fancy bricks

Bricks are something I take for granted in the states as being ugly. I know. I have a 1/2 brick house and I'm ok with that now. My first impulse was to paint the brick, but was convinced not to because of the increased upkeep. I've come to terms with our creamy yellow brick.

Over here, it's inescapable. The Great Fire of London in 1666 definitely seemed to influence this. At the time of the fire, the over-populated city of London was combustible despite laws that had been put in place to prevent it. As one website describes,

The city's architecture had changed little from the Middle Ages. Narrow, cobble-stoned, foul-smelling streets doubled as the city's sewers. Many of the streets were lined with homes made of wood and pitch, some four stories high. The upper stories of these homes overhung the lower ones and projected into the street, effectively blocking the sun and decreasing the distance between the buildings. [Like the York Shambles] This typical construction and London's uncontrolled growth had created a fireman's nightmare: a city dominated by old, dry, wooden structures, tightly packed into a confined space just waiting for a spark to ignite disaster.

The Great Fire left a huge impact on the city and country, leaving in its wake death, destruction, refugees, and fear. When Charles II rebuilt the city, it included "...improvements in hygiene and fire safety: wider streets, open and accessible wharves along the length of the Thames, with no houses obstructing access to the river, and, most importantly, buildings constructed of brick and stone, not wood."

Even today, you just don't see many wood buildings, especially in cities. Thatched roofs are rare and are, for the most part, relegated to rural areas. However, I have to say, with the restrictions in place, the British have done some remarkable things with brick that make the buildings more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.



















Even with brick buildings, the threat of fire was still top of mind for the British. In York, you could buy fire insurance and the company would give you a plaque to attach to the exterior of your home showing you paid. The insurance company would employ firefighters to extinguish your blaze. The downside was that there were several competing insurance companies. If some other company's firefighters got to your house first and you didn't have the right plaque, they would let it burn because it wasn't their problem. Some people would buy two policies to double their chances of protection. Although firefighters will help anyone today, some buildings still display their old insurance plaques.