Port Arlington Brick & Tile company was established at Port Arlington on the Belarine Peninsula in 1874, reusing the former flour mill. The works brick was operated by Thomas Henry Widdicombe, and exhibited in the 1888 Centennial International Exhibition. Widdicombe also took out patents for improvement in the construction of bricks for hollow walls, and special 'joint bricks' in the early 1870s.
This example of
their cream bricks was recovered during excavation at the polychrome Victorian Italianate St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Manse, Hanmer Street (Williamstown), of 1887/1888. It is possible that the bricks were economic to transport to Melbourne only because of the convenience of transporting by water across the bay.
Wendy Doling provided the following image and description:
Brick (off-white, non-vitreous)
Clay matrix (10YR 8/2 very pale brown) with minor amount of black and red iron oxide flecks
Clay matrix (10YR 8/2 very pale brown) with minor amount of black and red iron oxide flecks
Impressed frog mark on one face - oblong in shape. Impressed lettering within frog
“PORTARLINGTON”, “B & T . WORKS .”. Two circular marks on either side of lettering within frog and on the bottom surface
Dimensions: 217x101x73mm.
