Not just another brick in the wall

A policeman from the Borders who has collected more than 2,300 bricks has been shortlisted for a Scottish Heritage Angel award.

Mark Cranston, from Jedburgh, has been gathering material for the past five years.

He said he was thrilled by the personal recognition but even more to see the "humble brick" acknowledged.

Mr Cranston added he was looking forward to retirement in order to spend more time on his collection.

"I first seriously started collecting bricks about five years ago basically by just picking a brick up, having a look at the name, researching the history of it and being hooked there and then," he said.

"Nobody else was actually doing it - nobody else was bothered about the brick and what it meant for Scottish history.

"And when you look into it, it is huge for Scottish history - it just explodes out into so many avenues."

Mr Cranston has spent hours on his hobby, either updating his website or researching the history of bricks.

He has also been contacted by people from around the world who have found material which originated in Scotland.

"From 1850 right through to the 1970s or 1980s Scotland was a leading producer, particularly of fireclay bricks," he said.

"These were heat resistant bricks but the quality of the clay was so supreme that they were in so much demand all over the world."

Mr Cranston's work is one of three contenders for the investigating and recording category of the heritage awards.

"I am thrilled, personally, it is a bit of acknowledgement for myself, for the amount of work I have put in which is great," he said.

"But more for the brick and what it stood for in Scottish history, I am glad to see it in the limelight.

"It is so important because, yes, it is a humble brick but it was used in so many spheres of industrial and agricultural industry."

Mr Cranston said he hoped to step up his efforts when he retired from his police work.

"I am doing it just between shifts at the moment," he said.

"Once retirement comes it will be great, I can dedicate more time to actually finding and rescuing these bricks because once they are gone, they are gone."

He urged anyone with information about bricks in their area to contact him.

"Any person that knows where I can maybe go and look for bricks, knows where there are any old brick works, has an old brick or whatever - please get in touch via the website and we can take it from there," he said.

There are five different categories in the Scottish Heritage Angel Awards and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Edinburgh next week.