick collector has to be a building.

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  7. GB, that's why I am enjoying your blog so much...I am learning stuff I never dreamed of.
    Never heard of brick collecting, and collecting bricks seems to be an absurd pastime, but to each his own.
    Thanks for the lesson.

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  8. I did not know, but I am not surprised... Requires some space though! To use bricks from different places to build for example a garden wall could be rather nice, I suppose. But it certainly isn't a very practical thing to send to someone by post...

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    1. The postage would probably cost more than the value of the brick. I can't imagine them being auctioned at Sotherby's.

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  9. I might point out the bricks were a lot muddier than that when they emerged. Anyone got some tissues?? I can only conclude GB got the pressure hose out behind my back.

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  10. I think you should follow up on Librarian's comment and find something that is NOT collected by someone somewhere. There has to be something!!

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    1. We've been discussing that Pauline. I think it may be a challenge too far.

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  11. I seem to collect nothing but empty wine-bottles. Thank you, I already know the name for that !

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    1. Hmmm. Three friends came by this afternoon. Two went for a walk and returned at wine time. You know them I'm several bottles more for the recycling too!

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  12. PS. I can't see any difference between the bricks. How can anyone tell they're from different brickworks? I'll get Molly to ask.

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    1. I couldn't see a difference either but, to be honest, the finer point of brick collecting wasn't at the top of my agenda today.....or ever, really.

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