Description:The fireclay pit was north of Bycars Lane. This photograph was taken at the north of the pit, just south of Haywood Road. The Etruria Marl from this pit was used to make firebricks, although Sneyd Brickworks also made coloured and white glazed bricks that were used widely in railway stations, the London Law Courts and Windosr Castle. Dating from the 1840s, the company continued to make brick into the 1960s.
The Etruria Marl lies immediately above the Peacock Coal seam, the topmost seam in the North Staffordshire Coalfield.
Fireclay was used to make refractory bricks which can withstand temperatures up to 3000°C without degrading or softening. A fire brick can be used to line furnaces, kilns, and fireplaces and although a refractory brick is made primarily to withstand high temperature, it will also usually have a low thermal conductivity for greater energy efficiency. The area today has been reclaimed and is a mixture of playing fields and Sproson Park.