Possibly the first successful brick-making machine was patented by a Mr Henry Clayton, employed at the Atlas Works in Middlesex, England, in 1855, and was capable of producing up to 25,000 bricks daily with minimal supervision.
V tem času je bila v Londonu moderna svetlo rdeča opeka, da bi bile stavbe bolj vidne v megli in bi s tem preprečili prometne nesreče.