Historically it was one of the main brickmaking districts in England, home of the London Brick Company, now a division of Hanson plc.

The brickmaking activity left scars across the landscape of the Marston Vale as large tracts of land were dug for clay.

The legacy of the abandoned brickworks also adds to the impression that the Marston Vale has been despoiled by decades of industrial activity and it is now searching for a new identity.

Wootton Pillinge was renamed Stewartby in 1937 in recognition of the Stewart family who had been instrumental in developing the brickworks.

[2] The factories used Oxford Clay, which is made up of 5% seaweed, formed 150 million years ago when it was on the sea bed.