The Great North Wood was a controlled commercial asset, owned by the Archbishops of Canterbury. It produced timber, wooden roof shingles, charcoal and woodland pasture for swine (pannage). Agriculture was a livelihood for many in Woodside. The soil under the Great North Wood was derived from London Clay and too heavy for ploughing. Clay has it uses too, particularly for making bricks. Under Wodside lay best quality London Clay and this gave rise to several brick yards around Woodside. The first mention of a brick field was in 1815. In the 1880s clay was dug in a new brick field owned by Horris Parks, who also made bricks off Portland Road. In 1910 the firm was bought by Edward Handley and it remained in the Handley family until well after WW2. The extent of these brickworks can be seen in the map of the Woodside Brickworks in 1940
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 19:13:47 +0000