In the days before the railway could easily transport bricks from other areas there were a number of
brickmaking yards in South Lincolnshire and one of these was on the Boston road where good quality facing bricks were produced.
This yard was owned by John Rawding who met with a tragic accident in 1898 at the age of 74. He was leaving a hostelry in New Road Spalding and his horse had been hitched to his trap by a servant but shortly after setting off the horse bolted, Rawding was thrown out and subsequently died from his injuries.
The works were then taken over by his son, Thomas.
These brickworks may have employed a number of the villagers earlier in the nineteenth century, but small yards could not compete with the larger ones and by 1881 there were only 4 men and one boy employed.
Brett’s Yard near Pinchbeck Road in Spalding, Mr Kingston’s Yard at Spalding Common and the Yard at Pinchbeck Bars all closed and by 1899 only Rawlings and Gooch’s at Clay Lake in Spalding survived.
Extract from The Gosberton Area – A glimpse into the past
