Internet reference to MT in Berkshire , to St Johns Upper Raymonds Almshouses,Bartholomew Street, Newbury RG14 7BS.
I saw no clues to MT on the frontage of those almshouses or Bartholemew Hospital Almshouses or St Marys almshouses, I
forgot to check the west gables though. Plenty of housing in that area of the right sort of age.
If there was any MT on these almshouses , then I would have said the left westmost section of Lower Raymonds or the rear.
The left section has narrow window reveals, compared wiht the right.
But torsion bars and I've never knowingly seen flared bricks simulated as tiles.
There is something odd about the eaves area. Supports for the modern
guttering under /behind tiles is possible. To allow for the thickness
of the steel supports the angles introduced to bricks would
probably make disproportionate forward mortar gaps if bricks. If the brick
ends were cut accomodate this angle, then I would have expected
the rears to be notched to take the steel and so avoid the angling
of the bricks. None of that angling on the right section of the
building.
Or on the rear of the building , same gutter supports , but deep
reveal to the single small window there. What is the reason that
every 10 to 12th brick/tile in the third course down is different and
repointed .
I realised I'd not looked at the Upper Raymonds end closest to the main road, and this face is observable from a bus.
Perhaps new MT in 2016, a skip full of plain tiles nearby.
No mortar between the tiles but mortar disguising the edges
But some lower edges of tiles showing under the bowing.
One to keep an eye on , but unlikely as an MT example.
St Nicholas House, corner of Oddfellows Rd , Newbury, near the canal.
Rubbed and Gauged brick aplenty, I hope they put "carpenter marks"
on these multivarious arch bricks.
Awkward disjunctures between plain brick lower and rubbed upper levels and the 2 bricks on this section I tapped in the upper area sounded very hollow, perhaps brick or tile slips. The lack of interleaving vertically , to the main face and all thise Queen Closers.
Speen House, Speen on the A4 near Pound Lane.
Surprisingly no traffic in this pic.
Edge details at the eaves
Edges on the chimney section.
At ground level
The internal angle treatment near the main door and more edges on the right
A dlose-up , also showing the dealing wiht some cracked tiles, and some closers.
This section of the east wall is probably MT too, going by the next to eaves treatment and leadwork window cil.
West Ilsley House, West Ilsley
In Main Street the wall containing the most distinctive bay window, all
too liable to being bashed by traffic. Now number 3 or 4, opposite the church.
A missing tile, showing the ghost impression of the top of the missing one in the surviving lime mortar. With all the lichen and patination of age, these examples look exactly like brick, having absolutely no texture or colour of tiles.
The lower edges with presumably later replacement battens fixes in as support. Overlaying brickwork.
The non-structural abutting of two walls , one tile-clad, the other brick
Close up of the non-juncture of the 2 walls, also a lower edge
of a tile, but why the non interleaving of the two lower walls?
Hampstead Norreys, Monor House
Next to the church. Easy to overlook this example , as the only
clues are very subtle.
Something and nothing, awkward disjuncture of brick and "brick".
One MT dangling at ground level ,near the door. The angling of the
right hand edge of one tile is the only sign I could see.
Two more Berkshire examples in the MT records.
Next to Windsor Castle, 1 Castle Hill and 6 Dorset St , Windsor,
and one probably too far from public view, Binfield Lodge, Bracknell.
I spent a few hours going round Windsor , Eton and Datchet, unfortunately no signatures of mathematical tiles seen.
Too hectic to place a tripod to close-up on the slipped tiles? of 1 Castle Hill to confirm a lower edge of tiling.
If MT on "House on the Bridge" , Eton , then probably the upper facing to the wine shop next door to the restaurante.
Uncertain about the terrace in Frances Rd, number 26 to Adelaide Sq corner with 1884 plaque.
Look of terracotta so more likely tile than brick, probably plain tile though as some complex forms at the window reveals and not a single broken or slipped one in the whole run of 8 or so houses.
None of the "6" addresses wiht a listed building in Windsor, looked promising and 6 Dorset Rd was just a big concrete hole in the ground,
Dorset St never existed as far as anyone knows.
I did like the Wonkey houses of Market St, "Coffee Britalia" Castle St and another house in Kings Rd/Adelaide Sq area I think, with a very skew facetted bay window
Sussex
59 East St and probably neighbour as well. 3 estate agents inside had no knowledge of their mathenmatical tiles, like in Salisbury. No definitive signature of MT,
probably a few slipped ones
At the modillion level fudged corner , that would otherwise be a very
bad bricklayer who made such a corner .
raking early morning light showing poor brickwork if it was brick.
