Historical Background on Bricks and Brickmaking-Ⅰ
 

Early cave-dwelling man cannot have lived very comfortably, but as society developed and people began to live together in communities,  permanent settlements were formed.  Housing materials became increasingly sophisticated from mud and straw mixtures through wood, stone and clay.

Clay has been used as a building material since before Roman times but  its use was expanded in the first four centuries. Most bricks are made from clay, which is  derived from weathered rock,  usually composed of aluminium silicates.  The chemical structure of clay alters when fierce heat is applied and the water,  which is chemically combined with the clay crystals, is driven off at 400 degrees C., then at  1770 degrees C it reaches its melting point. Between these two temperatures there is the  SINTER point, this is the point were the edges of the clay particles melt and fuse together  Following this is the maturing point, i.e.  the temperature which produces the densest structure in the fired clay,  before melting and  causing distortion, an optimum point. If other minerals are  mixed with clay (either naturally or by artificial addition)  they will act as cathylysts and lower the temperatures at which these reactions occur.   Natural clays therefore have a wide range of maturing points depending on the other minerals they contain. Part of the art of brick making was to determine this point  for the clay being worked.  Other minerals also determined the colour if the finished bricks after firing. Minerals could be artifically added  as required to produce a wide variety of finished product.

Before the Industrial Revolution, clay workings were small enterprises run by a couple of men or even sole ventures - (there were very few kilns at first, and production was only seasonal). However,brick making has taken place since the roman period and up to the middle of the 19th century the techniques were basically the same, but obviously became  more sophisticated and productive.

Clays are taken from either open-cast workings known as clay holes or from underground via shafts and pits known as clay pits.  The clay was extracted usually from clay holes near to the site at which the bricks would be required. Due to the bulky nature of  clay , it was usually easier to move the fuel to the clay and then transport the finished product away.  The clay was usually dug by hand in the autumn  and needed  some form of processing before being formed into bricks.  This originally involved leaving the clay to weather over the winter period. One drawback in this was frost, which could severely damage the clay.  It was occasionally turned and any stones were removed. The size of a clay pit was determined by the amount of bricks required (3 cubic yards of clay produces approximately 1000 bricks) and the ability to remove the clay from the pit manually.

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