This next excellent photo was shared by Kelly Hughes.
She told me recently, “Here’s a photo of the Whistleberry Brickworks taken in 1947. My grandfather worked there- Thomas Small Edgar. He’s 3rd from the left on the back row. My grandpa had returned from Germany in 1946 (he was part of the British Army). He met my gran there- she was displaced from Ukraine and taken to Germany as forced labour- they were married in 1946 and came to Scotland afterwards.”
Always wanting to add some research to photos sent in, the following is hopefully interesting:
Whistleberry Brickworks was first conceived by Messrs John & R Finlay in 1937, then the owners of Hamilton Brick & Tile Works. They asked the council for a portion of the former Whistleberry Colliery site at the boundary of Hamilton and Blantyre and intended to erect a new brickworks at a cost of £20,000. It was hoped the brickworks would employ 100 people for at least 20 years.
By August 1938, the cost had risen to £25,000 mostly due to enlarging the proposed kiln to 190 feet by 50 feet and a chimney some 150 foot tall. The Town Council in Hamilton granted their use of the land in return for the business utilising the existing bing, in the hope the size of the bing would be greatly reduced. It was an acceptable arrangement for all.
Kelly’s photo attached is in the immediate post WW2 years where the business once again flourished. Shortly after, in the 1950’s, Raeburn Brick Co Ltd took over the works, unlike many of its competitors, Raeburn were a family owned firm.
James Raeburn took over the brickworks at Whistleberry, whilst his brother George commenced open casting at his farm nearby. Raeburn managed to steer through a general industry wide decline in the 1970s, successfully coming out of it with success predominantly in other operations in Fife.
George’s 2 sons, James and David were working as accountants and in the 1980s, were given the task of duplicating the success of Fife which ended up in 1984 with the first phase built in new premises in High Blantyre. It opened with a single tunnel kiln and dryer. Such was this technology , even then it was possible to produce 600,000 bricks per week from a highly automated system and small workforce.
By 1987, the second phase had been built, and with the additional of a second kiln, output doubled to around 1,200,000 bricks. The whole operation to create the factory having cost approx £5m. In the late 1980s, the factory at High Blantyre operated 12 – 16 hours per day, 7 days a week supplied by specialist manufacturers Craven Fawcett. The second phase of the factory was officially opened by Hamilton MP George Robertson. (now Lord Robertson)
The materials and methods used in producing facing brick or common brick are very similar, so switching production by the 50 or so strong workforce, generally wasn’t an issue, though the Raeburn trademark typically was facing bricks, in a rustic finish. Automation was the name of the game, and even the Raeburn directors confessed in an interview in 1987, that there is an eerie feeling touring the plant at night and hearing the machinery, but seeing very few people around.
In more modern times, respecting the environment and reducing carbon is highly important. This has helped by having the factory constructed to meet the stringent requirements, with reduced emissions which is why, unlike some other brickworks, you don’t see smoke belching out. Those driving through Priestfield Industrial Estate, next to Redburn Farm Inn, down into Blantyre Industrial Estate will easily have seen the neat stacks of finished bricks awaiting to be delivered to onward destinations.
I’d love to add and record more detail to the Raeburn story, if any of the family members would perhaps like to assist one day. I’m sure there is much more to tell in this successful business.
