York Handmade nominated for four awards at brick oscars

The York Handmade Brick Company, one of the leading independent brickmakers in the country, has been nominated in a number of categories in the prestigious 2021 Brick Awards.

York Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, in North Yorkshire, is up for the awards following the company’s acclaimed role in the new library at Magdalene College, Cambridge (pictured); the restoration St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire; and the brand-new Valentine House at Allostock in Cheshire.

Magdalene College is nominated in the Education category, while St Albans Cathedral is shortlisted in both the Craftsmanship and Public categories and Valentine House is in line for the Individual Housing Development award.

These national awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in the heart of London’s West End on Wednesday November 10. Run by the Brick Development Association in conjunction with Building magazine, they are the brick industry’s Oscars.

York Handmade Chairman David Armitage said: “We are particularly proud to be involved in these three fantastic projects this year, all of which have been shortlisted in the Brick Awards.

“Huge thanks are due to the management team and employees at York Handmade for their imagination, enterprise and hard work, which all combined to make these projects so successful and so memorable.

“It is vitally important to stress that our three shortlisted entries are completely different jobs in design and execution, graphically illustrating our ability to work in a wide variety of colours and styles. We believe we can tackle any brickwork project successfully.

“It was a tremendous honour to be asked to provide our bricks for such a prestigious project as the new library at Magdalene College. The college has a rich cultural heritage and this stunning new building reflects this. The finished building is absolutely magnificent and provides a wonderful place for Magdalene students to work. It is one of our flagship projects over the past few years and we are proud of what we have achieved. Our specially chosen and manufactured red bricks and specials complement the unique surroundings and fit in with the college’s architecture and landscape.

“Meanwhile St Albans is the home of some of the earliest examples of brick use in Roman Britain, so as a brick-maker, we are very humbled to supply one of the birth places of brick in the UK. St Albans Cathedral stands on the site of St Alban's execution and burial. He was the first Christian British martyr.

“The cathedral is the oldest place of continuous Christian worship in the country and is a blend of architectural styles spanning over a thousand years, containing some priceless original Roman bricks. This order is one of the most important recently for us and it includes several differently-shaped special bricks,” said Mr Armitage.

York Handmade has a tremendous track record in the Brick Awards, being highly commended for our work on both the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre at Perse School in Cambridge and the Loxley Stables residential housing project in Hertfordshire. In 2018 the company was honoured for its involvement in the acclaimed Westgate Centre in the heart of historic Oxford and for the magnificent Halifax Library.

Going further back, York Handmade won a hat-trick of categories in 2012 with the triumph of Four Oaks in Little Bedwyn; Tupgill Cellar, near Middleham, North Yorkshire; and Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester, while other prestigious wins included the Walled Garden at Scampston Hall in 2004 and St Brigid’s Church, Belfast, in 1995.

For further information visit www.yorkhandmade.co.uk