BRI 



BRI 



About London, th^} chiefly burn in 

 clamps, built of the .cricks themselves, 

 after the manner of arches in kilns, with 

 a vacancy between each brick, for the fire 

 to play through ; but with this difference, 

 that instead of arching 1 , they span it over, 

 by making the bricks project one over 

 another, and on both sides of the place, for 

 the wood and coals to lie in till they meet, 

 and are bounded by the bricks at the top, 

 which close all up. The place for the fuel 

 is carried up straight on both sides till 

 about 3 feet high ; when they almost fill it 

 with wood, and over that lay a covering of 

 sea-coal, and then overspau the arch ; but 

 they strew sea-coal also over the clamp, 

 betwixt all the rows of bricks ; lastly, they 

 kindle the wood, which gives fire to the 

 coal, and when all is burnt, then they con- 

 clude the bricks are sufficiently burnt. 



The different kinds of bricks made in 

 this country are principally place bricks, 

 grey and red stocks, marl facing bricks, 

 and cutting bricks. The place bricks and 

 stocks are used in common walling; the 

 marls are made in the neighbourhood of 

 London, and used in the outside of build- 

 ings; these are very beautiful bricks, of 

 a fine yellow colour, hard and well burnt, 

 and in every respect superior to the 

 stocks. The finest kind of marl and red 

 bricks are called cutting bricks, they are 

 used in the arches over windows and 

 doors, being rubbed to a centre and guag- 

 ed to a height. There is also a fine kind 

 of white bricks made near Ipswich, which 

 are used for facing, and sometimes 

 brought to London for that purpose. 

 The Windsor bricks, or fire bricks, which 

 are made at Hedgerly, a village near 

 Windsor, are red bricks, containing a very 

 large proportion of sand; these are used 

 for coating furnaces and lining the ovens 

 of glass nouses, where they stand the 

 utmost fury of the fire. Dutch clinkers 

 are also imported, long narrow bricks, of 

 a brimstone colour, very hard, and well 

 burnt ; they are frequently warped, and 

 appear almost vitrified by the heat. 



BRICKLAYER, one who lays bricks in 

 the building of edifices of any kind. Ti- 

 lers and bricklayers were incorporated, 

 10 Elizabeth, under the name of master 

 and wardens of the society of freedom of 

 the mystery and art of tilers and brick- 

 layers. The materials used by brick- 

 layers are, bricks, tiles, mortar, laths, 

 nails, and tile-pins. Their tools are, a 

 brick-trowel, wherewith to take up mor- 

 tar ; a brick-axe, to cut bricks to the de- 

 termined shape ; a saw, for sawing bricks; 

 a rub-stone, on which to rub them ; also a 



square, wherewith to lay the bed or bot- 

 tom, and face or surface of the brick, to 

 see whether they be at right angles ; a 

 bevel, by which to cut the under sizes of 

 bricks to the angles required ; a small 

 trannel of iron, wherewith to mark the 

 bricks ; a float-stone, with which to rub 

 a moulding of brick to the pattern de- 

 scribed ; a banker, to cut the bricks on ; 

 line-pins, to lay their rows or courses by ; 

 plumb-rule, whereby to carry their work 

 upright ; level, to conduct it horizontal ; 

 square, to set off right angles ; ten foot 

 rod, with which to take dimensions; 

 jointer, wherewith to run the long joints; 

 rammer, with which to beat the founda- 

 tion ; crow and pick-axe, wherewith to 

 dig through wails. 



BRIDEWELL, in Bridge-street, Black- 

 friars, a singular foundation, comprising 

 within the same walls, an hospital, a work- 

 house, and a prison. Edward VI. found- 

 ed this place, which had formerly been 

 one of King J ohn's palaces. Several manu- 

 facture rs reside there, who have the pri- 

 vilege of taking apprentices. When these 

 have served faithfully the period of their 

 servitude, they have a title to the freedom 

 of the city, and ten pounds to assist them 

 in the w rid. 



BRIDGE, a work of masonry or limber, 

 consisting of one or more arches, built 

 over a river, canal, or the like, for the con- 

 venience of crossing the same. Bridges 

 are a sort of edifices very difficult to 

 execute, on account of the inconvenience 

 of laying foundations and walling under 

 water. 



The parts of a bridge are, the piers, the 

 arches, the pavement, or way over for 

 cattle and carriages, the foot way on each 

 side for foot passengers, the raii or para- 

 pet which incloses the whole, and the 

 hutments or ends of the bridge on the 

 bank. 



The conditions required in a bridge 

 are, that it be well designed, commodious, 

 durable, and suitably decorated. The 

 piers of stone bridges should be equal in 

 number, that there may be one arch in 

 the middle, where commonly the current 

 is strongest ; their thickness is not to be 

 less than a sixth part of the span of the 

 arch, nor more than a fourth ; they are 

 commonly guarded in the front with an- 

 gular sterlings, to break the force of the 

 current : the strongest arches are those 

 whose sweep is a whole semicircle ; as 

 the piers of bridges always diminish the 

 bed of a river, in case of inundations, 

 the bed must be sunk or hollowed in pro- 

 portion to the space taken up by the piers, 



