the method of burning bricks in
kilns. They carried their knowledge and their methods throughout western
Europe, and there is abundant evidence that they made bricks extensively in
Germany and in Britain.

Although brickmaking was thus introduced into Britain nearly 2000 years
ago, the art seems to have been lost when the Romans withdrew from the
country, and it is doubtful whether any burnt bricks were made in England
from that time until the 13th century. Such bricks as were used during this
long [v.04 p.0518] period were generally taken from the remains of Roman
buildings, as at Colchester and St Albans Abbey. One of the earliest
existing brick buildings, erected after the revival of brickmaking in
England, is Little Wenham Hall, in Suffolk, built about A.D. 1210; but it
was not until the 15th century that bricks came into general use again, and
then only for important edifices. During the reign of Henry VIII.
brickmaking was brought to great perfection, probably by workmen brought
from Flanders, and the older portions of St James's Palace and Hampton
Court Palace remain to testify to the skill then attained. In the 16th
century bricks were increasingly used, but down to the Great Fire of
London, in 1666, the smaller buildings, shops and dwelling-houses, were
constructed of timber framework filled in with lath and plaster. In the
rebuilding of London after the fire, bricks were largely used, and from the
end of the 17th century to the present day they have been almost
exclusively used in all ordinary buildings throughout the country, except
in those districts where building stone is plentiful and good brick-clay is
not readily procurable. The bricks made in England before 1625 were of many
sizes, there being no recognized standard; but in that year the sizes were
regulated by statute, and the present standard size was adopted, viz. 9 x
41/2 x 3 in. In 1784 a tax was levied on bricks, which was not repealed until
1850. The tax averaged about 4s. 7d. per thousand on ordinary bricks, and
special bricks were still more heavily taxed.

The first brick buildings in America were erected on Manhattan Island in
the year 1633 by a governor of the Dutch West India Company. These bricks
were made in Holland, where the industry had long reached great excellence;
and for many years bricks were imported into America from Holland and from
England. In America burnt bricks were first made at New Haven about 1650,
and the manufacture s