Old brick yard in Wincobank

[local blade]

The brickyard belonged to the SBC. Sheffield Brick Company. There were 2 more. One on Rutland Road, (where I worked) and the other was on Penistone Road near the railway bridge.

 

That's right mate, what years did you work there ?, my father and several of his brothers worked for the SBC

[blackhill]

I worked at SBC Rutland Road. Was there 1962 to 64

[local blade]

I worked at SBC Rutland Road. Was there 1962 to 64

 

Ah right, I know my father (Alec) worked at Rutland Rd, not sure what years most likely 50s/early 60s then moved to Wincobank site to be nearer home until it closed down in the late 60s, his brothers Ray and Harry also worked at Rutland Rd

[HJAMESR6262]

Hi there Local Blade..

I think we might know each other from way way way back.. My friend started this topic in november 2012 after i told him i was trying to find information/photos of the old brick yards at Shiregreen & Rutland road . After reading your last post i got a kind of eerie feeling . My uncle Alec worked at the Shiregreen brick yard until it closed in the late 1960`s i remember him driving the digger there although i was only bout 5 -6 years old at the time , my dad & my uncle Ray worked at the Rutland road yard until it closed in the mid/late 1970`s , i remember going with my cousin Alec to the hill slopes on Douglas road at the back of the Rutland road yard and him taking pictures of the kilns & buildings being demolished ....

 

---------- Post added 02-06-2017 at 22:33 ----------

 

Heyup Local Blade

I cant PM you as i haven`t enough posts on here yet , Really good to hear from you and

yeah its been a while , be good to meet up sometime and catch up perhaps over a pint thats if your still a drinking man .

H

Edited June 2, 2017 by HJAMESR6262

[local blade]

Hi there Local Blade..

I think we might know each other from way way way back.. My friend started this topic in november 2012 after i told him i was trying to find information/photos of the old brick yards at Shiregreen & Rutland road . After reading your last post i got a kind of eerie feeling . My uncle Alec worked at the Shiregreen brick yard until it closed in the late 1960`s i remember him driving the digger there although i was only bout 5 -6 years old at the time , my dad & my uncle Ray worked at the Rutland road yard until it closed in the mid/late 1970`s , i remember going with my cousin Alec to the hill slopes on Douglas road at the back of the Rutland road yard and him taking pictures of the kilns & buildings being demolished ....

 

---------- Post added 02-06-2017 at 22:33 ----------

 

Heyup Local Blade

I cant PM you as i haven`t enough posts on here yet , Really good to hear from you and

yeah its been a while , be good to meet up sometime and catch up perhaps over a pint thats if your still a drinking man .

H

 

i have been known to have the odd half now & again :D:D yeah we will sort something out in the near future, keep posting stuff on here its amazing what history you can learn

be in touch soon

alec

[slotter47]

Any memories of the brick works on Rutland Road.

[blackhill]

I worked there 1962 to 64.  It was run like a labour camp. Machines were operated by coloured people. Who were too frightened to say anything to the bosses.

The machines were started bang on time every morning. Even if the lads who took the clay bricks off and loaded the barrows up was not at the machine. They just let the  bricks fall on the floor and pile up. Then when the lad got to the machine he had to clear away the mess and take the bricks off the machine at the same time.

It was the same at the break times and end of the day the machines stopped at the exact time you were supposed to clock out. So if the day started at 8.00am the machines started at 8.00 and if the shift finished at 5.00pm the machines were stopped at that time. There was no canteen. You had to eat your snack sitting anywhere you found to sit. Believe me  it was dirty. dusty and unhealthy. In the winter we used to gather in the kilns where it was warm.  Tramps used to go in the kilns at night time because it was warm. I finished up barrowing the coal from outside into the top of the kilns. Where the kiln fires were controlled. Had to make sure there was enough coal for each of the fired kilns until the next morning. The weekend was the worst time because you had to make sure there was enough coal delivered to cover until you started Monday morning.  Couple of lads I went to school with worked there the same time.  Alan Lee and Terence Fontana. 

 

 

[Jim Hardie]

4 hours ago, slotter47 said:

Any memories of the brick works on Rutland Road.

I remember going there with my dad in the 60s for a load of commons. They were £14 a thousand.

[Andy 5]

We're taking down the chimney of our house in Firth Park (built in the 1920's) and all the bricks are marked 'WINCO'. So I guess that they're not from the Sheffield Brick Co.'s brick yard, as they'd have something like 'SBC', presumably?
They're so much heavier, denser and stronger than modern bricks, but they clean up nice. No idea what we're going to build with them but it'll be strong!

[TedW]

On 17/04/2023 at 12:21, Andy 5 said:

We're taking down the chimney of our house in Firth Park (built in the 1920's) and all the bricks are marked 'WINCO'. So I guess that they're not from the Sheffield Brick Co.'s brick yard, as they'd have something like 'SBC', presumably?
They're so much heavier, denser and stronger than modern bricks, but they clean up nice. No idea what we're going to build with them but it'll be strong!

Sheffield Brick Company had a big advert in the Independent in 1937 on their opening of new plant at the Neepsend brickworks, to add to High Wincobank, Grimesthorpe and Wadsley Bridge, and their output of 6 million bricks per year.  The brand on their facing bricks was "WINCO".

When my dad left school in 1945, my grandad got him a job at Wincobank brickworks. It was filthy and cold and he was very unimpressed.  My grandma went crackers at grandad for getting him such a poor job.  Dad tried to resign (walked all the way to the Rutland Road HQ) but the law said during wartime if you had a job you had to stick with it.  So he went on "slow strike" and so they sacked him.

Edited April 19, 2023 by TedW