Gibside Estate, The Brick Field, Brick Kiln

Estates in the 18th century tried to be as self-sufficient as possible, and for this reason a brick kiln was built in the centre of the Gibside estate in the area now known as the Brick Kiln Field. In this field are the remains of the pond where the clay was extracted. The Brick Kiln Field is shown on Fryer's map of 1803. Shown on the 1767 Estate Map as Longlands. The hollow area on the northern side of the field is the old brick pit and a long mound and spread of brick debris on the eastern side of the pit suggest the location of the kiln. There are many references to the operation of the brick kiln in the 18th century accounts.