Hoffman Kiln - Decorated Brick

Description

A close up view of a brick produced by Hoffman’s kiln, with traditional New Zealand motifs inscribed into the clay. Robert Price Edwards (1854-1924) established his brick making business in Featherston Street in 1900 having shifted from previous premises in Dahlia Street. In 1904 Edwards started construction of the ‘Hoffman Kiln” which was the biggest constructed in Palmerston North and capable of continuous production. The Hoffman kiln is known as a “barrel kiln” and was capable of firing 9,000 bricks in a single chamber. This type of kiln used 25% less coal than contemporary downdraught kilns and it could be operated by a smaller skilled workforce. The kiln was last fired in 1959.
See Bc 460, 462 – 467. See Also: Nine thousand Bricks a Day, by Jim Lundy.

Identification

Archive

Liggins Family

Relation

Public Collection Bc 465, CA Liggins

Date

circa 2002

Digitisation id

2014P_Bc465_009630

Format

Colour print

Held in

Community Archives