Selsneset

On Vinnes there are in places thick layers of clay. At the end of the 1870s the Scotsman J.W.Scarbrough obtained “Sole right to find and use Clay in the outer districts” at Vinnes. He erected a brickworks at Selesneset, and the works came into operation in 1878. Here was work for 20-30 men who produced bricks and roof tiles.

The brickworks was only operating during the summer months. One man could make around 3,000 bricks in one day, but 2,000 was more normal. The roof tile makers could manage up to 1,500. As clay on land was becoming scarce, they tried clay from the sea. But this did not suit the machines. The operations at Vindenes Teglverk, popularly called “Leiro” came to an end in 1923. The works had then supplied roof tiles to the communities around Bjørnefjorden for half a century, and many houses are still covered with hard-burned “Vinnes tiles”.