Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The influence of classical architecture and the popular use of brick in the
city in the refined manner of the Dutch were central to the acceptance and
subsequent prolific use of gauged brickwork from this period. The tradi-
tional practice on some principal elevations of colour washing and pencilling
joints did not always fully reduce the impact of the many busy units. A better,
though expensive, solution was to use colour-matched bricks, 'baked' rather
than 'burned', and easily cut and rubbed to precise shape and dimensions -
rubbing bricks. These could be accurately prepared for setting by dipping into
a screened mortar of lime putty: fine sand, though termed a 'putty joint', with
joints frequently of 3 mm or less in width thus allowing the classical detailing to
be displayed from a broad façade.
From now on, therefore, one begins to see less references to 'hewn' brick, and
more to bricks that are to be 'ground' and/or 'gauged', such as at Pembroke
College, Cambridge, where in a contract for the brickwork of the chapel dated
16th May 1663, Clarke (1886, 155) records:
…and that the Heads and sides of all the bricks w
ch
shall appear outwards shall be
all ground, and fine ioynts [joints] made.
The ultimate aim of presenting the brick enrichment or ashlared façade with a
smooth, rubbed surface of carefully ground, and colour-matched gauged rub-
bing bricks, was to de-materialise the outside appearance by reducing the joint
widths to almost zero. To achieve this the bed and face of each brick needed first
to be rubbed square, or at 90 degrees to one another, prior to cutting to size or
shape, enabling the brick to present a flat surface to the façade once laid on its
fine mortar bed. This not only homogenised the overall surface, but also cre-
ated precision in preparation and presentation of plain and enriched works of
finely jointed masonry that was an integral part of the rich Renaissance/classical
heritage.
Gauged brickwork was, and remains, the ultimate refinement and expression
of the bricklayer's craft, with setting out, cutting and abrading to shape, and
setting and finishing the brickwork to a very high degree of precision. This was
an essential requirement in late seventeenth-century England, where face brick-
work was to be employed so that the classical articulation of the structure might
be displayed from a broad, smooth façade, and not visually distracted by the
'busy' effect of many warped bricks and thick mortar joints. A good example
of such use is at Kimbolton Castle (Huntingdonshire), where the East Side of
the courtyard was re-fronted with ashlared gauged work set in Flemish bond,
and carved stone dressings in a classical style between 1690-95. Since 1950 the
home of Kimbolton School, but formerly the residence of the Montagu family;
bearing the title Earl of Manchester. The family was loyal to King Charles I, who
restored their lost honours during the Restoration, and this work was carried
