Only hand thrown facing bricks exhibit the fine individual characteristics and variations which are associated with historic brick buildings. At Lambs we continue to manufacture imperial handmade bricks to traditional standards and sizes just as the Company has been doing for over one hundred years. Much of the success of the family business has been due to the enthusiasm with which the Lamb family have approached the industry and the generations who have taken up the challenge. There are, however, a number of other families where two or three generations work for the Company and the accumulated knowledge of just nine members of the production team totals more than 160 years.

The handmade texture on the face of Lambs hand thrown brick will show a pattern which is unique to each maker and bricks within a wall can be identified and attributed to specific makers. It is this individuality which makes bricks from traditional works so appealing.

The burning question

Clots of clay are rolled in moulding sand and thrown into slip moulds or box moulds and turned out to be dried with hundreds of others either in the traditional drying shed or the new computerised gas fired dryer. Once dry they are taken to the kiln in the case of the Red Rubber material or the Goodwood Facings but the Imperial Clamp Burnt bricks are taken into the open air clamp yard and stacked in the age old fashion on a bed of coke. The clamp bricks have fuel added to the clay and when the 'Clamp' is lit with one match the fire in the coke layer starts a chain reaction where the fuel in each brick burns and sets fire to the neighbouring bricks. Eventually the whole clamp of 50-60,000 bricks will be fired in this way and be left to cool down. Bricks fired in the clamp will have beautiful striations of colour ranging from blue, brown, red and orange but if plain bricks are required they need to be fired in the kiln with no added fuel.

Whether burnt in the kiln or the clamp the bricks are sorted for colour and quality before being packed onto pallets in the stock yard. Special shaped bricks and Red Rubber cutting blocks are dealt with in the same way but need extra care during firing and handling.

To the craftsmen in the brickworks all parts of the process are important because they know the character of a brick comes from the whole process and each operation is carefully carried out right down to the checking and packing.

Special bricks

One considerable advantage of a handmade brick is that special shapes thrown by the hand have a matching texture and colour. Moulds are manufactured from dimensioned drawings and designed so that the clay can be turned out with the profile shape undisturbed. Occasionally, a complex shape has overhangs or curves that preclude their being turned out of the mould. In these cases the multi-piece mould can be separated to allow extraction of the finished special. This is obviously a time consuming process and is avoided wherever possible.

When the special brick can be matched with Red Rubber material these complex specials can be cut and rubbed from fired blocks negating the necessity for mould manufacture. Drawings are prepared in the same way and templates made for the masons to work from. Each side is carefully cut on a saw or rubbed with a carborundum block to match the template.

The saws are especially engineered for accuracy and tolerances of +/- 1mm are achieved. The face of the special can be left with the original handmade texture to match the facings or given a traditional fine rubbed surface which is finished by hand. If the need arises a cut surface can be retextured to blend it with the handmade texture.

Specials manufactured with a handmade texture are not suited to laying with fine 2mm lime putty joints and are best laid with joints of 5mm or over. With fine lime putty joints bricks with the natural handmade texture are extremely difficult to lay with all edges flush and the lime will often spread into the handmade creases. With a rubbed finish and 2mm joints (i.e. Gauged Brickwork) the specials should be laid, the excess lime putty removed as it dries and the work left to dry.

When the Gauged Brickwork is dry which may take several weeks, the surface can be cleaned by rubbing with carborundum paper or block which will remove any smears of lime putty and flatten any unevenness leaving a perfect finished job.

Bridging the gap

Gauged Arches are treated in exactly the same way as Gauged Red Rubber Specials during the manufacturing process.

Red Rubber blocks are cut and rubbed to match the template. Where the arch has a decorated edge the profile can be added before cutting the voussoir shape except where the arch is curved. As with all Gauged work the units are hand finished and checked before packing. The arches are manufactured to the approved drawings and full sized copies are always delivered to site with arches so there is no mistake with the setting out.

Delivery

Down to the last detail

When ready for dispatch, the bricks are still handled with every care and Lambs try to ensure that every delivery is successfully completed. Small quantities and special shapes may be delivered on a small flat bed lorry for hand off loading while large quantities are dispatched on crane off loading vehicles. Where necessary special bricks are packed in trays of up to 10 or 12 bricks and arches are always packed face up in trays and hand off-loaded; full packs of specials may have extra protection where required.

Most of Lambs products are made by hand thereby ensuring an authentic appearance.

 

Lambs shaped gauged red rubbers off-site to create this completely new chimney stack at Hampton Court Palace.

 

Lambs operate computer controlled kilns to ensure colour consistency is achieved in every batch of Red Rubbers produced in our kilns. We also clamp fire our products when colour variations are required.

 

A reproduction TLB Red Rubber gateway – a testament to the skills of our master brick masons and those of the bricklayers.

 

Central London, an example of Lambs replacement Handmade Medium TLB Red Rubber material and Silver Grey Ash Glazed headers

 

Heath House garden gateway manufactured from Imperial Handmade Rubber Range Medium Multi Facings and Single Cants with a Dropped Gothic arch with canted profile in our Handmade Medium TLB Red Rubber Material.

 

Utmost care is taken with the packaging of Lambs products for delivery. This ensures they reach the customer in perfect condition and they are numbered ready to lay in the work.