Brick making - (General)

by slowhands , proud of his ancient Dean Forest roots, Sunday, December 20, 2009, 07:27 (5527 days ago) @ Barbara Lloyd

I'm aware of a brickworks nr Coleford reputed to have developed after clay was extracted from the nearby mines.

Lybrook has Lime kilns rather than Brick kilns. However there may have been small scale Brick firing in the Pludds/Reddings area.

I think the term is "Pugging" or "Pug mixing" in Clay brick making -

In the spring, the clay was then able to be worked by hand. It was necessary to either grind the clay into a powder and screen it to remove stones or the clay was was placed into a soaking pit where it was mixed with water to obtain the right consistency for moulding. It was kneaded with the hands and feet to mix all the elements of the clay together. This step was called tempering or pugging and was the hardest work of all. In the mid-1800's horse driven pug mills were invented.

The clay was removed from the soaking pit or pug mill by a temperer who delivered it to the moulding table.

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>