Legacy of iconic London Brick and its archivist revealed in new film

Over the last 10 years, Andrew Mortlock has curated an extraordinary collection of artefacts and memorabilia about London Brick and the generations of families who have worked at its factories - and now Foterra has created a film to help tell the story.

The London Brick archive is located on site at the King’s Dyke factory in Whittlesey, where the brick is made.

London Brick was first manufactured in 1877, when James McCallum-Craig bought a property at auction near Peterborough known as Fletton Lodge. Almost 150 years later the same iconic brick can be found in approximately 23% of England’s housing stock. Today, it is produced almost exclusively for the residential renovation, maintenance and improvement market.

Prior to becoming its archivist, Andrew completed 45 years of service for the company after starting as a messenger in 1967. He is one of four generations of his family to have worked making London Brick, a history shared by many other families in the area.

Andrew said: “I regularly hear from people researching their ancestry who would like information or to corroborate tales they’ve heard from family members who worked here. The archive has also become a repository for people who have memorabilia, newspaper cuttings or trinkets that relate to London Brick. Through these donations and the support of Forterra, I’ve been able to grow the archive to what it is today. We have everything from old newsletters, photographs, paintings, awards and cine film reel to an 82-year-old AEC Mammoth delivery truck that still runs today!”

Stephen Harrison, Chief Executive of Forterra, said: “The London Brick archive is a wonderful showcase of our heritage here at Forterra and of the incredible dedication of Andrew and of the generations of workers who have helped make us who we are today. The film we’ve created with Andrew explores this beautifully. I would like to thank Andrew for his dedication preserving this unique and fascinating history.”

For more information and to watch the video visit https://www.forterra.co.uk/london-brick or view it on the Forterra YouTube channel https://youtu.be/WH6usbFmtM0.