Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 50
An area of failed plinth
detailing to the right
prior to replacement,
alongside existing
sound cut and rubbed
plinth supporting the
colour washed red face
brickwork. (Courtesy of
Ana Dolan)
pale buff bricks being made in Ireland, he had already located a suitable match
from the Cambridgeshire Tile and Brick Co. Subsequently he had received
some sample bricks and had cut and rubbed a replica of the decorative plinth.
We were keen to learn more about cutting and rubbing skills and to assess the
suitability of these new bricks for the repairs and re-building of lost sections
of the various dressings at Jigginstown House. That day we watched him go
through all the processes of rubbing the brick square to bed and face, scrib-
ing it to the templet, and then cutting and rubbing it to shape, using both
the brick axe and the mason's mallet and chisel. We were particularly fascin-
ated to see how his facsimile of a seventeenth-century 'Brick axe' was skil-
fully employed to hew the brick to the desired shape, just as the Jigginstown
house bricks would have been all those centuries ago. He also emphasised and
showed us that mason's tools can also be utilised to work mouldings too, just
as he had seen many times in Flanders; where the bricks for many of their cut
and rubbed enrichments are frequently built from harder calcareous bricks
similar to the Jigginstown House bricks.
The day we spent with him enabled us to plan the next stage of the project.
We discussed our specific education and training needs with him so our team
of skilled craftsmen in Ireland could replicate the cut and rubbed brick details
following their tuition with this master craftsman. Apart from this we would
need his guidance in helping us to obtain the type and sizes of rubbing stones
to initially prepare the bricks. These were made from an excellent source of
