The Parish Magazine April 2024

More documents

Recommendations

Info

14 The Parish Magazine - April 2024 Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to advertisements Reading | Henley-on-Thames | Wokingham | London 0118 951 6888 www.blandy.co.uk BLA6121 Wokingham Ad Sonning Magazine 90x126mm AW.indd 1 17/10/2023 11:29 WATER SOFTENERS WATER SOFTENER REPAIRS [ALL MAKES] NO CALL-OUT CHARGE CAN FULLY RECONDITION WITH GUARANTEE NEW SOFTENERS SUPPLIED AND INSTALLED 10 YEARS GUARANTEE Email: info@amsmayfair.co.uk Tel: 0125 676 8171 0783 624 7694 24 hours service | Private client parking | Private chapel of rest Free home visits | Pre-paid funeral plans | Full written estimate Woodland funerals | Religious and non-religious services Tel: 01491 573370 www.tomalins.co.uk office@tomalins.co.uk Anderson House, 38 Reading Road, Henley-On-Thames, RG9 1AG A Family Run Independent Funeral Service
feature — 1 The Parish Magazine - April 2024 15 Another brick in the wall ? . . . or is it a Stretcher, Rat Trap, Flemish, English or a Header? Following last month's article about my time in school, when I was taught the art of bricklaying because post WWII there was huge demand for new houses, here are some of my memories as a bricklayer! writes Claude Masters Stretcher, Rat trap, Flemish and English are the names of different brick bonds — the 'bond' being the way in which bricks can be joined together when building. Rat trap has a cavity that increases thermal energy. In my opinion, the most attractive bonds are Flemish and English bond. These days, most modern houses are built using Stretcher bond, with 11 inch cavity walls, and very often the cavities are filled with insulation. Stretcher bond is when the long side Stretcher Flemish English Header of the brick is viewed. The bricks are staggered to give support. English and Flemish bonds use both the side and end of the bricks to create patterns and strength to the walls. However, in Victorian times, brickwork was much more interesting, as so many more brick bond varieties and details were used. The Victorians also included much terracotta work and finials. We are lucky to have some fine examples in Reading, particularly in St Bartholomew’s Road. READING BRICKS I think that it must have been much more enjoyable being a bricklayer during the Victorian period. Reading was famous for its brickworks and I particularly remember one in south Reading by the Kennet — I believe it was Colliers Brickworks — where many of Reading’s bricks were made. There was a conveyor going across the road to take the clay to the brickworks. Of course, there are a variety of brick sizes. Bricks were built bigger up north than down south. This was due to a tax being imposed, towards the end of the 18th Century, on the number of bricks used in buildings. Ingenious builders used larger bricks to keep down their costs! When the authorities realised, they started to specify sizes but, by then, many of the brick makers in the Midlands and the North had spent much money on machinery to create these bricks and so kept these larger sizes. When Brunel built the Maidenhead railway bridge over the Thames, the authorities didn’t think that the arches would hold because of how shallow they were. However, a great storm removed the form work, which allowed the river to wash this away. The bridge stood! One unusual job that I was involved in was rubbing bricks! Softer bricks were needed, which you could rub into shape to make an arch. They were positioned on the ground to see the finished arch shape before laying in their final place. Because they had been rubbed and shaped, they fitted together well so only a thin mortar joint was needed; it was also aesthetically more pleasing. As this was an expensive way of producing an arch, I was only involved once. Please enjoy spending time looking at the wonderful buildings in our local area — including the St Andrew's Church walls and arches some of which used bricks salvaged from the WWII bombing of London.
Page 1 and 2: The Parish Magazine Magazine Parish
Page 3 and 4: Serving the communities of Charvil,
Page 5 and 6: The Parish Magazine -April 2024 5 T
Page 7 and 8: the parish noticeboard — 1 Church
Page 9 and 10: The Parish Magazine - April 2024 9
Page 13: the parish noticeboard —4 RENDEZV
Page 17 and 18: feature — 2 The Parish Magazine -
Page 19 and 20: around the villages — 1 Following
Page 23 and 24: around the villages — 13 Sonning
Page 25 and 26: around the villages — 5 Transform
Page 27 and 28: around the villages — 6 The Paris
Page 29 and 30: FASHION BY HARRIET NELSON The Paris
Page 31 and 32: THE ARTS Poetry Corner Breath Besto
Page 33 and 34: THE SCIENCES CLARIFY CONSTRAINT CON
Page 35 and 36: PUZZLE PAGE — 2 CROSSWORD Across
Page 37 and 38: CHILDREN'S PAGE The Parish Magazine
Page 39 and 40: Please mention The Parish Magazine

The Parish Magazine April 2024

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?