Since the master brickmakers, the Romans, conquered Britain 2,000 years ago, brick has been one of the most popular materials for buildings across the UK. 

 

It fell into decline when the Romans left Britain in the 5th century, and it wasn’t until much later that the use of bricks slowly returned, with Flemish bricks increasingly imported into Britain in the early thirteenth century. In time, the quality of brickmaking in the UK rose to a level where imported bricks were no longer the main source of bricks in Britain. 

Then came the Great Fire of London. It’s a common myth that the consequential damage was the catalyst for the sudden revival of brick as a prominent building material. But there were many brick buildings in London before 1666, even on Pudding Lane where the fire began. In fact, in 1605, King James I said that no one should build a new house in London unless it was made from brick or stone because he needed timber for the navy’s ships. However, this rule was only occasionally obeyed. The devastation wreaked by the Great Fire served as the ideal grounds for enforcing this law and it is since then that brick construction quickly became widespread across the UK.