As the general principles are the same in making tiles and bricks, we shall class all these coarse pottery-works together here, in an enumeration of the most important kinds used in Britain.
Place-Bricks are the worst of the clamp-burnt stocks, and are used for common walls, and the poorest kinds of work; they are soft and unequally burnt; they sell from 20s. to 30s. a thousand.
Stock-Bricks are those from the centre of the clamp, and are regularly burnt, of an equally hard texture, and even colour; they are used for good work of all kinds; the price varies from 30s. to 40s. a thousand.
Malm-Stocks are clamp bricks, but made with more care from clay to which ooze, chalk, or marl is added; and the whole carefully tempered; they are of a fine clear yellow colour, and are used for facing the walls of good houses, and for making arches over doors and windows in general, where they are to be seen. The softest kind are called cutters, from their admitting of being cut, or trimmed, with the trowel with nicety. The prices of these bricks vary greatly.
Fire-Bricks are made of a peculiar kind of clay, found in perfection at Windsor, Stourbridge, and parts of Wales, whence the varieties derive their names. They are formed from the clay without any admixture of ashes, and are always kiln-burnt. They vary in size, and are used for building furnaces, ovens, boilers, &c.
Pan-Tiles are tiles, the cross section of which may be represented thus.
They are used for roofing outhouses, stables, &c., the edges of one row overlapping those of another next it, and they are always set in mortar: the end of the tile is formed with a projecting knob or fillet, by means of which the tile is hooked on to the batten or lath. These tiles are much larger than the Plain-Tiles, which are used in roofing dwellings, &c.; they are flat, as the name indicates, and are fixed to the laths of the roof by wooden pegs, two holes being left in the tile for that purpose. Foot and ten-inch tiles are thick square tiles of those dimensions, used for paving, hearths, &c., or for coping walls. All tiles are burnt in a kiln.
Bricks made in Great Britain are charged with a duty, and as it constitutes an important item in the revenue, the manufacture is laid under strict surveillance by the Excise. The duty on tiles was repealed in the year 1833. Bricks can only be made at certain seasons, in certain quantities, and even the screen through which the ashes are sifted, to be mingled with the clay, must be made of wire of a certain mesh. Bricks made larger than the standard measure of 8½ inches long, 4 wide, and 2½ thick, pay a higher duty than the common ones; if the bricks are smaller than the proper size, the maker is fined heavily. No duty is charged upon bricks made in Ireland.
About 1500 millions of bricks, 42 millions of plain, 23 millions pan, and 6 millions of other tiles, are made annually in Britain. A good moulder can make from 5000 to 6000 bricks in a day, from five A.M. to eight P.M.