Bricks, Bonds, Soldiers & Sailors!
Ever walked past an old building and admired its beautiful brickwork?
Look a little closer and those walls reveal more than bricks and mortar. They can tell us about traditional craftsmanship, architectural fashions and the techniques builders used to create their designs.
And some of the terminology is wonderfully curious!
FIRST, LET'S MEET THE BRICKS!
Stretchers – show their long, narrow faces.
Headers – show their short ends. In traditional thick masonry, headers can help bond the outer and inner portions of a wall together.
Soldiers – stand vertically, showing their long, narrow faces. Think of soldiers standing to attention!
Sailors – stand vertically too, but show their broad faces. Even bricks have different ways of standing on parade!
Soldiers and sailors are often used above windows and doors, or in decorative bands. Their orientation describes how the bricks are laid; it doesn't automatically tell us whether they're structural or decorative.
NOW, LET'S TALK BRICK BONDS!
A brick bond is the arrangement of bricks within a wall, including how the joints line up from one course to the next.
Different bonds create distinctive patterns, and some have a long history in traditional masonry.
ENGLISH BOND
English Bond alternates courses of stretchers with courses of headers.
The result is a series of distinctive horizontal bands. In traditional thick masonry, the header courses can help connect the wall across its thickness.
FLEMISH BOND
This pattern alternates a header and a stretcher within each course, creating a repeating pattern of short ends and long faces.
It's particularly recognisable for its decorative appearance and has been widely used in traditional brick façades.
Although both bonds can produce sound masonry, neither is automatically stronger in every situation. Wall thickness, brickwork, mortar, workmanship and structural design all matter.
STRETCHER BOND
This is the familiar pattern where every brick shows its long face, with the vertical joints staggered between courses.
It's widely used in Australian brick veneer homes. In this construction, the brickwork forms the outer skin, while a supporting frame carries the principal structural loads.
Simple, practical and pleasing to the eye!
STACK BOND
Here, the vertical joints line up directly above one another, creating a neat, geometric appearance.
Unlike staggered brickwork, stack bond doesn't provide the same overlapping arrangement. Structural applications may therefore require specifically designed reinforcement or other support.
(This is just a small selection of common brick bonds - there are many more to discover! Check out the links in our Sources & Further Reading section to learn more.)
AND THERE'S MORE!
Look around old windows, doorways and decorative walls, and you might spot:
Rowlocks – bricks laid on edge, with their short ends visible.
Shiners – bricks laid on edge, with their broad faces visible.
String courses – horizontal bands that divide a wall visually and add architectural detail.
Corbelling – successive courses of brickwork projecting outwards, sometimes creating decorative features or supporting elements.
The precise terminology can vary, but these details offer clues to the design and craftsmanship of a building.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM BRICKWORK?
Next time you're exploring an old shop, school, railway building or country homestead, take a closer look.
Can you identify the bond? Are there soldiers above the windows? Perhaps a decorative string course running along the wall?
Remember, brick patterns alone can't reliably establish a building's age, original purpose or structural strength. For that, we need to investigate its history, materials and construction.
That's the fun of history: sometimes the smallest details lead to the biggest discoveries!
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE OLD BRICK BUILDING?
Tell us where it is in the comments. We'd love to hear your memories, stories and discoveries!
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SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Want to dig a little deeper into the fascinating world of traditional brickwork? Here are some useful resources to explore!
1. Your Home – Australian Government Brickwork, blockwork, brick veneer and traditional masonry construction. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/brickwork-and-blockwork
2. Brick of Chicago – An Introduction to Brickwork An illustrated introduction to brick positions, including stretchers, headers, soldiers, sailors, rowlocks and shiners. https://www.brickofchicago.com/learn
3. Brickwork – General Technical Reference An overview of bricklaying techniques and traditional patterns, including English Bond, Flemish Bond, running bond and stack bond. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickwork
A NOTE FROM DAVE & MALOU: These resources help explain the terminology and techniques discussed in our article. Identifying the construction history of an individual building requires further research into its age, materials and original design.
