William Bennett was born in Hackney in about 1800, married a St Albans girl in about 1832. By the time of his death he owned a significant amount of property in the area (possibly including some houses  which he built for letting) including brickworks on Bernards Heath, Harpenden Common and Leverstock Green.

It has not been possible to locate William BENNETT's birth or marriage but his wife Martha was almost certainly Martha CANNON who was christened at St Peter's Church on 27 October 1811, the daughter of William and Mary CANNON. They had the following children - all christened at St Peters. For the older children (at least) the father's occupation is given as "builder"

Martha Cannon BENNETT    Christening: 20 Jun 1834
Mary Ann Luckman BENNETT    Christening: 4 Jul 1836
William Cannon BENNETT    Christening: 13 Jun 1839
Eleanor Maria BENNETT    Christening: 21 Oct 1843
Harriet Louisa BENNETT    Christening:  22 Feb 1846
Alice Henrietta BENNETT    Christening:  30 Apr 1848
Henry Charles BENNETT    Christening: 15 Oct 1850
Edward Herbert BENNETT    Christening: 31 Oct 1852 
Eliza Adelaide BENNETT    Christening:  2 Jul 1856

Brick Making on Bernards Heath, St Albans

For a map showing the location of his brickfield see The Bernards Heath Brick Fields

The first reference I have to William BENNETT is 

Order that Mr William BENNETT, of St. Albans, Builder, be employed to make the alterations at the goal. suggested by the visiting magistrates' report.

Midsummer Sessions 1831, Session Records of the Liberty of St Albans

He is listed in the Hertfordshire Poll Book for the election on 20th and 21st December, 1832, when William BENNETT, of St Peters qualified on the basis of copyhold cottages at Snatchup End, St Albans. William BENNETT is also listed as paying rates on  "Bernerd Heath & Brick Hill" in the Sandridge Rate Returns for 18th May 1833 and 5th June 1835 [from a selective transcript by Reg Auckland]. In the 1834 Pigot's Directory for Hertfordshire he is listed in St Peters Street under the heading "Carpenters and Builders" while in the 1839 edition he is listed under "Brickmakers & Lime Burners." 

A Post Office Directory for 1846 lists him as a builder, brickmaker and lime burner at St Albans, Hemel Hempstead and Harpenden. In 1850 he is listed as a builder at St Albans and as a brickmaker in 1855 and 1862. In the 1851 census he was described as a "Builder & Brickmaker employing 27 men viz 3 Carpenters 2 Bricklayers 14 Labourers 6 brickmakers and 2 labs" while in 1861 he was an "Alderman & Brickmaker employing 17 labourers". 

He died on 11th June 1862 and his will states that his brickfield was situated on the north east side of Bernards Heath - suggesting the site opposite where the school now is - which fits in with other evidence. This brickyard was taken over by James Vass in 1864.

Brick Making on West Common, Harpenden

For map and other references to the Harpenden Brick Field see West Common, Harpenden

He also owned a brickworks on Harpenden Common and the following statement1 almost certainly refer to him. "A map, drawn in 1838, shows a spot on Harpenden Common opposite the end of Crabtree Lane where Lines ‘built a house and made bricks’. The notes accompanying the map record that ‘Mr Bennett made him pull his house down and clear away his brickyard’. The same map shows a brickfield on the Common, west of St Albans Road and south of Hatching Green." [Wheathampstead & Harpenden Part V.]

The 1850 and 1855 Post Office Directories for Hertfordshire lists William BENNETT, brickmaker, under Harpenden. In his will he owned land brickfield and other estate situate on the west side of Harpenden Common. It would appear that his widow kept the brickfield operating after his death, as the following advertisement from 1868 shows.

The map shows the brickworks from the 1884 OS map and the presence of the "shaft" strongly suggests that there was a chalk mine entered via a mine shaft.

Brick Making at Leverstock Green

The Bennett's End Brick Field as shown on the 1883 OS map.