The Clock House, North St, Midhurst
Lack of jointing on the canted bays
Exagerated aspect ratio (round lamp housing) showing rough "brickwork"
An ostentacious large benchmark on the quoin, and galletting along the stone beddings of flanking wall
33 High St, Arundel
Fudged corner fill
Vaguest hint of edge-on tick signature
Which is better the Sterling board or the timber framing with knapped flint, of the antique shop across the road?
Amberley museum
Nothing in-situ. Black glazed examples from Royal Crescent , Brighton
"Southampton" white/ Beaulieu yellow example from the Royal Pavillion ,Brighton
Anonymous panel
Anonymous panel
Anonymous panel
Clues at a distance for initial possibility of mathematical tiles. Architecturally 18 century or older building with shallow window reveals and dentilling at the eaves. Disguising quoins and string courses.
Close-up. If not fully bedded in mortar, putty etc, can have a hollow sound when
tapped with a knuckle. General appearance can be too good brickwork , with very fine mortar lines implying rubbed and gauged bricks which would be very expensive in 18C. Or oddly the alternative, very poor
bricks/brickwork, not coplanar surface or bowed bricks.
Beware of rough genuine brick, deliberately so for effect or in this
case , subway outside HRO Winchester, anti-graffiti measure, very non-random irregular surface
Any repeat
pattern in the surface appearance, degree of bowing or out-of-planeness.
Surface tends to be smoother than brick, unfortunatley often painted over these days. Areas of brick not tied-in , in sync, with adjascent area of "brick". Total absence of lintles or arches over window reveals. Recent MT
tend to be extruded rather than hand-thrown into moulds , so tend
to look a bit plastic, ie too smooth, too uniform in colour, too regular in size and no surface texture ( similar to "leaded glass" window panes consisting of lead preform strips stuck to float glass in diamond patterns, compared with the appealing multifaceted random reflections off proper leaded glass windows).
The most convincing evidence is if there is exposed edges anywhere or missing/slipped tiles or no grout/mortar/putty so showing underlying tile structure, ie this sort of tick shape of a vertical edge.
Is there lead sheet in places other than flashing or flaunching where you would normally expect it, eg under window sills , covering the fixing , non-brick face fixing flange, underlying surface of M-tiles. Can mitreing of corners be seen, to make a neat looking but not waterproof edging. Is there ironwork or other auxilliary fittings that would normally be fitted to brickwork, instead fitted to wooden window frames , perhaps rather awkwardly or structurally poorly. Is the mortar in fact putty then perhaps more likely to be tiling. Any core samples been taken and not plugged , so you can see what lies under the surface.
Are there soft material protective buffers under ironwork fixed through the tiles and otherwise would be held righ up against the tile surfaces.
On a jettied building is there "brickwork" on the cantilever, so large weight, that is not keyed into brickwork of the main building.?
A high tec approach would use a PUNDIT (pulsed ultrasonic
non destructive interval
timer) with an appropriate speed of sound for brick , and if
short enough transit time, would show narrow thickness and maybe
the wedge section shape. Or even more high tec, sonogram kit,
similar to in-utero baby 3D monitoring.
And if no PUNDIT or songram kit is available, then a low-tec refinement on knuckle-tap test. A small wooden headed hammer with wooden ball-end and no more than 200g in weight,like a small
roofing-plumber lead-dressing hammer. Select some headers and tap at left,mid and right of lower edges of each, mark with chalk ones that are consistent note. Then the "top" of each header left,mid, right and colour with different colour chalk if consistent note there. Repeat for some stretchers.
Latest version of my sounder is a small spherical wooden drawer
handle, covered in loads of eleastic bands and a couple of tap
washer rubber discs over the flat and then pieces of bicycle innertube to
dampen and muffle the sound of the sounder itself, my own invention
for testing for Mathematical Tiles. Here is a sound file for a mathematical tile "header" set in mortar, the 2 chosen tapping points about half inch up from the middle of the lower edge
and half-inch down from the middle of the upper edge. 4 taps lower, 4 taps upper, repeated 4 times, then single tap lower,upper, clip-clop, repeated 4 times.
