Everything changed for Sittingbourne, Milton and Murston in the 19th Century. The building of Victorian London created a vast demand for bricks, and this area had the raw materials to make the yellow Kent Stock Brick which was cheaper to make than the more traditional red brick.

Among the great entepreneurs was George Smeed (1812-1881) and he began in 1846. By 1860 he owned many expanding brickfields a fleet of barges and his own shipyard along the creek. The business traded as Smeed-Dean Co Ltd until 1926.

Other prominent names among the brickfield owners were Burley and Wills & Packham.