Brickmaking in the Black Country - investigating the structure and layout of the buildings, the people and the processes of brickmaking in the region.

Black Country Living Museum / Centre for West Midlands History, School of History and Cultures, University of Birmingham Collaborative PhD Studentship: Brickmaking in the Black Country

Applications are invited for a collaborative funded doctoral studentship, tenable from April 2018, located at the Black Country Living Museum (BCLM) and the Centre for West Midlands History at the University of Birmingham. The award is funded by Arts Council England and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the Museum’s expansion project, BCLM: Forging Ahead.

Brickworks were key industrial sites across the Black Country in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Despite the important contributions of the Black Country to the history of industry and manufacturing, there are few studies on brickmaking and primary sources remain under explored. There are no extant historic brickworks left in the Black Country and only one company remains active, the Ketley Bricks Company.

The successful applicant will research Brickmaking in the Black Country, including the history of the industry after 1945. The research will inform the physical recreation of a brickworks at the Museum, the structure and layout of the buildings and details of the brickmaking process. Potential avenues of investigation include the social and working conditions of women, prisoners of war and immigrant labourers.

Supervisory members of staff include Jonathan Wilson, Deputy Chief Executive (Collections, Learning and Research), BCLM Head of Collections, BCLM and Dr Malcolm Dick, Director of the Centre for West Midlands History, University of Birmingham.