Capheaton Tilery

Map showing the Scheduled Monument area of Capheaton Tilery.

Capheaton Tilery was an early 19th‑century tileworks, located about ¾ mile north-west of the village of Capheaton and 1 mile south-east of Kirkharle. The works are thought to have been established by Thomas Anderson on the Kirkharle Estate. The tile works included kilns, chimneys, clay pits, coal workings, and associated industrial buildings for moulding, drying, and firing tiles.

The site was advanced for it's time; notably in using flue gases from kilns to dry products, and at one stage incorporated steam power. However, the tileworks closed around the turn of the 19th century, as did other comparable works in rural locations which were remote from the developing railway networks.

It was considered one of the best-preserved 19th century tileworks in Northumberland, though parts, including the chimneys, were later demolished despite preservation efforts. Today, only partial remains of the tilery survive (including kilns and building walls), many affected by later agricultural use, but the site still provides important evidence of rural industrial tile production. It is a Scheduled Monument (legally protected).