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In 1832 the Garnkirk Fireclay Company (known originally as the Garnkirk Colliery and Brickfield), owned by Mark Sprot of Garnkirk House and his brother and let to James Murray & Co., was established in the vicinity of the railway at Garnkirk. It was reputed to be one of the largest and most complete works in the United Kingdom, using a bed of fireclay 4 to 19 feet thick, of a composition superior to that used elsewhere in the trade. The products were therefore of a high standard, the fireclay bricks, ornamental vases, urns, etc., being highly sought after. It is recorded that in addition to an "immense wholesale home trade" there were exports to France, Germany, Russia, the East and West Indies, U.S.A., and New Zealand. In 1869 300 men and boys were employed, and 200 tons of clay and about an equal weight of coal were being used daily.
There was an internal railway system, which had earlier extended to limestone pits in the Crowwood area and to fireclay workings in the Woodhead locality. The fireclay pits were finally exhausted in 1895 but the works continued in production until 1901, when the buildings were advertised for sale.
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Monklands
Memories 2000-2017 |