Bruce wrote:

Accrington brick is a bright red and has a semi-glazed appearance. It
is highly water- and acid-resistant. It was extremely popular in the
Lancashire mill towns where high rainfall, winter freeze/thaw cycles
and acid rain from the mill chimneys made for a very aggressive
environment that demanded a very durable brick.

In these towns, the only other way to get a waterproof building was to
use stone, which was of course much more expensive.

Accrington bricks have continued to be used as engineering bricks in
demanding environments from the 1880s until 2008. Sadly, the closure
of the Accrington brick works, part of Marshalls, now owned by the
Hanson Group, itself a subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement, was announced
only yesterday.

http://www.nori-acidbrick.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smallbr...ld/2542906952/


Link to news article in the "Lancashire Telegraph" about the closu

http://tinyurl.com/4mdgqo