The two-tone, about 1 semitone apart, clip-clop sound of mathematical tiles using a acoustically damped gavel
Tap in turn, bottom and then top and repeat and see if the lower edge, with less mass of tile, is a higher pitch than the "top" notes, first with left pairs , then mid pairs and right pairs. If a noticeable consistent difference in notes, then probabably mathematical tiles , rather than bricks or plain hanging tiles or brick slips. If the tiles are very well bedded in mortar, and not parted from the bedding over time, then will not be so definitive a test but worth a try. Less alarming looking , make a
small gavel and use as an auctioneer would. The wooden handle of a gimlet, and stretch some rubber hose over it , or loads of stretched rubber bands close an open end with rubber also.
The rubber to damp the self-resonant sound of the wood , just use the exposed end of the handle for sounding, and firm finger grip over the rubber also supresses self resonance. Also in that pic, work in progress.
Firstly the extruder worked to make the cross-section of MT, it developed
a curve on exiting , so will have to introduce a manifold antechamber
of dimensions opposing the cross section to offset the differential
flow of the clay in the die. I only have an assay size kiln so about 4
"header" MT is about the limit. Shown in the pic are tests for "distressing" the overly smooth finish of extruded clay. So ground and
castered different clays and minerals. The bathroom tile (didn't
think about the enclosed dampness befor firing so cracked 4 ways),
to avoid a glaze-only firing , to see how castered clay and sand
would bind to a glaze coat surface. The lower test tile having
castered ,dried (not fired, not grog) and ground terracotta
simply dusted on the green surface before firing. Sound file
of gavel on one of those 18mm wide , wire-cut, test pieces, again showing
clip-clop noise, simple alternate position taps
Test piece, double taps
Some I made later , but not slow enough heating the kiln through the 550 degree C transition point, but useful for handing around at talks. I tried getting a parcel of a few from a current manufacturer in the east of the country, but no go.
Why the appreciation of MT? They're ability to hide in plain sight for centuries, even being overlooked by historic buildings surveyors,
and the fun and games/frustrations involved with trying to work around them.
East Kent has at least 229 examples of Mathematical Tiles , 35 in Surrey, 7 in Berkshire and 357 examples in Sussex.
Much simpler and less overal thickness than MT, brick slips as used as a finish to the 1970s gas board building in St Marys Rd, Southampton.
And its smaller version that remained unlet for 30years, above the yellow V,showing they are not full brick thickness.
Someones failed idea at simulated brickwork. Surviving brick slips
look very convincing. End of Old Swanwick Rd near Bursledon Brick Works. Not functional and not mathematical tiles. A section to the left must have come unstuck from the blue backing, sucked off by wind perhaps and then all fell down, emerging blue painted red
to sort of match colour, except under the half-off slips, and then more came unstuck and he left it all at blue.
Sydney House, Hamble Lane, Hamble, now GE , was Folland/Hawker Siddeley/
British Aerospace, may or may not have such tiles. Distant views,
not even employees on the site are allowed cameras unless registered
with the management.
http://jeromeonline.co.uk/drawings/index.cfm?display_scheme=963
"Built of Beaulieu stock bricks with Portland stone dressings and a shallow pitched slate roof, brown mathematical tiles (since replaced with modern mathematical tiles) were hung on the 'inward-facing elevations of the attics at high level, allowing for the insertion of the main-stair roof lantern' (P.Dean, op.cit, p.180). In Ptolomey Dean's typescript inventory (for the Soane Monuments Trust, copy at Soane Museum) he wrote that 'DS [Dorothy Stroud] reports that the south and east sides are clad in mathematical tiles, for protection agains driving rain.' However, Dean argues that 'their colour and weathering is an exact match with the brickwork of the surrounding elevations suggesting that these elevations were always of brick.' "
Other examples of mathematical tiles.
Admin block of Parkhurst Prison, the White House, originally a military
hospital the tiles supplied by Pritchett of IoW.
from THE MAKING OF BRICKS BY
PRITCHETT FAMILY,1798 to 1939.
" the making of Bricks and Tiles by the
Pritchett family commences in the year 1798, when one ----Pritchett, accompanied by
his son George, then a boy of early years, came from the mainland to near Newport, Isle
of Wight, to assist in making a large quantity of Rebate Tiles (used to cover the exterior
walls of somewhat temporary erections of timber, and in appearance exactly resemble
bricks). These were required to build the first Parkhurst Barracks, near Newport, I.W., and
were made and burnt at Mackintosh Hill, near the entrance to Kitbridge Farm, where the
shallow clay pits can still be easily traced." As they had the clay to
produce "white bricks" they could well have made white rebate tiles also.
