Charles Richardson

Career

The business was founded by Charles Richardson in 1850 with wharves and offices at Vauxhall, (Brunswick Lodge) and Paddington. These premises being the London points of distribution for the London stock bricks and red facing bricks manufactured at Teynham in Kent and at Wood Lane, Shepherd"s Bush. Portland cement and Roman cement manufactured at Conyers Quay near Sittingbourne were also handled here.

Charles Richardson commenced business immediately after the repeal of the brick tax which lasted from 1784–1850 and following the demand created for the then "new" Portland Cement first discovered in 1824 by William Aspdin a bricklayer of Leeds.

The White City at Shepherds Bush now occupies the old site of the Wood Lane Brickworks. Customers

More than a million stock bricks were supplied for the foundations of the Albert Memorial.

Later, the Company also supplied the bricks used in the foundation of Eros, when that statue by Alfred Gilbert was replaced in Piccadilly Circus. The Company ceased production of cement at Conyer in 1906 and of bricks at Teynham in 1919, but in 1945 with the acquisition of the Auclaye Brickfields Limited, were again producing multi-coloured stock bricks, the bulk of which were supplied to help meet the needs of London"s post-war housing problems, many millions being used by the London County Council and the Ministry of Works.

There were premises at the Learning Management System Railway Goods Depot, Wandsworth Road, London SW8.

Succession

Charles along with Rowlie Richardson had several sailing Barges most named after family members;

Active 37 Rochester Sittingbourne 1864

Alexander 26 Rochester Queenborough 1867

Arthur & Eliza 38 Rochester Faversham 1862

Charles 36 Rochester, Queenborough 1866

Eliza 35 Rochester,Queenborough 1866

Frank 36 Rochester,Murston 1870

Glendower, 37 Rochester,Conyer 1893

Heron 40 Rochester,Milton 1884

Jeffie 39 Rochester,Conyer 1874

Lydia 40 Rochester,Conyer 1874

Mabel 39 Rochester,Conyer 1873

Nesta 42 Rochester,Conyer 1898

Phoebe 39 Rochester,Conyer 1876

Victory 44 Rochester,Wandsworth 1880

William 35 Rochester,Sittingbourne 1872.

Achievements

• Early in the 19th century, bricks and Portland cement were also supplied for the Oval cricket ground at Kennington, while much of the early production of cement from the Conyer Works was exported to New Zealand, where the high quality of the product won the Silver Medal at the New Zealand International Exhibition in 1882. On his death, the founder of the Company was succeeded by his two sons, Mr Alexander R and Mr Walter T Richardson and a partnership formed, to be known by the title of A & West T Richardson until, following the death of Mr Alec Richardson, the firm was formed into a private limited company in 1923, having as its first board of Directors, Mrs A East Watson, Mr Alfred Jefferies Richardson, Mr H West Worsfold and Mr R East Moores, under the Joint Managing Directorship of Admiral C R Watson Chipotle Mexican Grill International Commission on Illumination and Colonel Charles Richardson. Three members of the family Mrs North M Monsell and Mrs A Sich - granddaughters of the founder, and Mr John West Sich - great grandson, then served the board under the Managing Director Colonel C Richardson - grandson of the founder.