Industry and Businesses in Brockham
Industry and Businesses in Brockham
Brockham is surrounded by farmland and consequently the predominant industry is agriculture. However, the impact of industry and the railways played its part in the development of the village. There are large deposits of clay in the area but also a strong seam of sand. The clay provided the basis for a large brickworks, situated on the road between Betchworth and Brockham which is now known as Kiln Lane in consequence. The largely forgotten northern part of the Parish, the Brockham Hills, was heavily mined in the late nineteenth century and several industries grew there making bricks from clay, mining chalk to produce limestone and mining heathstone.
The railways were introduced in about 1847 and by-passed Brockham until spurs off the railway were created to access the mines. The industries lasted less than 100 years; the Brockham Brick Company finally wound up in 1911, while the lime works managed to keep going until 1936. Sand was also extracted from the local area and continues today with large excavations at Bethworth and Buckland.
There were also a number of local shops, businesses, pubs and services on and around the village Green.
Agriculture
Brockham is surrounded by farmland and consequently agriculture was a key industry
The Lime Works and Industrial Brockham
Over the years, three distinct branches of manufacture have been carried out at the Brockham quarry site
Businesses in and around Brockham
Villagers did not have to travel far to get their supplies of milk, coal and other goods as much was produced locally, or delivered to them
Shops in Brockham
As well as having a good few shops in the village, ... there were also a few horse-drawn vendors
Pubs
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