Written permission to take a pic,
refused. Low res pic from warder site
http://www.visitilife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Prison-5.jpg
placed here. An example of Mathematical Tiles that look too good
to be brickwork. Counting "bricks" and scaling to the heritage record
1:500 OS map and the return to the right hand annexe, and the Google satellite view showing the clock tower well, it is the block just inside the entrance gate, but presumably not fully observable from outside the main wall.
From the top deck of a Vectis number 1, unfortunately bowling along
past Parkhurst Prison. Have to wait for a traffic jam there, to retake a pic. Not the higher building but the lower one to its right , the top section of the tiled building.
The Ewell notes (qv) tell us that Mathematical tiles were sometimes called Southampton Tiles which all seems odd, also called Hampshire Tiles, but in C18 Hampshire was called the County of Southampton and often the "county of" phrase is absent. Also termed Geometrical Tiles, Mechanical Tiles, Rebate Tiles, Wall Tiles and Weather Tiles. William Woods, tilemaker/brickburner of St. Catherine’s Creek, Exbury is
recorded as one supplier of "white" (ie yellow) Hampshire-type tiles,
late C18 and C19, Pritchett of IoW and Exbury another supplier of white bricks and also rebate tiles.
Another Hampshire supplier of white bricks, unknown if tiles also made, Bailey’s Hard brickworks, Beaulieu late C18 and early C19.
A reference to one place where MT were made, well outside the
area you would expect, and used in Nottinghamshire again well out of area, from Althorp: The Story of an English House
" (Henry) Holland's choice for the task of transforming the
exterior of the house was a white brick, but this proposal
was deemed too expensive. A 'mathematical ' tile was then considered;
a flat creation which could simply encase the red brick without
any great structural changes. This proved acceptable to patron
and client, and the tiles were made in a kiln near Ipswich.
You won't see MT anywhere else than England and one example in Wales. None on all those Georgian houses of Dublin or anywhere
in the "colonies" or anywhere else. If anyone can prove me wrong on
that please email, historic or even modern examples elsewhere in the
world.
A local historian said this pillar in Southampton had mathematical tiles . The remnant of the Royal Oak, 17 Hazel Rd, Woolston, disappeared sometime between 1937 and 1948, due to the heavy bombing in the area to get the Supermarine Spitfire works just along the road. This remnant somehow incorporated into the gap between a business and a private house.
Probably brown-glazed bricks, I doubt tiles could survive this
bashing on the corners and numerous places the mortar is
missing and one recess is at least 2 inches deep,via nylon cable tie strand, ie you should
meet the leading edge of the tile behind it.
But on the other hand this rectangle of render looks odd with a
clear gap around its sides.
As it was, from the archives, caret below the retained pillar
Otherwise the nearest I've come to mathematical tiles in Southampton is the rubbed and gauged brick courses on the upper and lower sections of Montefiore House, Wessex Lane, Swaythling.
Showing the under side as well. I suppose with all that rubbing and gauging only a need to have one gauged face, hence the tapering facing in evidence in the internal faces.
I dropped into Mittals ,
Allington Lane, he's been there more than 30 years. In all that time of buying and selling salvaged tiles and slates, he was not familiar with the term or ever having seen the like. And none in any of the thousand or so stillage cages in the upper or lower stores or any broken ones seen on the ground around the perimeter where they could survive as more than shards. Same situation, no knowledge or MT stock at any time at
Romsey Reclamation, Awbridge. Top One salvage, seaward end of
Cranleigh Rd, Portchester, knew of mathematical tiles, none
ever having been in stock, but apparently Portchester Community centre had them at one time.
Other possible MT examples:
A recent school renovation/build? in Alresford.
Maybe some at Ampfield House, Ampfield Romsey, nothing seen
on the public west,south and east faces.
Winchester, Hyde area somewhere , a doctor's surgery new build with MT.
Sometimes called brick tiles and sometimes tile bricks, mechanical tiles or wall tiles
Remedial Measures
An owner fortunate to have a "parts donor" wall he could rob tiles from to give an aesthetically good , colour and texture match to broken and missing tiles. Otherwise new tiles will not match size , profile, colour or texture. This now internal wall ,was pre-1855 an external wall.
An 1855 dated photo showed this wall as external, complete with 2 natty gents , posing stationary, in their stovepipe hats.
"A" an intermediate roof line where bitumen sealing coat is showing through the 20C paint. "B" the painted over tiles. "C" the underlying fixing slab parts of the lower tiles with lime mortar over, after the fair face of the overlaying tile was removed.
