Stewartby
Encyclopedia
Stewartby is a model village
and civil parish in Bedfordshire
, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company
. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such better-known Victorian model villages as Saltaire
. Today, Stewartby parish also includes Kempston Hardwick
.
Started in 1926, Stewartby is also a later model village than Woodlands
which was first planned in 1905.
The town takes its name from the Stewart family, whose famous son Sir Malcolm Stewart who bought the London Brick Company in the town in the 1920s. The site is due to close in 2008 as the owners, Hanson
, cannot meet UK limits for sulphur dioxide emissions. The four chimneys remaining were due to be demolished upon closure but these have since been listed for preservation of Bedfordshire's brick-related history. and will remain.
Stewartby brickworks was home to the world’s biggest kiln
and produced 18 million brick
s at the height of production.
BJ Forder & Son opened the first brickworks
in Wootton Pillinge in 1897.
Wootton Pillinge was renamed Stewartby in 1937 in recognition of the Stewart family who had been instrumental in developing the brickworks.
The firm became London Brick Company and Forders Limited in 1926, and shortened to London Brick Company in 1936.
At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 brick chimneys in the Marston Vale.
In the 1970s Bedfordshire
produced 20% of England’s bricks.
At its peak London Brick Company had its own ambulance and fire crews, a horticultural department and a photographic department, as well as its own swimming pool inside the factory, and ran a number of sports clubs.
More than £1 million was spent on Stewartby Brickworks in 2005-7 in an attempt to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions.
The factory used Lower Oxford Clay
, which is made up of 5% seaweed, formed 150 million years ago when it was on the sea bed. This removed the need to add coal to the fire, as the organic material burned.
Stewartby has a railway station on the Marston Vale Line
.
The village is the planned location for the proposed National institute for research into aquatic habitats
, to be the world's largest aquarium
, and would deal primarily in fresh water
life.
Stewartby has been home to Stewartby Village Football Club since 1999. With Stewartby Village FC under the new management of Mike Griffin for the 2009/10 season, starting a new chapter in the Bedfordshire County League Division 4.
Stewartby is also home to Stewartby Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society who have been putting on performances of concerts and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in the village hall since 1951.
Model village
A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, in most cases built from the late eighteenth century onwards by industrialists to house their workers...
and civil parish in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company
The London Brick Company
The London Brick Company is a leading British manufactuer of bricks. It is owned by Hanson plc.- History :The London Brick Company owes its origins to John Cathles Hill, a developer-architect who built houses in both London and Peterborough...
. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such better-known Victorian model villages as Saltaire
Saltaire
Saltaire is a Victorian model village within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...
. Today, Stewartby parish also includes Kempston Hardwick
Kempston Hardwick
Kempston Hardwick is a small village on the edge of the town of Kempston in Bedfordshire, England. Historically it was one of the hamlets or "ends" scattered across the parish of Kempston. It has a station on the Marston Vale Line which hit the headlines when it was revealed it only has one...
.
Started in 1926, Stewartby is also a later model village than Woodlands
Woodlands, South Yorkshire
Woodlands is a model village, 3 miles north of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It was designed and built in the early 20th century by Percy Bond Houfton as tied cottages for the miners of the neighbouring Brodsworth Colliery...
which was first planned in 1905.
The town takes its name from the Stewart family, whose famous son Sir Malcolm Stewart who bought the London Brick Company in the town in the 1920s. The site is due to close in 2008 as the owners, Hanson
Hanson plc
Hanson plc is a British based international building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index for many years, the company was acquired by a division of German rival Heidelberg Cement in August 2007.-History:Hanson...
, cannot meet UK limits for sulphur dioxide emissions. The four chimneys remaining were due to be demolished upon closure but these have since been listed for preservation of Bedfordshire's brick-related history. and will remain.
Stewartby brickworks was home to the world’s biggest kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
and produced 18 million brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s at the height of production.
BJ Forder & Son opened the first brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
in Wootton Pillinge in 1897.
Wootton Pillinge was renamed Stewartby in 1937 in recognition of the Stewart family who had been instrumental in developing the brickworks.
The firm became London Brick Company and Forders Limited in 1926, and shortened to London Brick Company in 1936.
At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 brick chimneys in the Marston Vale.
In the 1970s Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
produced 20% of England’s bricks.
At its peak London Brick Company had its own ambulance and fire crews, a horticultural department and a photographic department, as well as its own swimming pool inside the factory, and ran a number of sports clubs.
More than £1 million was spent on Stewartby Brickworks in 2005-7 in an attempt to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions.
The factory used Lower Oxford Clay
Oxford Clay
The Oxford Clay Formation is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay is of middle Callovian to lower Oxfordian age and comprises 2 main facies. The lower facies comprises the...
, which is made up of 5% seaweed, formed 150 million years ago when it was on the sea bed. This removed the need to add coal to the fire, as the organic material burned.
Stewartby has a railway station on the Marston Vale Line
Marston Vale Line
The Marston Vale Line is the railway line from Bletchley to Bedford in England. It is one of two surviving passenger-carrying sections of the "Varsity Line" between Oxford and Cambridge....
.
The village is the planned location for the proposed National institute for research into aquatic habitats
National institute for research into aquatic habitats
The National institute for research into aquatic habitats is a proposed fresh water aquarium in Stewartby, Bedfordshire, England, UK.The bio-domed research complex and aquarium, would be built in one of the disused clay extraction pits of the former Marston Vale brickfield...
, to be the world's largest aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, and would deal primarily in fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
life.
Stewartby has been home to Stewartby Village Football Club since 1999. With Stewartby Village FC under the new management of Mike Griffin for the 2009/10 season, starting a new chapter in the Bedfordshire County League Division 4.
Stewartby is also home to Stewartby Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society who have been putting on performances of concerts and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in the village hall since 1951.
See also
- Stewartby railway stationStewartby railway stationStewartby railway station serves the Bedfordshire village of Stewartby in England. It is also the nearest station to the Marston Vale Millennium Country Park.-Services:...
- Woodlands Model VillageWoodlands, South YorkshireWoodlands is a model village, 3 miles north of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It was designed and built in the early 20th century by Percy Bond Houfton as tied cottages for the miners of the neighbouring Brodsworth Colliery...
- Port SunlightPort SunlightPort Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
External links
- 2001 Census - Parish Profile for Stewartby
- Village website
- Stewartby pages at the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records ServiceBedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records ServiceThe Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service is a county record office, holding archival material associated with Bedfordshire and Luton. Established in 1913 by George Herbert Fowler as the Bedfordshire Record Office, it was the first county record office in England. It is located in...
- Stewartby Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society