58: History “New engines, driers and kilns, which enabled 310,000 bricks to be made every week in the 1920s.�
Left: The last Southwater brickworks chimney was blown up on 4 August 1983, 16 years after the closure of the railways line on the Downs Link. (Images: HDC/Horsham Museum & Art Gallery)
Three years later, Mr Peters sold out to William Belcher, a London builder, who created the Sussex Brick Company Ltd. In 1903, only two men were working at the site, but the business was transformed and the following year three kilns were operating with a target output of 20 million bricks a year. During the First World War, the original brickworks north of the station closed, never to reopen. After the war, the industry boomed and three more kilns opened. In 1927, the year the company reverted to its old name the Sussex Brick Company, a night shift started which was to run through the Second World War right up to 1979. The company continued to grow after the Second World War and merged with Redlands Holding Limited in 1959. The brickworks at Warnham is now operated by Wienerberger Ltd. Southwater was famed for its brickworks for almost a century. The factory started in 1890, when the father of Peter Peters purchased Andrews Farm and ran a brick-working factory on the site. As the farm was next to the railway line, it allowed for two sidings; one for dispatching the bricks and the other for receiving coal. In 1898, Peters mortgaged the works to raise money for investment in Warnham and in 1899 it was sold to Horsham builder Mr Mills and his new partner William Weban-Smith.
They formed the Southwater Brick & Tile Company in 1900, which produced a high class, pressed engineering brick. In 1907, Southwater Brick & Tile Company amalgamated with the Sussex Brick & Estates Company Ltd at Warnham, improving the finances of the firm. The works continued to develop after World War One with the introduction of new engines, driers and kilns, which enabled 310,000 bricks to be made every week in the 1920s. The men also saw improved working conditions, with a bathhouse opening in 1924 and special events including an outing to Southend for employees. About 400 people travelled first class and the chairman’s wife gave out chocolates and cigarettes to all. By the 1950s, the bricks made at Southwater were being exported all over the world. In 1959, the site became part of Redland Bricks Ltd, but by 1982 the brickworks were closed. The railway line was axed in 1967 and on 4 August 1983 the last Southwater chimney was blown up. In its place, the council created a country park.
All work and no play – the working life of Horsham folk, runs from 20 Jan - 21 Mar 2018 at Horsham Museum. For details of more exhibitions visit horshammuseum.org
Shaun Maguire *VTTLYJPHS
7VY[YHP[
>LKKPUN
Garden Services / Garden Clearance T ^ ^^^ [VI`WOPSSPWZWOV[VNYHWO` JV \R
07870 941018