Only one of the many brickworks that used to surround Peterborough remains, between the town and Whittlesey. It is owned by Frontera and produces the traditional London brick. They extract Lower Oxford Clay — a distinctive brownish-grey, organic-rich, bituminous mudstone/shale that dates to the Jurassic period. This clay is unusual because it’s naturally rich enough in fuel content (from its organic/bituminous material) that it partly self-fires during brick-making — the basis of the “Fletton Process” developed in the 1880s that made this part of the UK such a major brick-producing centre.
Just east of the A1 and north of Yaxley, the 300-acre site of another former brickworks has become a private nature reserve and SSSI managed by Froglife. The clay was extracted by draglines in long parallel strips. Before each strip was ‘mined’ its unwanted overburden was removed by the dragline and dumped on top of the previous strip, whose clay had already been removed. The result is reminiscent of many zip fasteners running across the landscape. Most are partially or wholly flooded, and the area is now home to rare water voles and great crested newts. The new road alongside it is aptly named “Nature’s Way”.