"D" the underlying grey brick wall with morter over. Nothing in the natural way of things would have shifted these tiles. Mortared to the wall with nails (about 1in 6 holes nailed) , mortar between the tiles and mortar grout at the surface. Despite that the majority sounded to knuckle-taps , hollow, compared to the bare brick.
Just the fair faces required to patch in as slips, hence the disc cutter marks. I was allowed to excavate down to the underlaying wall and carefully remove a few original and complete tiles.
The nails removed, the "Frenchman " ends as original not from the salvaging. Part of the design of hand-made taper end cutnails , if they hit grog in the brick, they'll bend over and anchor inside.
Despite a head start with the machine cut fronts, took best part of an hour to win the first tile as requires lifting 2. 20 minutes or so for the next and 10 mins for the rest. Need to expose the top of the rear face first to see where the nail holes are. Small pair of molegrips easily removed the one only present in the first brick. No more than half pound hammer and old wood chissel to remove mortar. An old dinner knife sharpened to a point , used hammered as a chisel to excavate through the grout sections. A wooden wedge to hammer in the gaps to hopefully shift. Also a wallpaperer's stripping blade under the tiles will cleave apart. Perhaps for more than the 3 or so I was after, then a roofer's ripper would be useable. Originally I thought starting from the top was the way to go. But if the nails are rotten or easily dislodged then working from the lower edges may be better, once you know the nail positions.
I didn't realise when taking these pics, the camera was not parallel to the chipboard and the tiles are not tapered. The colour testcards are orange to red 5YR7.5/9,7.5R5.5/11,2.5YR7/12,7.5R6/10,7.5R5/8, in sunshine. The top tile shows, on same angle as mark "A" damage due to nails or perhaps knots in roof timber of the previous roofline. Survived chafing over decades from wind or damp/thermal movement of roof relative to wall. The broken rear flange one is noticeably more orange than the other 2 tiles.
Showing degree of out of planeness, ignore the lumps of iron , just to hold the tiles upright
rear faces
planeness of rear faces
profiles
Cleaning off the lime mortar, chisselled bulk off laying the tile on some old carpet , folded at an edge as a stop. Then wire brush, then spirit of salts diluted 1/3, as a wash to dissolve the remaining traces. Then a good soaking. For salvaging tiles set in Portland cement mortar a Dremmel and loads of small grinding discs may be the only way to salvage without too many breakages.
Header weighs 355gm and complete stretcher (with damaged face), 635gm.
Stretcher (complete) 217 to 219mm x 115 to 117, fair face 64 to 65mm, profile top and bottom 9mm thick , mid 10mm and 12mm thick, holes centres 53 and 30mm from edges, 13 and 17mm from top.
Stretcher (broken fixing flange), 220x65mm
Header 108 mm W, 119mm high, fair face 65mm, 9mm top, profile 10mm bottom , mid 10 and 14mm. Placing a straightedge spanning the gap where these tiles were, ending on original faces, the thickness 54mm or so.
In a more normal situation of damaged wall , where there is bulging or slipped tiles. Be very aware that interfering with one tile will often bring an avalanche of tiles down on you. Perhaps support suspect upper sections with upholtery foam, held compressed under timber held under downpipes or something. Salvaging mathematical tiles off battened walls should be easier than mortared onto brick , like here. On the other hand higher likelihood of a large section falling away in that mounting arrangement. Also easier where the bedding is putty (warming with low temp hot air would probably assist there). If it is at all possible to salvage MT, lay some old mattresses or something like that , tied against the wall , before attempting to remove any, either starting at the top or the bottom, as remove one and the whole lot is likely to fall off.
Go round a salvage yard for some colour matched bricks and preferably clipper saw 2 faces of each brick and use the cut face facing inside.
From material held at Singleton museum [ Mathematical Tiles: Association for Studies in Conservation of historic Buildings, newsletter no. 68, Ap 1985, by Bob Crayford]
Fixing of replacement mathematical tiles.
General mortar mix of 1:3:12 of cement:lime:sand is far too strong for
MT and go for nearer 0.1:3:12. Lime not straight from the bag but run to putty of a yoghurt consistency. Fine joints of MT should not be pointed, relying on the squeezing out of bedding putty. Use rawlplugs if pre-existing brick wall behind, not necessarily every hole of the fixing face, 1 fixing per 2 tiles is the norm.
