The other side of the melt: the Bradford area firebrick industry
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Abstract
After the Industrial Revolution, geological resources and technological developments favoured the development of iron-smelting in Bradford. The underlying Lower Coal Measures contained seams of commercially valuable coal, ironstone, fireclay, sandstone, and ganister. The refractory properties of ganister and fireclay were essential for the linings of the iron smelting furnaces, and the manufacture and properties of refractory bricks made from these materials will be discussed. By 1883 there were at least 15 separate producers of firebricks in the Bradford area. Massive amounts of foundry waste, including firebrick fragments, were produced by the iron industry; the subsequent use of this material will also be described. The conservatism of the iron smelters, and the exhaustion of local coal and ironstone deposits, resulted in the rapid decline of Bradford’s iron smelting industry. By the early 20th century, firebrick manufacturers had followed the iron masters into oblivion.
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