In 1855 the land around Melton was essential rural, and used for agricultural use, with the exception of the gentrified houses and their gardens, some narrow plantations, and a small brick and tile works south of Melton Common in Melton Ings located on the bank of the Humber Estuary. The brick work's workings continued to expand in the early 1900s and had acquired a tramway system within the clay pits. By the 1920s the tile works had closed, whilst a large scale cement industry had developed; to the north of Melton chalk was extracted at "Melton Bottom Quarry",