The Manufacture and Dating of English Brickwork 1600–1720

Abstract

This article explores the various problems associated with dating brickwork. It does so by combining information gathered from measuring surviving buildings with a survey of recent literature on the subject. Focusing on the seventeenth century, it seeks to show how the various techniques used in making and laying bricks might have changed in the period and to what extent these can be used to provide a tentative dating of surviving fabric. It also outlines the limitations of any such analysis, calling into question various existing recording methods.