Building record MAB26900 - BRICKWORKS, STRABATHIE

Remains of the Strabathie brickworks depicted on the 2nd edition OS map but not on the earlier 1st edition OS map.

Remains of the Strabathie brickworks depicted on the 2nd edition OS map but not on the earlier 1st edition OS map. The Seaton Tile and Brick Company who owned the works moved to Strabathie when the clay ran out at their works at Torry. They consisted of two main blocks orientated east-west, one rectangular and the other to its east T-shaped. A clay-pit lay to their east with a small-scale railway track leading from the pit to along the northern side of the buildings. Two smaller buildings lay to the north beside the roadway. They were managed by a Mr Alexander Smith in 1903 and employed circa 100 people. The works could turn out circa 5 million bricks and over 1 million drain pipes annually. On the 1929 map two other small buildings lie to the west, one of which may be a small engine shed, as a rail track leads from it around the north of the works then swings down to the south towards Bridge of Don. This special light railway was constructed by the company to take bricks to their depot in Bridge of Don and was known locally as the 'Murcar line' and was opened in 1899 and closed finally in 1949, although the brickworks may have closed before that date. The large buildings and railway have now gone but it is unknown if anything further survives. A watching brief was carried out at this site in March 2008 by AOC prior to redevelopment of the site. No significant archaeological features or artefacts were encountered.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2008, BLACKDOG, BRIDGE OF DON, WATCHING BRIEF: DATA STRUCTURE REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB3563.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2009, DISCOVERY & EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, VOL 9, 2008, p.17 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3496.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 3:29PM