CONTEXT 182 : DECEMBER 2024 39 being defaced by tarmac, and concrete kerbs and flags. The original Regional Streets for All series produced by English Heritage was an important step forward. It should be developed into a resource that documents in detail the materials and practices that are used at a regional and local level. There is no adequate source of information at the moment: only general principles, and limited advocacy. We need building listings that are fit for the 21st century. Listings should contain enough information about a building to enable a fair attempt at its reconstruction, including photographs, precise descriptions of the materials and architectural details. In future photogrammetry and lidar would enable the creation of a digital twin of each building. A listing that asserts that a building is made of brick is not helpful when there are so many different types, sizes, colours and textures of brick. We need to test the received wisdom and use science to fill in the gaps. Some of our understanding relies on the work of antiquarians who did not have the benefit of the scientific instrumentation available in the 20th and 21st centuries. Their views may have escaped the rigours of scientific and historical research. There may even be an oral tradition of knowledge. We are told that some buildings are built of Dutch brick, but does this really mean that the bricks are always from Holland? Perhaps some are actually bricks made in England by Dutch brickmakers. We are told that Dutch bricks were brought in as ballast: but is it really true that such a valuable commodity would have been treated as mere ballast? It is the same as suggesting that the Dutch would consider the wool products imported on the return voyage from England as ballast. And there are many more questions to answer. How were black glazes seen on mathematical tiles produced? What is the cause of the orange in orange bricks? How is red rock formed underwater? Scientific instruments such as scanning electron microscopes, laser spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and so on can provide answers. This is not an endless task. There will be definitive answers to these questions. I hope that in future years a new edition of The Pattern of English Building can be produced which unites all of the disciplines involved, and makes the knowledge and wisdom of scientists, conservation professionals and craftsfolk available to all. And in glorious colour that celebrates the stunning beauty of brick, stone and the buildings of England! Craythorne House, Tenterden (wood masquerading as stone) is now largely obscured by a hedge. Acknowledgements Sincere thanks go to John Bennett (co-author of Bargate: the stone that built Godalming) for geological coaching and immense patience; to P. Meyer-Higgins for photographic advice; and to Rob Cowan for encouragement and continuing advice. All colour photos by Robert Huxford Robert Huxford is director of the Urban Design Group. Patcham Place, Brighton, must be England’s most genteel example of the use of black glazed mathematical tiles.
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