Avoid any fixing nails/screws directly behind any join in the overlying tile.
Use nails or screws that will not corrode with rain/damp or react with any timber or
other surface treatments. Do not use plywood as backing as too
impervious, plain boarding or lathes only. Do not use felt, use air-permeable building paper behind tiles. Do not use a vapour barrier. Do not use gloss paint
over MT as this will trap water and cause damage, probably similar to the
consequent problems of glazing of black mirror tiling .
[from Conservation and Preservation , E.W. O'Shea, in the Ewell Symposium booklet]
... The tiles and mortar backing were hacked off and the walls were
brushed. A priming coat of Chemical Building Products "Cebond LX" was brushed on and immediately followed by a scratch coat of cement and sand.
A slurry coat of Cebond LX and cement was then applied to the back of the tiles and the scratch coat and the tiles were then bedded i na cement and sand mortar to which Cebond LX had been added. The tiles were pointed
up with similar mortar with a slightly recessed joint as the work proceeded. At the time of bedding , every third course were nailed to the backing with 2 galvanised jagged shank clout nails to BS1202,part2,1966, 38mm long 13SWG. ....
(Another site) Cover the framing with 1/2" marine ply treated both sides
with a suitable preservative. Nail on 3/4"x 3/8" softwood spacers, similarly treated and cover with 1/8" mesh expanded metal lathing.
Apply a render coat of 1:1:6 lime:cement:sand welll worked in to
give a firm backing. Bed the tiles in similar mortar with
ample mortar to squeeze the joints and point up slightly recessed.
... about every third tile was nailed with sheradised slate nail.
A tip for ageing the look of new materials, coat natural , non-flavoured organic yoghurt on any surface and it will attract lichen quite quickly, and in the interim tone down the new surface.
If I had to replace some MT after gale damage. I'd find a source of resonable colour-match clay and find a compliant potter, or someone with a kiln and general kiln experience. Easy enough to make up a one-off mould about 12%
oversize , to make half a dozen or so. I'd make the working face reduced size and thickness , to assist sliding into the extant cladding. Some soft material braced against the surrounding area to avoid dislodging any more. Clean off lichen and dirt etc.
Then horror of all horrors, hot melt glue. I've found it great for fixing patches of roofing felt over poor failing roofing felt , to keep it going a decade or more beyond its natural expiry date. Survives the sun heating up the black surface, so should survive clay tile temperatures and "do no harm", easily removable using heat if ever required in the future , unlike using builder's adhesive which is one-time only.
Warm the recess in the extant cladding with a hot air gun on low heat, also the replacement tile and then a few dabs of hotmelt, front and back of the working face, especially force into in any nail holes. Then point up with lime mortar at a later stage.
Hinton Ampner mystery explained. I was talking to the farmer who lives there. In 2001 the National Trust removed all the tiles and rebuilt with a large number of new tiles from a Sussex kiln. Hence the otherwise mystery of patchwork of lichen covered and lichen-free tiles. Even so , 3 of every 4 new tiles were rejected. To retain the diaper pattern new and old were laid out on the grass initially, to colour match and then fixed in place, requiring many rawlplugs. Now to the tension bar. The bar or spreader was not touched. The original material under the "S" is as it was and the replacement tiles were cut to surround the "S". So no tension bar abutting mathematical tiles, in actuality.
The Great Deception: Mathematical Tiles in Salisbury, by Richard Durman, Sarum Chronicle , Issue 4 , 2004
Mathematical Tiles : a Georgian Masquarade, Maurice Exwood
Reading material in my possession.
Mathematical Tiles, notes of Ewell Symposium, 14 November 1981, Chaired by Alec Clifton-Taylor
I can see why Ewell was chosen for this as 6 or 7 examples within 100
yards of the Bourne Hall Flying Saucer and 2 more just down
the road in Epsom.
26/32 ? High St Ewell, "Skin Secrets" on the corner with West St
No actual telltales of MT found, but would the litigation
sensitive H&S types around these days, allow such a leaning
wall over a main street pavement if it was genuine brickwork?
The other building 26 or 32 High St got overlooked in the rush around , in last light of an afternoon.
Church St, next to the watch house, for n'er do well Georgians.
window reveal showing MT edges.
Watch House, bottom right, also showing weatherboarding popular
around Epsom and Ewell
Roslyn, Ballard ? too rushed to note house numbers, tile edging telltales
Upstairs window reveal
Maltend Cottage, no telltales seen from the road
Faux facade and weatherboarding.
