Housing, construction and manufacturing will be in the vanguard of the recovery

David Armitage, chairman of York Handmade Brick, said: “These are challenging times, but I am confident we can maintain the progress we made this year, despite Covid-19 and the uncertainty caused by Brexit, in 2022.

“We are flourishing in the commercial property and education sectors, whilst residential housing, which has been our staple for a number of years, remains strong. In these testing times, it is vital to spread our work across as many different markets as possible.”

Mr Armitage said that it is important to remain optimistic about the prospects for construction, manufacturing and property over the coming year.

“I have been in the brick industry for many years and have seen the peaks and troughs,” he said.

“The signs are that the economy is bouncing back and, when it does, I trust that the housing, construction and manufacturing sectors will be in the vanguard of the recovery. “Despite rising inflation, which I hope is temporary, it is important to keep interest rates low.”

York Handmade, which is based at Alne, near Easingwold in North Yorkshire, said that its recent high-profile contracts include Mount Row, a mixed-use development in the heart of Mayfair.

Other key contracts include a prestigious residential housing development at Kings Cross and a new library of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

“Looking ahead more generally, it is encouraging to report that brick remains the building material of choice for many architects and specifiers across the UK,” said Mr Armitage. “Provided the economy doesn’t implode, we anticipate a very successful and enjoyable 2022.

“We particularly value the contacts we have built up in the last 33 years with architects, planners, self-builders and developers. We look forward to continuing those relationships in the years to come.”

York Handmade also helped to create the wine cellars at the Forbidden Corner, near Middleham.

It supplied high-quality bricks and other materials, worth £70,000, for the cellars at Tupgill Park, the estate near Leyburn, which includes the Forbidden Corner visitor attraction.

The other materials included rib vault bricks and vault headers, together with dog-legs, bottle-holder bricks and a brick door.

Mr Armitage said: “In providing the bricks for the cellar at Tupgill, which is home to one of the finest and most popular tourist attractions in the county, we have consolidated our reputation as the leading supplier of bespoke and special shaped bricks in the United Kingdom.

“I have to say that this is one of the most visually stunning jobs that we have ever undertaken and we are delighted and honoured to have played our part in creating such an aesthetic feast.

“Apart from our traditional bricks, we also created some specials which we believe have contributed to an astonishing room.”

York Handmade was also highly commended in the 2021 Brick Awards. The firm was short-listed for three awards, following the company’s role in the new library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; the restoration of St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire; and the brand-new Valentine House at Allostock in Cheshire.

St Albans Cathedral was highly commended in the Public category and has also won a string of other regional and national awards, including the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)’s East Award and East Conservation Award 2021.

The Brick Awards are run by the Brick Development Association in conjunction with Building magazine and are considered to be the brick industry’s Oscars.

Mr Armitage said: “We are tremendously proud to have been shortlisted for these three fantastic projects this year and to be highly commended for our work at St Albans Cathedral.

“Huge thanks are due to the management team and employees at York Handmade for their imagination, enterprise and hard work, which all combined to make these projects so successful and so memorable.

“It is vitally important to stress that these entries are completely different jobs in design and execution, graphically illustrating our ability to work in a wide variety of colours and styles. We believe we can tackle any brickwork project successfully.

“St Albans is the home of some of the earliest examples of brick use in Roman Britain, so as a brick-maker, we are very humbled to supply one of the birthplaces of brick in the UK. St Albans Cathedral stands on the site of St Alban’s execution and burial. He was the first Christian British martyr.”