Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 150
Cutting gauged
voussoirs by bench-
mounted disc-cutter at
Lawrence's Warfield
works (Berkshire) in the
early 1950s. (Courtesy
of Michael Dumbleton)
These arch sets were numbered in order for laying and packed for site deliv-
ery (Fig. 151). Lawrence continued to offer oversized bricks for bespoke cut-
ting but increasingly it centred on an orange rubber sized to one format of
250
3
1
⁄
8
in), as opposed to the wider range
120
80 mm (9¾ in
4¾ in
of sizes once offered.
By 1967 there were only 531 brickworks, the biggest loss was in traditional
brickmaking, which continued to decline, as the small yards were unable to
compete with the more cost-effective big companies.
At Lawrence's works in 1978, annual production had dropped to around
250,000 bricks plus 25,000 rubbers; mainly the second quality orange type.
The demand for rubbers, being mainly used on repair and restoration work
and very occasionally on new-build, had significantly dropped, so they were
now only placing 2,000 within a kiln setting. In 1981 The Brick Develop-
ment Association awarded a certificate of merit for craftsmanship for the
re-building of a niche within a garden wall at Hampton Court Palace using
TLB rubbing bricks. Thomas Lawrence finally ceased production in 1984, not
only of their prized TLB rubbers, but completely. The company was refused
Local Authority permission to extract the prized clay for rubbers from the
company's land opposite to their works, vital for continued production. Thus it
