Imperial yellow brick from Wienerberger

23.03.2011

A new imperial-size yellow stock brick has been launched to the market by Wienerberger, the world's largest brick manufacturer. The Smeed Dean Orchard Blend Imperial is a weathered yellow multi stock brick manufactured at Wienerberger's Smeed Dean factory the last remaining brickworks in Kent and the only brick factory left in the UK that specialises in the production of yellow stock bricks.

True yellow bricks are in high demand, especially in London and South East England where buildings have traditionally been built from yellow stocks. Architects and specifiers have often found the choice to be limited as the tone is dependent upon the colour of the raw clay. The Smeed Dean works in Sittingbourne has been one of the most prolific producers of yellow stock bricks for more than 200 years.

The Orchard blend is being produced as an Imperial size (68mm) with a specially weathered finish and is expected to appeal to the refurbishment market. Weathered yellow bricks in an imperial format reflect demand for a more heritage-style brick for blending with existing buildings in renovation projects, and in creating new builds with an aged appearance. Its launch further enlarges Wienerberger's Imperial range - which also includes the Smeed Dean London Stock Imperial, Smeed Dean Belgrave Yellow Imperial and Smeed Dean Islington Yellow Rustica Imperial.

Simon Pearson, Wienerberger's director of sales - brick, said: "The popularity of the yellow Smeed Dean brick meant we were keen to progress the development of further options to meet demand for this distinctive and unique brick.

"Flexibility has long been a key strength of the Smeed Dean factory.  We are able to product a range of different size formats - 50mm, 65mm and older-style 68mm Imperial format - as well as add a variety of 'treatments' such as tumbling the bricks, adding mortar to the face or even added painted bricks and different colour bricks into the blend. Combine this with the distinctive colour and back story about the history of the factory, and it's not hard to see why the Smeed Dean products are still so popular, 200 years on."

Only available from Wienerberger, the Smeed Dean London stock brick was originally made using a unique mix of local chalk, town ash and clinker collected from the fire grates of Victorian London. The rustic yellow brick produced at the Sittingbourne factory has been used to create a number of prestigious buildings, including parts of Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge in London.

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Pictured: The new Smeed Dean Orchard Blend Imperial brick