AN INDEPENDENT brick manufacturer based in the Cotswolds is starting 2017 on a high after a haul of major industry awards for one of its flagship projects – the Newport Street Gallery in London.

The iconic building, which is built from two special blends of brick supplied by Northcot in Blockley, scooped the 2016 Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building.

It was then declared the Supreme Winner and Best Public Building in the prestigious Brick Development Association Awards.

Designed by architects Caruso St John, the Newport Street Gallery occupies a terrace of new-build and refurbished blocks that line Newport Street’s eastern side opposite the elevated railway arches in Vauxhall, south London.

The project involved the conversion of three listed buildings, which had been purpose-built in 1913 as scenery painting workshops for the booming Victorian theatre industry in the West End.

The gallery runs the length of the street, with the three Victorian buildings flanked at either side by new buildings.

The new semi-industrial facades were made with two distinct bespoke blends of brick, which were specially created by Northcot Brick to closely match the ‘common’ style brick of the listed buildings.

Michael Brown, managing director Northcot Brick, said: “2016 has been an outstanding year for us in terms of our growing brick sales and industry recognition.

“For a small independent brick manufacturer, which accounts for less than 1 per cent of the UK’s annual brick production, to be associated with both a BDA Supreme Award and a Stirling Prize in one year is a truly remarkable achievement.

“It underlines the growing importance of brick as a material and the value that traditional craftsmanship and the individuality of our bricks can bring to this highly mechanised and largely commodity driven industry.”

Northcot Brick was founded in 1926 by Captain E.G Spencer-Churchill, cousin of Sir Winston Churchill.

It is one of the last manufacturers in the country to use a traditional coal-fired kiln, while some of the clay preparation machinery dates back to the 19th Century.

The company now employs approximately 50 employees and produces over 12 million bricks per year.

It has been recognised for the quality of its previous projects, including Manchester’s Whitworth, which also won the BDA Supreme Award in 2015.