Brickworks and Small Industry

c. 1860

The local clay deposits in the Hedge End area supported small-scale brickmaking during the Victorian period. Brickworks produced the building materials used in the construction of local houses, farm buildings and the infrastructure that came with the railway. The industry was modest in scale, employing a handful of workers, but it represented the only significant non-agricultural employment in the area. The brickworks operated for several decades before being overtaken by larger industrial producers. Some of the older buildings in the area were constructed from locally made bricks.