A collection of 6,000 precious bricks needs a new home

Two Scots who are believed to have Britain’s largest collection of bricks are looking to build a museum for 6,000 people.

Mark Cranston and Ian Suddaby have spent the last 15 years collecting thousands of Scottish-made bricks from all over the world.

Part of the collection is kept in two large stables in Mr. Cranston’s garden in the Scottish Borders; another is parked outside Mr Suddaby’s home in East Lothian.

The couple had an agreement that if something happened to one of them, the other would make sure their priceless collection was safe. However, they now decide they need to find a safer and more permanent home for them.

Mr Suddaby, an archaeologist who lives in New Winton, told BBC Scotland News the bricks were an important record of Scotland’s industrial past.

“Brick making is a very important part of Scottish history as we have some of the best quality fireclay in the world for industrial brick making.

“And it has something to do with the industrial revolution and I think it should be promoted to a wider audience and it should be in museums.

“My collection has outgrown my garden and the area around my house.”

The 61-year-old started collecting bricks when he saw other archaeologists throwing them in the excavation.

“Bricks are undervalued by archaeologists,” he said.

“Bricks have historical value. Mark and I both have lots of bricks that are the only products known from brickworks sometimes quite large that have been used by many people over many years.

“Many people think of bricks as ordinary and not very interesting, but people who start collecting them soon realize that it is a very interesting hobby.”

Among the collection is a special firebrick salvaged from the SS Politician, after it ran aground in the Outer Hebrides in 1941 carrying 264,000 bottles of malt whiskey – inspiring the novel and film Whiskey Galore!

There are also bricks taken from the execution block at Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, before it was demolished in the late 1990s.

They have Scottish-made bricks found from old gold mines in Washington state, USA. The oldest brick is the gutter tile from 1833.

The collection is even larger than the Brickworks Museum – the only brick museum in England – in Swanwick, Hampshire, which has around 3,500 bricks.

Mr. Cranston said he had catalog of every Scottish brick have met or been given.

“As far as Scottish industrial history goes, this collection is unique,” he said.

“We are at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It’s all about heat and steam industrial processes.

“Wherever there’s heat, you have to protect anything that’s heated by a direct heat source so you have fire bricks between them.”

A retired police sergeant says there are still thousands of examples of Scottish bricks to be found.

“We’re adding bricks every week that haven’t been recorded before,” he said.

The 62-year-old said when he started in 2010, he asked the National Museum of Scotland how many different types of Scottish bricks were stamped and was told 350.

“Obviously we have now proven that there is a way out,” he said.

He added that he was very proud of his collection.

“It’s a unique way to bring together the history of the industry, which appeals to both of us,” he said.

“I can’t even imagine how many hours have gone into the website to record bricks let alone the searches and journeys that have taken place.

“Ian was very lucky because he was able to get into the archaeological site so he was able to save it.

“They have stories to tell, to be dug up and researched.

“It was a hobby and now it’s a passion addiction.”

He didn’t want to give up but he knew he had to and that searching the museum might take a long time.

“We want to make sure they are preserved for the people of Scotland and that the collection is there forever.

“There’s no point in looking for everything to disappear while we’re gone.”