This is a section of brickwork from
the village of Buckler’s Hard. Soft red bricks laid in Flemish Bond result in a
very warm and attractive wall surface.
As a former bricklayer (of sorts) my eye immediately
scans a wall like this looking for anomalies. It’s pretty much a subconscious
process by now, with conscious reflection on whatever I find.
The blue cross marks a typical example. The bond has
been lost resulting in a space too big for a header where the two bricklayers
working from either end meet up. You could remove part of that course and redo
it with slightly larger joints, but the solution used here is to substitute
small three-quarter bricks for the expected header.
You could see this as a mistake or you could embrace it
as part of the informal “hand-made” look of a rustic cottage. Take
your pick. 🤔
Two brick pier in English Bond, that
classic of strength and stability. It just happens to have a quiet beauty also
in the rhythm of headers and queen closers…