I recently visited the old Don Valley Brickworks in search of some unique minerals. The brickworks was created in 1889 by three brothers John, William and George Taylor. Their work was creative, using the different materials present at this site to create a variety of brick types. They were also prolific and by 1907 they were producing 100,000 bricks a day! By the 1980s most of the usable clay and shale had been quarried but it wasn’t until 1994 that the restoration of the site began. Today a not-for-profit company called Evergreen is working on site to explore “the relationship between nature, culture and community”.
I visited the site both for the enjoyment of walking about the location, and to keep my eyes pealed for possible rock samples. With the rain, and subsequent mud, that came with spring, everything was pretty much caked with dirt. I did find a nice sample of some ochre limestone that I’ll experiment with. I’ll have to clean up the other the samples I collected before I’ll know more. Stay tuned!