Marston Vale

Marston Vale is an area of Bedfordshire. It lies to the south west of Bedford and Kempston, down towards the M1 motorway. Historically it was one of the main brickmaking districts in England, home of the London Brick Company, now a division of Hanson plc. In more recent years the area had become a dumping ground for waste with 2 massive landfills both of which are recently capped and closed down.

Most of the claypits are now exhausted, and most of the brickmaking chimneys have been demolished. The aesthetic and environmental condition of the vale was being restored by a community forest project called the Forest of Marston Vale. This is being funded in most by business such as Covanta who plan on burning over half a million tonnes of waste each year and building a new and much larger chimney to dominate the skyline. This was opposed by nearly all locals but overridden by a quango prior to its closure.

Villages in Marston Vale include Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick, Houghton Conquest, Marston Moretaine, Lidlington, Brogborough, Ridgmont and Wootton, and in 2007 construction work began on the new town of Wixams.

Wootton Pillinge was renamed Stewartby in 1937 in recognition of the Stewart family who had been instrumental in developing the brickworks.

At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 (one hundred and sixty seven!) brick chimneys in the Marston Vale.

In the 1970s Bedfordshire produced 20% of England’s bricks. Currently at the Stewartby brickworks there are 2 kilns and 3 chimneys in use, producing a total of 135 millions bricks a year.^[1]

The factories 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.

Rail transport in the area is served by the Marston Vale Line.

References

1. ^ BBC: "Brickmaking in Bedfordshire"

External links

• Forest of Marston Vale