This house in Bournemouth Road, situated near the junction with Brickfield Lane in Chandler’s Ford, was called at the turn of the nineteenth century, “Prestonpans Villa”. In 1901 it was occupied by Mr Samuel Batley, Elizabeth, his wife and a domestic servant.
Samuel was born in Medway, Kent but grew up in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. His father Robert was a brickmaker and by 1871 at the age of 19 Samuel was already making his mark as a sanitary pipe manufacturer. It is not certain when Samuel moved south but in the 1890’s he was working for Hooper & Ashby, a large Southampton based company of builder’s merchants and manufacturers of cement and bricks.
We know that in 1897 a patent was registered in the joint names of Ashby and Batley for a system of heating drying sheds using steam pipes. Samuel Batley was the manager of the new Hooper and Ashby brickyard situated just a short distance behind his home. This was the first works in Chandler’s Ford to use machinery to make bricks and was capable of making 30,000 bricks per day. At this rate of production the available clay was soon exhausted and a new larger brickworks was opened near Swanwick in 1897 based on the one already open in Chandler’s Ford.
Mr Batley would have been very busy at this time travelling between Chandler’s Ford and Swanwick overseeing the building of the new works and installation of the machinery. We do not know the exact date the Hooper and Ashby yard in Chandler’s Ford closed but it would have been very early in the 20th century. Samuel Batley moved closer to Swanwick and died aged 57, in 1909. His estate, which amounted to £1818, was bequeathed to the church, specifically to the Wesleyan Minister Albert Salmon.
The works near Swanwick became The Bursledon Brick Company. It is now a museum (Bursledon Brickworks) open to the public. On display is original machinery, some of which was moved from Chandlers Ford.
Thank you for that Jim. Very interesting.
Thanks Jim for a very interesting article!
Hi
I also believe that there was a small brick kiln at the site of North Hill Cottage/North Hill Mobile Home Park in Baddesley Road, some years ago? The current owner, Cllr. Martin Hatley (Ampfield), should be able to give you more details about this fact.
I am aware of the kiln you refer to which is still there as far as I know. I have been to see it and have taken some photographs.
Thank you, Jim, that is an interesting post.
Can you confirm that Southampton General Hospital is built on the site of an old brickworks? There was a brickworks at Michelmersh which closed about 1980 I think. I went there to buy bricks for an extension to my house which was oriiginally built with bricks from there and we wanted some to match. They were varied colours, dark red to purple and likely to have flame patterns on them.
I’m not sure that Southampton General Hospital was built on the site of an old brickworks but there were several brickyards close by in the Coxford area. The brickworks at Michelmersh is still operating, making high quality specialist bricks.
PS
Wasn’t there a battle of Prestonpans? Where is it? Anywhere near Presron North End, the football stadium? Who fought whom and who won?
Information please from you history buffs.
Great article, Jim. Mike, there was indeed a Battle of Prestonpans. It was part of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. Found a quick link to a site called British Battles (must have a more indepth look at this site). See http://www.britishbattles.com/jacobite-rebellion/battle-of-prestonpans/
for more. No spoilers but there is a good reason the English don’t commemorate this battle!
Hi, there is still a brickworks at Michelmersh. They make bricks by hand as well as machine.
My parents live in Valley road; the houses were built for the brick workers supervisors. . . .they have a diamond on the front of their house made out of stone to show it was the Forman’s house.
That’s interesting. Do you know when your parents house was built please?
I read somewhere about ‘Mr Bull’s brickworks’ in Brickfield Lane, and that he employed many youngsters from the area after school hours. He apparently had to fulfil a large order of bricks for the Law Courts in London, and eventually the headmaster of the little school that occupied part of what would become Sellwoods site had to write and ask Mr Bull to let his pupils get some rest as they were falling asleep in class.
My family moved to Chandler’s Ford in the summer of 1963, and the Polish lads next door, the Rykowskis, whose father had died, and whose refugee mother allowed unlimited time outdoors enjoying the wild places around the area, showed us the countryside and ponds, streams and woodlands of the area. I was desperate to start fishing, but couldn’t afford the gear, so had an old stick and some thick fishing line with a staple on the end. Along Brickfiled Lane, before it was made up, we used to go fishing in a pond called Bundy’s Lake, possibly about where the Plumb Centre branch was until recently. We also went to a pond called the Lily Pond, one of a couple of square pits about 6′ deep and covered in lilies and full of large newts. These pits would’ve been about where Courage have their depot. Bundy’s Lake was deep, and I couldn’t swim, so it was thrilling to be so close to the water, and was enthralling to be in the lovely countryside just kicking around, being boys.
We lads were appalled when upon turning up one day at Bundy’s Lake to find that giant machinery had been brought in to fell all the lovely old oak and other trees. They had also filled in beautiful old Bundy’s Lake, leaving only a shallow strip of water around one edge. The wildlife we adored had just been ignored, and we panicked to try to help. We fought hard to rescue as many fish as possible – there had been perch, roach, rudd, common and crucian carp, tench etc. We took the buckets, old cans and plastic bags full of fish back to our respective garden ‘ponds’ ie bits of polythene in a hole filled with hose water, but not many of the poor things survived. About the last time I saw Bundy’s Lake intact was when one evening us cub scouts took a frying pan and sausages, eggs etc into the lovely land around Bundy’s Lake and cooked our tea.
I’ve always wondered what the various ponds off what is now Brickfield Lane had to do with the brick-making there.
Thank you for this excellent description of the area in Chandlers Ford which a hundred and twenty years ago was an industrial wasteland scattered with deep excavations, smoking brick kilns and clamps. Many years later and nature had reclaimed the site with the ponds formed by the clay pits adding greatly to the variety of fauna. You were around at the right time to enjoy this as the whole area is now covered by industrial units. What will it look like in another hundred years? I wonder.