There is a reference to William BENNETT making bricks at Hemel Hempstead in the 1846 Post Office Directory for London and surrounds and his will also shows that he had a "brickfield and estate situate at or near Leverstock Green in the county of Hertford". It may be relevant that a Henry BENNETT who owned "Meadow & Kiln" 2a 2r 10p in the Leverstock Green area on the 1840 tithe return. He occupied the "Kiln Grounds", while part of the meadow was occupied by Mark Pattison WOOD - the local farmer.

The following advert shows that there were both brick and lime kilns on the site shortly after William Bennett's death and it could be that there was a chalk mine at Hemel Hempstead as well as at Harpenden - and possibly at Bernards Heath.

Community Activities

William BENNETT was elected a Town Councillor in St Albans in 1849, was Mayor in 1851, continuing in 1852 as a Councillor and becoming an Alderman in 1856. Together with John Horner RUMBALL he petitioned against the return of Mr Jacob BELL as MP for St Albans on the grounds of corruption in the 1850 election. He was the second person to give evidence to the Parliamentary Commissioners, on 27th October, 1851. [Report of the Commissioners ... to inquire into the existence of bribery in the Borough of St Albans ..., 1852.]  He was a Parish Warden at St Peters and was a member of the Board of Guardians. 

Will - Listing Property owned

William BENNETT owned three brickworks and a significant amount of other property in St Albans - particularly east of St Peter's Street between Victoria Street and the Hatfield Road. One of his tenants was my great great grandfather, Thomas Cox.

His will, which is summarised below, identifies the property, and where relevant, the tenants.

Census Returns

1851 Census - St Peters Street, St Peters, St Albans

His son William Cannon BENNETT was one of the boarders in the "Gentlemens' classical and mathematical boarding school" run by the Rev Henry HALL in Fishpool Street, St Albans

1861 Census - St Peters Street, St Peters, St Albans

 1871 Census - 6 Western Terrace, Brighton

William Bennett's widow was living at Brighton with children Mary, Eleanor, Henrietta, Charles, Edward, Adelaide and two domestic servants, with no evidence of any connection with brickmaking. - No sign of William Cannon Bennett.

 1891 Census - Brunswick Road, Hove, Sussex

Siblings at this address were Mary, Maria, Alice, Henry (Clerk in Holy Orders) and Herbert (Visitor, Vicar of St James, Doncaster).

Scott Brown (heirchive @t sympatico.ca) of Uxbridge, ON, Canada. writes: I am descended from a Charles Bennett of Mapperley, Notts and wondered if you were aware of a connection between your St Albans, Bennett Brickworks and the brickworks of my GGGrandfather. Bennett's are tied to brickmaking all over Britain at least back to early 1700's.
 

In the 18th century and earlier, and for most of the 19th century, most bricks were made from local clay near to the building(s) where they were to be used. It would have been common for builders and bricklayers to make their own bricks - or at least employ itinerant brick makers. During the industrial revolution and the population movements into towns, people with skills relating to the building trade frequently moved to the larger towns and cities, and a family with skills might well split up and make bricks in many different areas.

You don't say when Charles Bennett was born or when he was at Mapperley, but I guess he was he was probably the Charles, son of Frances and Elizabeth Bennett (and brother of Henry) who was christened in Derby in 1834, was a managing Brick maker at Mapperley in 1871, and a brick maker at Nottingham in 1881. There is nothing here to connect the family to Hertfordshire (or London).

However there is nothing to link the Bennett brickmakers of St. Albans to Nottinghamshire. The 1851 census shows that William Bennett (1800-1862) shows that he was born in Hackney and he may well have come to St Albans as a builder, and only started to make bricks once he got there. The census also shows two other Benntts born in Hackney who could have been his brothers. Arthur (47 in 1851) was a carpenter still living in Hackney while Joseph (44) was a builder and sawyer living in St Albans, All employed staff - meaning that they were all principals in the building trade. As my interest is specifically with brickmaking in the St Albans area I will not be following this up further - but you might like to research the Bennett family in Hackney to see if they came from Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire.