Students Get Hands-On at Iconic Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings - Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings
Three men in hi-vis clothing, hard hats and protective aprons and goggles, look up to pose for a photo during a brick-making training session.
Left to right: Shrewsbury Colleges Group student, Mateusz Kosinski; Northcot Brick demonstrator, Static Zbigneau; and Dale Mossfrom Northcot Brick, with the brick that Mateusz made which will go in the time capsule © Historic England

Students Get Hands-On at Iconic Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings

8 March 2018

Please note, this release was written before Covid-19. The opening date for Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is now 2022.

Shrewsbury Colleges Group students have become the first to gain hands-on experience of traditional construction methods, as part of a National Lottery-funded programme to plug England’s heritage skills gap, using 18th Century Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings as a site for hands-on learning.

A young male student attempts to make a brick, guided by a male teacher. Both are wearing hi-vis clothing and protective goggles.
Shrewsbury Colleges Group student, Mateusz Kosinski (left) finishing off the brick which will go in the time capsule under the guidance of Northcot Brick demonstrator, Static Zbigneau © Historic England

On Thursday 8 March, 12 Level 1 and 2 Brickwork students spent the morning at the Flaxmill Maltings site learning  to make the ‘great’ bricks  that were used in the construction of the iconic Grade I listed Main Mill – the world’s first iron-framed building and forerunner of modern day skyscrapers, which was built in 1797.

Northcot Brick, specialist traditional brick manufacturers, have been making by hand 30,000 of the special sized bricks needed to restore the Main Mill. Today they passed on their expert knowledge, demonstrating traditional hand-throwing methods. The students were then able to get hands-on and make their own bricks. Some of the bricks the students produced will be included in a time capsule, to be placed within the Main Mill later this year.

Approximately one third larger than standard sized bricks, [they] tell part of the history as they were used for construction during a period when the number of bricks used in new buildings were taxed to raise funds for wars in the American Colonies, and using larger bricks was a method used to reduce the amount of bricks required, and consequently the amount of tax which would be charged.

Alan Mosley, Chairman of the Friends of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings

The session is part of Historic England’s Heritage Skills programme, supported by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation which offers a number of training opportunities, work-based placements and continuing professional development opportunities for construction trainees, students, contractors, craftspeople and professionals. The programme is being made possible under the wider £20.7 million National Lottery refurbishment of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings.

The Heritage Skills programme also includes hard-hat tours for heritage, construction, colleges and universities and local interest groups. The tours give behind-the-scenes access to the works in progress and learning from the expert craftspeople working on the project.

For more information please contact [email protected]  

Sign up to our email updates

Sign up here to email updates telling you all about Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings news, visiting us, events, offers, fundraising, research surveys and opportunities to join our team. We only ask for your email address when you subscribe, first name, surname and postcode are optional. Postcodes are only collected to help us analyse our visitor data and we do that anonymously.

Unsubscribe at any time by clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of any email from us.  If you’d like to know more or to understand your information rights, please look at our Privacy Policy.

Follow us