D Co

Dalmellington Iron Co.

The original Dunaskin brickworks was situated in Dunaskin Glen at Waterside, Ayrshire. The brickworks was built in the 1850's by the Dalmellington Iron Company to serve the ironworks at Waterside. The Dalmellington Iron Company was founded in 1848 by Henry Houldsworth, a Glasgow cotton mill owner. The company owned the ironworks at Waterside and operated a number of mines in the surrounding area. The brickworks manufactured firebricks for lining the furnace and for building the ancillary buildings, such as the workshop range, needed to service the ironworks. The brickworks in Dunaskin Glen closed in 1928 and was resited on the ground where the furnaces used to stand. The bricks were stamped DICO, or more rarely D Co, standing for Dalmellington Iron Company. The ironworks closed in 1921 but the company continued to operate their mines until 1930 when bankruptcy caused the company to fold. In 1931 the brickworks was taken over by William Baird and a new company formed, Baird and Dalmellington Ltd. The Brickworks featured a Staffordshire transverse arch kiln that had 14 connected chambers which were heated to 1,100-1,200°C by an under-floor heating system. The draught from the chimney drew heat through each chamber and up to 16,000 bricks were fired for two weeks in each chamber. In 1947 the brickworks came under the ownership of the Scottish Brick Company after nationalisation of the industry. The brickworks closed in 1976.