The Randolph Brickworks at Evenwood is understood to be another commercial venture carried out by the Summerson Brothers, with Maurice Summerson being managing director.  Production commenced in 1931. The works remained a private enterprise despite nationalisation of the coal industry. It closed in 1958 with the loss of 16 jobs.

The brick works were located to the south of the colliery.  The yard had 16 Newcastle kilns, each capable of holding 14,500 bricks.  Six of the kilns had their own separate chimneys which were about 20 ft. high.  The rest of the kilns were connected up to one big chimney. An example of a Randolph Colliery red facing brick, produced from “seggar” mined in the Hutton seam is shown below. White shale from other seams produced off-white and brown coloured bricks.  Many of the bricks were sent to Catterick Camp and to Crook Urban District Council for their construction schemes.

OTHER LOCAL BRICKWORKS

The image below shows the company marks of other local brickworks – the North Bitchburn Coal Company (HQ at Darlington) but the main brickworks were at Hunwick. The company manufactured other goods such as pipes and sanitary ware. Stobarts had brickworks at some of its collieries, particularly at Newton Cap (?)

Butterknowle bricks were identified by a thumb mark in the corner. Men from East Anglia, notably Essex, came to Butterknowle to work in the brickworks and later the local pits. The family names of Saltmarsh, Sams and Buttle are now common in the area but their roots (we are led to believe) are from “down south.”