Tilkey was predominantly a working-class settlement for those employed in the brick-making industry. It was first established in the 1200s making bricks for Coggeshall Abbey. There were several kilns here in different locations over the years but production finished in the late nineteenth centur - the gate shown here was the entrance to the last brickworks.
Tilkey was always proud of it's independence from Coggeshall and celebrated special occasions in its own way. (See next photo for an enlargement of this plate)
Courtesy Coggeshall Museum
Date; possibly around 1900
Ref; 103/56