Spring St. Too little light for my pics to come out, so Streetview pics
until I can get back there. Spring House, with simple mitred
tiles for the bay angles.
Chessington Lodge, Spring St
Epsom
Front in Church St.
Unglamerous side elevation in Worple Rd. Lower edges of the
tiles can be seen.
Very clear demarcation on the left between brick and tile ections.
Upper level bowed profiles.
Not enough time to explore the other end of Worple Rd and
Westgate Hose/ Woodcote Place, Chalk Lane, Epsom. Nothing seen on Streetview.
A visit to the Weald and Downland Museum, Singleton, W Sussex and by arrangement I was helped in the library to find articles on this subject and also a chance to view , measure and photo some of the
numerous examples in their collections store
I took pics ,including architect's colour swatches, nearest to colour
match of the tile in question per BS 2660, under the storeroom lighting, not always present in the pics chosen for this mosaic. Not enough time to check for squareness , thickness variation etc , but not great precision and the dimensions are only representative single readings, not averages
1, museum number 205C/86 with nearest colour 7.5R6/10,
114x160mm , 68mm face 10mm to 15 thick/ 14 to 9mm rear
2, 206C/86, 219x139, 60mm face 7 to 11 , rear 80mm 8 to 11mm,
note the curved backing , certainly not precision
3, 208B/86 (Cheam Rectory) 226x124mm, face 62mm 12 to 15mm, rear 12 to 15mm
4, 208C/86, colours 7.5R3/12 and 7.5R2/8, 111x138mm,
face 68mm 10 to 11mm, rear 12 to 14mm
5, 203A/86, 10YR6.5/5, 159x106mm ,face 7 to 12mm, rear 13 to 9mm
6, black glazed face, 2 images, second showing the reflection effect of room light, colour of base material 7.5R6/10 and 7.5R6/10,
69mm face 8 to 12mm, rear 12 to 8mm
7, 1976 702, stepped form 228x118mm, face 70mm 9mm thick, rear to 9mm and central section maximum thickness 34mm, holes for round and square nails. Angle example 117x82mm , 120mm high
In September 2018 Romsey Reclamation had some of these tiles, listed as mathematical tiles, made by Redland, so made sometime between 1917 and 1997, so I bought 10 at 50p each , 8 stretchers and 2 headers.
http://www.diverse.4mg.com/redland1.jpg ,
Mislaid where I put the architects colours details and measurements of the tiles.
Change of core colour does not show in this image of a broken piece ,just part of a purple colouration.
http://www.diverse.4mg.com/redland2.jpg ,
Made by Redland, type Brickbond , fired clay but at first sight look like cement tiles, patent number 852811, all impressed in the rear of each tile. Googling found nothing and no access to patent numbers. Unusual 3 layer , triple deck lay-up, unknown to me, perhaps better thermal properties with 2 air gaps in the thickness or better at driving rain penetration.
One of two places in Hampshire where you can see how such tiles are hung, Fordingbridge museum, a permanent exhibit
Showing 4 holes per header for nailing the fixing flange, if 2 per header
then this is ideal for reducing nail rot problem. Incidently
farther along the main road on the other side , the stationers,
shows a text-book example of winter road-salt rot of stonework.
Been like it , getting worse, since before 1998. The lower part of the
lowest stone barely affected, the one above is seriously rotten
and those above that, unaffected. Just how the salt is splashed
up from the gutter, from passing traffic.
The other place to see mathematical tiles , off site, is the museum of
Bursledon Brick Works. There may be a display of MT at the Rural Life Centre,between Tilford and Frensham near Farnham , Surrey.
Incidently one way of transporting mathematical tiles was packed
around with straw inside wooden barrels.
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May as well go here some miscellaneous architectural oddities.
Church Hatch, Market Place, Ringwood.
PEARSONS, 18 AND 20, MARKET PLACE, Ringwood SU 14561 05300 . I originally thought the frontage might be mathematical
tiles, next to the Old Bank House example.
Without binoculars or a tripod for a camera and optical zoom, I'd
wondered what these weird bricks were.
Combined header and stretcher with the internal
corner formed of the join ,or a tile with both internal and external
corner. Even with binoculars and tripoded camera still looks odd.
I could see no sign of a mortar line or brick join in all
those "double-bricks" the full height of that brick-wide projecting section, perhaps a pic taken with this section in sunlight would show a pink line or something on at least one juncture.
