Our Story

Over 130 years of brickmaking in the beautiful Adelaide Hills

With three generations of family ownership overseeing 130 years of production, Littlehampton Bricks & Pavers is one of Australia’s most iconic brick manufacturers. Our unique range of products and ability to customise colours, textures, styles and shapes, we are known as the first choice for architects and designers.

Littlehampton Expeditions

Before the company was formed, exploration teams were sent from the cities to Littlehampton. There they discovered that there were exceptional clay seams and shales, ideally suited for the manufacturing of refractory fire bricks and top-quality house bricks.

The birth of Littlehampton Bricks and Pavers

A workman’s hut was erected on the site where the company now stands, and hand-moulded bricks were first made to be tested for use in industrial applications. The bricks proved to be of exceptional quality, and the Littlehampton Brick Company was formed.

A bricks boom

Initially, the company primarily produced firebricks for the smelter works and foundries at Port Adelaide. By the early 1900s, the refractory bricks were used in all the new “T” class locomotives for the Royal South Australian Railways. The first original kilns, two of which still stand today, were wood-fired for two whole weeks, allowing 15,000 bricks to be made a fortnight.

Littlehampton Brick Co Branches Out

Littlehampton Brick Co had branched into House Bricks and Glazed Bricks, many examples of these can be seen throughout South Australia. They are unmistakable, identified by the unique bar marks resulting from hand-stacking the mostly cream bricks from the neighbouring quarry.

Enduring Success

From Industrialisation to Automation, Littlehampton Clay Bricks & Pavers kilns have fired through wars, depressions, pandemics and more. Many of these events caused other brickmakers to fall on hard times, giving Littlehampton Brick Co the opportunity to consolidate the industry by acquiring other brickmakers like Zankers Brickmakers from Port Augusta.

THE MOON LANDING

1969 was the year of The Beatles’ last public performance on the roof of Apple Records, the first Concorde test flight in France, Woodstock attracting more than 350,000 rock-n-roll fans, the Apollo 11 mission landing the first man on the moon, and Sesame Street premiering on Public TV. In an ever-changing world, brick kilns were fired at Littlehampton every week without fail.

Brick Matching and Bespoke Work

A strong focus on bespoke work with the advent of our Brick Matching Service. Dick, now our head brickmaker, starts work at Littlehampton.

A new era for Littlehampton Bricks

Still Australian family owned and operated, we continue our tradition of making the finest bricks and pavers. Combining artisanal techniques with knowledge and innovation.