Genealogy Chat

My great grandfather and great great grandfather were Brickfield Labourers in Arlesey, Bedfordshire. Great great grandfather was promoted and lived in the house at the Brickworks. Think he ended up as the engine driver at the brickworks. My great grandfather went to Essex where the bricks were needed for building, and I expect were made on site. I have been to Brickworks just outside Southampton, now only a museum, and the land was vast. Some dried inside, and some outside, so I believe.

I just googled Brickfields out of interest, and it says about the green fields of Hackney making way for the brickfields of Housing development and Industry, maybe it was just an old fashioned word for a house builder? We have an area called Brickfields just down the road from me, its a huge area of grass with a childrens play park ,but is surrounded by a housing estate, so prehaps long ago when fields were built on they were known as the brickfields, and your ancestors was one of the builders, just a thought, but hope it helps. Nicky

We used to have a Brickfield down the lane to where we live. they made handmade bricks from start to finish and there were 3 kilns where the bricks were dried Guess a brickfield labourer would be just a labourer doing all the donkey work like stacking .putting the trays of bricks in the Kiln etc. The site close in the early 90.s and was an eyesore . The kilns were evetually dismantled and the site bought for developemnet . got an estate of upmarket houses on it now. Shirley

Brickfields is another name for Brick Kilns, so yes, he would have had something to do with the production of bricks. The following sentence is taken from a website talking about brick production in India, but the explanation would be the same:- 'A description of the main components of the production process is a good beginning towards understanding the working lives of men, women and children who labour at brick kilns (or “brickfields,” more appropriately termed).' Kath. x

Barbara , Chris, Kathleen, Shirley and Nicky Thankyou for those ideas, i appreciate the help. Linda

Linda I can't see a specific explanation on my usual occupation websites. However, in the past, when bricks were 'hand'made they laid them out to dry....Saw this on a history programme? I wonder if where they were laid were known as fields and therefore men who worked there were known as Brickfield Labourers........They laid them out and collected them back in. Just an idea. Chris

Linda- Are you sure it's not 'brickyard' or 'brickwork'? If it is 'field', maybe the bricks were laid out over a large area in the air to set - so, in a 'field' of bricks? Or maybe it's a local term for 'brickyard', or perhaps it was a newish yard, which was still thought of as the field it originally was?? Maybe someone will tell us otherwise! Bee.

What a Brickfield Labourer is?, it is fairly common, and i would assume something to do with bricks, thankyou in advance for replies. Linda in Rainy Brackley