BRICKMAKER

The Brickmaker’s craft is part sculpture, part chemistry and a great deal of arduous labor. In the manner practiced in the 18th century, the work proceeds in the summer months. Virginia clay is shoveled into pits, mixed with water and stomped by foot until smooth and then packed into molds to give it shape. The clay blocks are turned out, then moved into a shed to dry for six weeks. The hard bricks are then stacked in a kiln and fired for six days in temperatures that reach 1,850 degrees.

In the colony’s earliest years, brickmakers were often slaves or unskilled laborers overseen by a master on a plantation or the head of a family-owned brickyard. Men, women and children practiced the trade then, and today Colonial Williamsburg’s working brickyard also benefits from the skills of both genders. Their handiwork is used throughout the Historic Area for the ongoing restoration of such buildings as the Peyton Randolph kitchen, dairy and storage buildings.

For inquiries or purchases please contact Prentis Store at 757-229-1000, Extension 2117 or prentis@cwf.org.