The history of Brickfields Country Park, page 8

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(Company #7429, 1873)[1]
by Mr. & Mrs. Masters

The Brick and Tile Works was established and owned by Mr. George Kemp, subsequently ownership passed to Keith Kemp and a Mr. Gould who continued in business up to the mid–1920s[2]. Thereafter, some of the buildings – possibly the whole site – became a concrete works manufacturing mainly concrete pipes[3]. This concrete production continued into the 1950s and was run – possibly owned – by a Mr. Loveless[4]. It is believed that part of the site remained vacant, and the buildings unused, for a very long period, probably from the mid-1920s until the 1940s or even 1950s.

When the Aldershot Brick and Tile Works was flourishing, the works office was located in the builders yard at 2–4 Elms Road, until recently occupied by Kemp Stroud Builders[5], this was the case, it is believed, up to 1914. The red facing bricks produced by George Kemp were known in the trade as "Georgie Kemp's Reds"[6] (photos), he also produced bricks known as "wire–cut commons" which it is believed, he used for his own house, "The Croft" in Church Lane East and Mr. Stroud's house, "Alverstoke" in Cranmore Gardens. A vast number of both types of Kemp's bricks were used in numerous buildings in the Cargate area.

There were three generations of the male Kemp's, all of whom were involved with building construction and allied operations. It is believed that one or other of them built the following –

The Post Office - Google Street view,
The Grange (in Croft Road?),
St. Michael's Church Hall – Google Street view,
The Wesleyan Church – Google Street view,
Hippodrome – demolished in 1961, historic photo, Google Street view,
and the Y.M.C.A.

For an Aldershot News article from March 1907 entitled "Trading Enterprise – Half a Century of Building" extolling the work of Mr. Kemp's firm, his work in Aldershot and the surrounding villages, see this page.

Cont....

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From the National Archives - Company No: 7429; Aldershot Brick and Tile Works Company Ltd. Incorporated in 1873. Dissolved before 1916. [top]
Brick making it would appear continued at the site to at least 1927 and possibly to 1936 as we have subsequently found a group photograph of the workers in 1927, and subsequently an aerial photograph of the brickworks from 1936. [top]
At some time the site was also used for Fruit and Vegetable storage, it is not known if the concrete works and Fruit/vegetable storage were on the site at the same time. We have been given the names of Waddingtons, Waddleton & Company and Fyffes as possible companies involved. [top]
Mr. Loveless, Caywoods Concrete Products - fence posts, blocks, pipes Etc.
In "The Story of Aldershot by H.N. Cole" page 294, it lists the owner as Carwood, Wharton & Co. Ltd., manufacturers of Porex Pipes. Searches for Carwood only seem to return Cawood Concrete Products Ltd., who were involved in a landmark legal case "Croudace Construction Ltd v Cawoods Concrete Products Ltd." regarding the late delivery of concrete blocks By Cawood. These are the only references we can find to date, Carwood and Cawood.

From Graces Guide we find that a company called Cawood, Wharton and Co. of Harrogate, Yorkshire, were in amongst other things manufacturers of "porous pipes". Founded in 1919 and closed the 1990s they were also located in Gravesend, Kent. It would appear that Carwood is actually Cawood.
Cawood, Wharton and Co. of Harrogate, Yorkshire.
1919 Company founded.
1922 Private company.
1947 Company made public.
1961 Contractors and exporters of coal, coke and fuel oil, steel arches and rails; shipowners; warfingers and transport contractors. Manufacturers of asphalt, tarmacadam and bituminous carpeting's; porous pipes; concrete products; granite, limestone, sand and gravel quarry owners; prefabricated permanent housing, light weight roofing; building and civil engineering contractors; cotton bag manufacturers. [back] [top]
It is believed that (George) Kemp Stroud went into administration in 1998 and ceased trading around 1999 when most of their assets were acquired by Leonard Field of Southampton. A writ was filed at the High court alleging that the administrator for Kemp Stroud, Carl Jackson of BKL Weeks Green, was possessed of a conflict of interest, because his firm was also auditor of Leonard Field Group, which bought most of the assets of George Kemp Stroud. The case was brought by Begbies Traynor who became joint liquidator of George Kemp Stroud in 1999 after GKS's administration order was removed. "The business could have been saved. People were wanting to buy the business as a going concern." (©2002 Accountancy Age). [back] [top]
Old Bricks - History at your feet, page 13 of the "English Bricks" section for K (Kemp) and scroll down to see a "Georgie Kemp's Red", typical of the ones made at The Aldershot Brick and Tile Works. [back] [top]