Early Littlehampton Brickmaking
By 1839, Nairne and Mt. Barker had both been surveyed and settled. In the 1840's, a Mr. Hombin started making bricks near the Great Eastern Hotel, Littlehampton. The pug hole was on the Balhannah Road, near the property which is now No. 5 Balhannah Road. By 1847, Mr. Hombin and Mr. Love were making bricks just east of where the Mt. Barker railway station is now and Mr. Alexander McDonald was also making bricks in 1847 near the corner of the present Mount Barker Showgrounds. In the early 1850's, there are reports of bricks being made by Mr. Moses Wraight and Mr. Thomas Weller but I haven't been able to confirm actual dates or locations for them.

J. Coppin 1856-1935
James Coppin was a brick-maker from Kent, England. In 1856 James (aged 41) and his family arrived in South Australia on the ship 'Gomelza', moved to Littlehampton and started making bricks. The brickyard was located at the end of Coppin Road Littlehampton. This location is either the same one Mr. Hombin used in the 1840's, or immediately adjacent. James Coppin passed away in 1866 and the brickworks continued under the management of his son James Alfred Coppin for many years. The Coppin family brickworks were in production for nearly 80 years and finished up around 1935. It was reported that the Coppin brickworks produced excellent quality bricks for many years for the hills and Adelaide areas and had a huge impact on the early development of the district.

The Little Hampton Clay Pit
The clay pit established by James Coppin was located on the easterly side of (what is now) Childs Road and over the years was used by the Coppin's family, L.T. Watts & Sons, Childs & Miels (later J.A. Childs & Sons), The South Australian Fire Brick Company and, the Littlehampton Brick Company. This clay pit had a registered light rail system for moving clay and while it was mostly open cut, there were around 300 metres of tunneling. Production at this clay pit ceased in 2005.

J. Watts Brickyard 1858-1985
John Watts started making bricks in 1838 at Hindmarsh, with clay dug from the banks of the River Torrens. In 1858 he established a brickworks at Scott Creek (near Nairne). It was originally set up to manufacture fire bricks which were used in smelting works at Scott Creek, Kanmantoo and Clare. The brickworks also supplied fire bricks to smelting works at Wallaroo and Moonta. Some time later, low cost fire bricks were being shipped in from England, making fire brick manufacture in the hills uneconomical for a time. Watts' brickworks were also known for producing red house bricks. The Watts family (Scott Creek) brickworks were in production for about 125 years and closed in 1985.

L.T. Watts Brickyard 1858-1885
L.T. Watts established L.T. Watt & Co. to manufacture fire bricks at Littlehampton in 1889. The business was on the corner of Hallet Road and Childs Road behind the shop. L.T. Watts was a son of John Watts and worked for a time with his father (and brother) at the Scott Creek brickyards. L.T. Watts had several business ventures at Littlehampton (including bacon curing, a jam factory and a general store) before starting the brickworks.

The Firebrick Industry
Prior to the establishment of the L.T. Watts brickworks in 1858, firebricks made in Little Hampton and Nairne were used for nearby smelters like the one at Kanmantoo. It was not economical to manufacture fire bricks in the hills and transport them to other areas like Moonta. English fire bricks were coming in free of duty and the cartage of locally made bricks from the hills to Port Adelaide by dray cost more than shipping from England. In 1883, the railway line from Adelaide to Strathalbyn and Nairne was laid and the cost for carting bricks was reduced by 75%. Also, a protective tariff was put in place to protect the fire brick industry from cheap English imports.

The Enterprise Brickyard 1870s
The Miels brothers (not Edwin Miels who was associated with the Childs brickyard later) started brickmaking on the corner of Hallet and Pioneer Streets and called their business the 'Enterprise Brick Company'. Their bricks had the initials EBC stamped in the frog. It is believed that this business only ran for a few years. Details are scare about this company but it was bought in 1910 by the consortium starting up the Littlehampton Brick Co.

South Australian Firebrick Company 1893-1915
Not to be confused with the South Australian Brick Company, Brompton (1884), or the South Australian Co-operative Brick Company, Brompton (1937). This brickyard was formerly the one run by L.T. Watts, but John Chapman (the production manager) installed new plant. In 1910, this company was taken over by the consortium of Adelaide investors that were seeking to establish The Littlehampton Brick Company.

Childs Bricks 1895-1973
Two brothers, James and Stephen Childs, established this brickyard in 1895. They were experienced brickmakers having worked at the Coppin brickyard for many years (their mother was Ann Coppin). In 1902, Stephen Childs left the company and Edwin Miels became a partner. The company was called Childs and Miels Bricks. In 1917, Edwin Miels left and James took on his two sons, James Roy and Stanley as partners. The name became J.A. Childs and sons. In 1951, Stanley Childs withdrew and the company carried on with James and his two sons, Roy and Raymond. In 1973, the company ceased operation when the South Eastern Freeway was built over part of the company grounds.

Littlehampton Brick Company 1912- 1870s
The last remaining brickyard in the Mount Barker district is the Littlehampton Brick Company. They make good bricks but their "Our Story" page on their website is just a story, not based on facts. Their logo says "est. 1892" but the company was not incorporated until 1910 and their first brick was made in 1912. Before the Littlehampton Brick Company set up, there was a thriving brick industry dating back to the early 1840's.
Webmaster note: I have contacted Littlehampton Bricks twice and offered to rewrite their 'Our Story' page for free , but they have not taken me up on the offer.