Bursledon Brickworks

Bursledon Brickworks was founded in 1897 by the Ashby family who were brick makers in Chandlers Ford. The 1897 works was added to in 1903 and with this extra capacity the brickworks were producing more than 20 million bricks a year. The brickworks were a family run concern until after WW2 when it was amalgamated with the Sussex and Dorking Brick Company and became Redlands Limited in 1959. As time went by the clay used in making the bricks had to be brought in from further and further away, labour was becoming more expensive and the disruption caused by the M27 being built was the final straw. The brickworks were no longer viable and it was closed in 1974. Twenty years passed and the old brickworks fell into a state of dereliction and were in danger of disappearing altogether, when it was saved and given listed status. Today it is the UK's only Victorian steam powered Brickworks and a working museum, run by enthusiastic volunteers.