Historic Brickwork: Part II

Abstract

Second part of a perspective of the development of the English brick and its use since the 15th century. Evaluates the many varying external influences such as trade links, architectural fashions, industrial developments and social factors that were invariably under‐pinning the styles and practices of the brickmaker and bricklayer down the centuries. Analyses this history in a series of chronological periods, i.e. 1485‐1603; 1603‐1830 and 1830‐1914. The pattern of study remaining consistent within each period, that being – what was the significant socio‐economic and political movement in relation to construction, and what, if any, part did it play in influencing change in the making and use of bricks. Looks at how and why brick manufacture and brickwork were responding, and when within these periods, considering who were the important figures in these changes and developments. Concludes that the brickwork, which marks each period, is the result not only of developments in the brickmaking process and the craft skills of the bricklayers, but also of foreign influences, social and economic changes in the country, and the inevitable gradual influence of building control, through legislation, necessary to ensure safe and sanitary housing in the urban environment of a major industrial country.

Citation

Lynch, G. (1994), "Historic Brickwork: Part II", Structural Survey, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 17-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/02630809410041714