About the book

“Bricks of Victorian London is a genuinely fascinating read for anyone interested in the social or economic history of the city as well as for architectural, social, and labour historians more generally. It will be the first port of call for scholars interested in the specifics of the industry of course – and it is really striking that this is the first full-scale study of the subject. And it is a book that will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to understand not only how London was transformed in the nineteenth century, but also the now long-lost people and places that made that change possible.” William Whyte, The London Journal

“In common with other books in this series, this is a high-quality production and makes thorough use of documentary evidence.” Alice Harvey-Fishenden, Landscape History

Many of London’s Victorian buildings are built of coarse-textured yellow bricks. These are ‘London stocks’, produced in very large quantities all through the nineteenth century and notable for their ability to withstand the airborne pollutants of the Victorian city. Whether visible or, as is sometimes the case, hidden behind stonework or underground, they form a major part of the fabric of the capital. Until now, little has been written about how and where they were made and the people who made them.

Peter Hounsell has written a detailed history of the industry which supplied these bricks to the London market, offering a fresh perspective on the social and economic history of the city. In it he reveals the workings of a complex network of finance and labour. From landowners who saw an opportunity to profit from the clay on their land, to entrepreneurs who sought to build a business as brick manufacturers, to those who actually made the bricks, the book considers the process in detail, placing it in the context of the supply-and-demand factors that affected the numbers of bricks produced and the costs involved in equipping and running a brickworks.