Solid, imposing and traditional; just some of the words that spring to mind when we think about red brick buildings.
From the mills and factories of the industrial revolution to the worker’s terraces of Manchester and Liverpool, red brick is a familiar sight in towns and cities across the UK and remains the most popular building material for new UK housing stock by some margin.
So when did our love affair with red brick begin and how is red brick made? Read on for a brief history of Britain’s most beloved building block.
Industrial beginnings
The Industrial Revolution in the latter half of the 18th century changed the landscape of our towns and cities almost beyond recognition.
Vastly improved production processes and mechanisation saw factories and warehouses spring up in huge numbers and largely rural, agrarian societies were transformed into industrialised, urban ones.
Goods that had previously been painstakingly crafted by hand could now be produced in mass quantities and output increased exponentially.
Huge numbers of workers were needed to man the factories and mills and those workers needed housing. Construction boomed and as the infrastructure that we take for granted today started to take shape one thing became abundantly clear; none of this would be possible without the red brick.
Red brick production
The process of urbanization and red brick production began with back breaking effort. The heavy, dense clay used for brick making was heaved from the ground with shovels by a team of six to eight men. The local geology determined the colour of the brick, with the final hue and texture dependent on the minerals in the clay and kiln temperatures.
The dug clay would be piled up in heaps before being mixed with water and ash from the kilns to form a slurry.
The slurry was “laundered” along wooden troughs into a holding vessel known as a wash back, where the water would seep away leaving a stiff clay mix which could then be “thrown” into a mould, leveled off and turned out for drying in the fields before being fired in cavernous on-site kilns.
The process was notoriously unreliable with bricks often cracking or fusing together in the kiln, but even so a single brick gang could produce a million bricks in a single summer season.
When the clay deposits had eventually been exhausted the brick field would be leveled and the whole operation would move on to another site and the process would start all over again.
Red brick today
Thankfully modern day methods of red brick manufacturing are a little less arduous! The latest machinery and production facilities take much of the heavy lifting out of the equation although the basic principles remain the same.
Clay is still mined from the earth although it is now pressed by machine into columns with bricks cut from them at a rate that traditional brick makers would scarcely be able to imagine.
The process is also much more refined and controlled, with firing temperatures, duration and humidity all being closely monitored to ensure consistency in the final product.
For modern buildings and developments, machine made red brick is usually the preferred option as these bricks are cheap to produce, available in vast quantities and they are perfectly uniform in shape giving cleaner lines.
Traditional handmade red brick is still available, of course, with clay being rolled and thrown skillfully by hand into the mould.
This achieves a more individual, characterful look with subtle variations in texture and shape. Bespoke sizes can also be catered for which is often essential for period properties and conservation work.
Final thought
So next time you see a red brick building, pause for a moment and consider the history. Although something so familiar is easily overlooked, red brick reflects our industrial past and the relentless march of progress towards ever greater efficiency.
With its roots in history it also remains the construction material of choice in the present day.
And that’s not bad for a brick!
