The Foundation

The Bulmer Brick and Tile Foundation aims to become the national centre for learning about the art and craft of traditional brick-making. It operates on the same site as the historical traditional brickyard, the Bulmer Brick and Tile Company, and is proud to be working with the company as part of its engagement activities.

Though all visits are by appointment only, the Foundation offers opportunities to both general and specialist audiences, so that traditional brickmaking and all of its associated crafts can be better understood going forward.

Our History

The Bulmer Brick and Tile Company, a family-run brickyard and farm on the Essex-Suffolk border, has specialised in handmade bricks for decades. The knowledge, skill, and experience of this craft, listed as endangered by the Heritage Crafts Red List, has been held by an increasingly smaller number of people over the years, even as interest in it grew. Though the Minter family, who run the Company, has long encouraged this interest through offering tours and talks on the subject, in 2023, they decided to apply to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This was to explore the potential of establishing a charity that could play a role in ensuring the long-term survival of traditional brick making in the UK and engage people in this and other traditional crafts.

In 2026, the Bulmer Brick and Tile Foundation was registered with the Charity Commission, and began the work of promoting the historical craft of brick making, as well as related skills in brick gauging, brick rubbers, brick carving, and brick cutting. Operating alongside the traditional business, the charity will provide opportunities for engagement with these crafts both on- and off-site for general and specialist audiences of a variety of ages.