What's the story behind bricks? Picking up a brick today, your first thought is probably not 'who invented this?' - or, who knows, maybe you're a particularly inquisitive person!
Anyway, the point is, brick is now so commonplace that it sort of feels like it's always been around. It's part of the fabric of towns and cities around the world and as a building material isn't going anywhere.
So, where were they first used and when did we start using them? We thought we'd answer these questions and give a brief history of the humble brick.
Oh, and if you're looking to buy some bricks at great prices while you're here, click the button below...
Request a quoteThe oldest bricks
Bricks have been around for a very long time. The earliest bricks that have been discovered are estimated to be from 7,000 BC.
The bricks in question were uncovered around the ancient city of Jericho, in the south of modern-day Turkey. These were likely made from mud clay, shaped into bricks and then sun-dried in the open air.
Bricks from a similar time frame - between 7,000 and 3,500 BC - have been discovered in other areas of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, around the Tigris region. Air-dried, mud-brick houses have also been found in Pakistan and other areas of south Asia.
Ancient Egyptian ruins show that they also used sun-dried bricks using clay, mixed with straw.
Fired bricks have been excavated in China that appear to have been made between around 4000-3000 BC
Similar approaches
Bricks didn't necessarily all originate from one place - in fact, they've been discovered popping up in many different locations around the world simultaneously.
And not just mud bricks. Fired bricks have been excavated in China that appear to have been made between around 4000-3000 BC.
On the other hand, the Aztec civilisations of Central America, cut off from the rest of the world, were making and using sun-dried Adobe brick, also made with straw, in the 15th century.
They used the bricks to build many of the Aztec pyramids which are still standing today.
The introduction of brick firing drastically increased the rate of production, allowing bricks to be made ahead of time and stored. It also meant they could be made and used all year round and in cooler climates.
The Roman Empire
The Romans made good use of fired brick for everything from forts and cultural centres to simple arches, vaults and more.
With the creation of mobile kilns, they were able to spread brick production to the rest of Italy and eventually across the empire.
Much of Europe's early brick buildings can be traced back to the Romans. When the Empire fell, so did the production of brick. As a result, it retreated mostly back to Italy and the Byzantine Empire.
Going Gothic
However, in the 11th and 12th centuries it began to spread back into France and Germany. A style of architecture called Brick Gothic appeared in Germany, Poland and other Baltic and Scandinavian states.
This arose because of the lack of other natural building materials available in these areas. Although it gave way to other forms of architecture during The Renaissance, the style did resurface in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often for political and ideological reasons. As such it can be hard to distinguish original architecture from this resurgence.
In the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the look of exposed brick became less popular and brick exteriors were often covered with render and plaster.
But it came back in a big way in the early 19th century with the boom of the industrial revolution and the creation of simple brick housing.
All in hand
In Medieval times, bricks were made by workers kneading the clay and then placing it in wooden moulds. Excess clay was wiped off and the brick-shaped clay was removed from the frame.
This was all done by hand and indeed bricks were still handmade until about 1885.
The Industrial Revolution changed everything, boosting production capacity and therefore decreasing the cost of manufacture and construction.
By the 1920s, brick-making machines could produce up to 12,000 bricks a day.
Brick buildings in America had been built as early as 1611, but in the 19th Century the country saw a building boom which has basically never stopped.
Many of the early American skyscrapers of New York were built with brick. The Empire State Building was built with 10 million bricks!
Moving forward
As industrialisation and urbanisation of cities continued, other methods of building began to come in - particularly with the increase of cement-based building materials such as concrete.
There was a financial and structural limit to how high brick buildings could go, so bigger skyscrapers began to move away from using brick.
Since the 1960s, brick production has essentially halved and is now mainly used to build housing.
It's worth noting that this decrease in production is partly down to bricks not being used for the load-bearing part of a structure. Most new buildings have a steel or wooden frame and brick is used primarily for its aesthetic benefits.
However, brick is also seeing a stylistic revival in the building of modern smaller-to-medium-sized office buildings. These won't necessarily use traditional bricklaying, but at least the brick exterior is making a comeback.
We're here for you
If you fancy taking inspiration from the past for your latest project but can't decide which bricks to use, our free Brick Selection service could be just what you need; if you want to use bricks that blend seamlessly with the rest of your home, our Brick Matching service could be right up your street; or if you'd prefer to browse bricks for yourself, we have more than 3,800 products to choose from in our Brick Library!
Our expert Brick Advisors are standing by to help you figure out how many bricks you need for your project, then source them and find you the best price - we'll even arrange delivery too!
