The Brickmakers of St Albans
A Talk given to the St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society at St Albans on 7th January 2003

Thomas Higden

St Stephens, St Albans, died 1686

In the name of God Amen the twelth Day of May in the second yeare of the Reigne of our Soveigne Lord James the second by the grace of God King of England Scotland France & Ireland Defendor of the Faith etc Anno Dni 1686 I Thomas Higden of the pish of St Stephenes in the County of Hertford Brickmaker … Left all to his wife, Alice Higden … [HALS 122 AW 18]

The inventory dated 14th September 1686 [HALS A25/4223] contains the following items possibly relating to his trade as a brickmaker, in a total estate of £60 5s 6d:

Item Brickes & tyles Burnt and unburt        £3 6s 8d
Item wood grass & corne Dung and
all other lumber wthout Dores                     £7 3s 6d
Debtes good and Badd                             £40 15s 6d

The book also includes the inventory of Robert Skeale, bricklayer of St Stephen, dated 12th May, 1690, which includes £510 of moneys due upon Mortgage Surrender Bonds & Bills Good & Bad but nothing directly relevant to the bricklaying or brickmaking trade.

Talk: One of the problems with such early records is that bricklayers must have got their bricks from somewhere -and may well have made them themselves.

Supplementary Information

Information from All My Worldly Goods, The Bricket Wood Society

If you can add to the information given above tell me.