Being able to see this brickwork closer, it is now evident the pointing
is tuck pointing and wigging that is more Irish than English. The bricks are probably not as ragged as the ones on the church-facing flank, there is a vertical disjuncture
near the front corner, so perhaps later brick on the front and a bit
of a return. Now its possible to
see the coloured mortar infil .
The damage to the front faces adjascent to the reveals would be
much more likely for tiles than brick. I originally thought the
damage was due to replacing window frames and having to remove
stucco molding around earlier frames. It would be an incompetent
builder who could not remove stucco from brick without
damaging the bricks, and so originally I thought it was
an indication of mathematical tiles (see Havant). And even if he did damage them
, then replacing with reasonable red colour match modern "georgian red" bricks would be no great problem. They could at least of
added brick dust or red cementone to the mortar patches.
So probably sloppy builders/window-fitters.
Tiles would not survive this deep damage to one
of the bricks, and I cannot see tiles showing this stress cracking
from under a reaveal corner. Also shows more like trempe l'oeil than
tuck pointing, white lines ignoring the original mortar gaps,
with the pinkish mortar covering now.
Enough of a broken brick is showing what would have
been the lower edge if it was tile.
The main street in Ringwood, coffin-board gutters, opposite side to
the christmas pudding.
Winchester Rd, Overton a trempe l'oeil , sort of disguising
a garage door in a heritage building. The owner spray painted
through net curtain to get the faux curtains.
Some cob wall material on a cottage at Pilley Bailey, Pilley New Forest
uncovered in renovations in 2015.
The French reed thatch being replaced with Turkish reed.
Another Pilley cottage with just the right amount of pea-size blob of red in 5 litres of white paint for the right degree of off-white pink colour, compared to the stark white of next door
Interesting fish-scale geometric hanging tiles on all 4 sides of Keepers Cottage, Church Lane, on highest part of the road between Colden Common and Brambridge, between Brickmakers Rd andTees farm Rd.
Rear face viewable from the bank of garages in Valley Close.
Galletting, ironstone roughly diaper shape set in mortar of walls.
Examples at Selborne Church and near Gilbert White museum on the other side of the road.
This example at South Harting, W Sussex
The oldest c1350 house in College St, Petersfield
Spiral Staircase,
impressive self supporting spiral staircase of one continuous piece of newel post oak tree,South Harting church (W Sussex). No wide angle lens, full height perhaps 2/3 again above that in the image, to access the tower
East Ilsley, Berkshire near the Swan Hotel a geological glacial erratic?.
Was much more impressive as one block before the road was raised and
enveloped the stone some more, but now the right height for a bench.
Mystery bricks Westridge Rd area of Westridge Rd, Portswood (one measured
as 9x4.35x2.55 inches),
Southampton as garden walls and around Fareham, including a pair of
2-story houses at 13 Trinity St, Fareham. Late Victorian perhaps,
before the introduction of frogs anyway.
Dimensions approx 9 x 4.5 x 2.25 inches, 10p piece in first 2 images
of a part collapsed garden wall, anyone know the name of them? , the house is
constructed alternate header/stretcher, narrow face horizontal, otherwise laying edge on would
be somewhat precarious without more than wall ties.
Before frogs were inserted, possible examples from Winchester, on the rear wall of the "twittern" to the rear garden of the house at King Alfred Place corresponding to the rear of 10 King Alfred Terrace. Plonk on top of the remains of Hyde Abbey, a flint wall with brick upper level.
Conveniently a missing brick showing the cavity. Dimension of one of the bricks in the wall, not the loose one,8.5x4.0x2.6inch.
Poole, south end of the high st, a twitten called Bowling Green Alley, evocative of an earlier era with flags and iron gullies, forgot to see if the gullies had the name Wellworthy cast into the metal. Ideal for a period film scenic backdrop location. Twitten = conflation of betwixt and between
Alresford Station, framed by the cutting , rust loco being moved on or off a fancy German made specialised loco low loader
Serpentine wall, rear of 73 High St, Lymington
More public version of a wavy wall in Lymington is along Church Lane.
Hursley roofscape
Hursley window stay
A griffin finial of a thatch roof, The Thatches, Penton Mewsey
New Orleans on Solent, Iron balconies and palm Cambridge Rd , East Cowes
All that remains above ground of St Denys Priory, St Denys, Southampton. I had permission from the hose owner to take a few pics in his back garden. About 20 foot tall but majorly covered in ivy , so from Priory Rd all you see is an ivy "tree".
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