Sims Cottages
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Historical Notes
In 1893 John R Sims, who already owned the eastern clay pit, purchased the western clay pit and some adjoining land to the south towards Hare Lane, from Shrewsbury Waterhouse for £1,400. This adjoining land was then known as Lambs Hill, which extended either side of the railway in roughly equal proportions. It may be that in earlier times the area was used for the grazing of sheep.
On the brickfield side of Lambs Hill were three cottages called 'Lambs Hill Cottage', 'The Homestead' and 'Stockfield'. The latter two gave their names to two of the roads of the Cavendish Estate before they were demolished. Simmil Road, the for which was purchased from the Sims family by George Milliam in 1934 for £1,000, derived its name Simmil from a combination of Sims and Milliam.
In 1920, John R Sims, who lived in Dunloe, Oaken Lane, sold his land holdings to his son, John A Sims, who lived in Stockfield off Oaken Lane. Sims senior died in 1931 aged 95, and his wife, Bertha, in 1934 aged 87. Both are buried in Holy Trinity's churchyard.
Other records indicate that both these Oaken Lane pits were owned by Sims and Sons in 1911 and at their peak were producing about 3 million stocks, tiles and bricks per year. The western pit was worked by the Sims family until about the start of World War II. Despite local opposition, the site was leased in 1951 to Pre-Cast Building Products for the manufacture of breeze-blocks and artificial stone, until this closed down in the early 1960s.
Oaken Lane bricks were used in the construction of Claygate railway station, for the railway bridge at the end of Claremont Road, and for repair work at Hampton Court Palace.
If an old brick in Claygate is stamped with the initials SBW, this signifies that the brick in question was made at Oaken Lane. The initials stand either for 'Steam Brick Works' or 'Sims Brick Works'. Any brick fireplace in a built between the 1920s and 1960s almost certainly contains bricks manufactured at the Common Road brickfield.
References
- Peebles, Malcolm (1983). The Claygate Book. (Millennium edition). Stockbridge: by BAS Printers Ltd. ISBN 0-9508978-0-9.
- Many thanks also for the photos, many supplied by Terry Gale, from the Claygate Local History Facebook group.
