Woodside Library

Client - The Black Country Living Museum

Contractor - Gravitas Build

Built in 1893 on the Stourbridge Road in Woodside, Dudley, this library was once the cornerstone of the community but in 2008 it closed and the building was left derelict.  In 2021, the whole building was dismantled brick by brick to be reconstructed at the Black Country Museum as part of their 1940s-1960s high street.

Reconstructing the library required every brick (which had been meticulously stored away since 2021) to be carefully sorted through.  The bricks in the upper part of the brick archway in the entrance had been badly chipped and as they are so prominent, the decision was made to replace them.  Each brick in the archway had different dimensions, and would need to be specially made to order and Gravitas visited Ketley with one of the original bricks to see how their Staffordshire red colour would match. 

Gravitas were happy with the colour match, and Ketley began to make the new bricks from drawings.  Etruria marl clay shrinks by about 11% when it is dried and fired, so this shrinkage was accounted for in making the new bricks.  

The wet clay bricks were laid out at the factory allowing space for a 10mm joint to ensure they worked perfectly to recreate the archway.  Each brick was given a code and was carefully labelled so Gravitas would know the correct position of each brick when they laid them onsite at the Black Country Museum.  

There are some finishing touches to make still with the entrance door but the bespoke bricks have been laid with lime mortar in the traditional way and the archway is in place!  We'll add a finished image once its all done!