Member Article

York brick company completes prestigious Oxford contract

The award-winning York Handmade Brick Company has played a crucial role in the construction of a flagship new development at Saïd Business School in Oxford.

York Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, manufactured and supplied 30,000 bespoke bricks for the second phase of the new building project at the business school. The contract was worth £50,000.

Saïd Business School is the business school of Oxford University, located just west of the city on the former site of Oxford Rewley Road railway station.

David Armitage, chairman of York Handmade, one of the leading independent brickmakers in the north, commented: “We were delighted to be able to help in the construction of such an important Oxford building. The buff-coloured Byland Blend bricks were especially created to match the bricks of the first phase of the business school development.

“These bricks, which come from the clay of the famous, but now defunct, Williamson Cliff brickworks near Stamford, are also very similar to those of many historic Oxford and Cambridge colleges. We are proud to be contributing to such a rich tradition.”

Michael Trigg, associate director of the London-based architects Dixon Jones, who designed the Saïd Business School, explained: “We needed bricks to blend in seamlessly with Phase One of the development and the wonderful bricks of the York Handmade Brick Company fitted the bill perfectly.”

This accolade comes hot on the heels of York Handmade’s success at the prestigious Brick Awards, the Oscars of the brick industry, where the company won three categories: the Best Single House, the Best Craftsmanship and Specialist Brickwork Contractor.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .