Bricks are a wonderful building material. They are baked hard clay that lasts for centuries.

Bricks are ceramic, the clay becomes vitrified (turned to a hard substance though heating in a kiln).

Bricks change in size through the ages. From small and thin in Tudor times and getting larger closer to the present day.

My favourite sort are Staffordshire blue bricks. These are dark blue/grey and often covered in dimples on their upper and lower surfaces which are visible when the bricks are used for paving garden paths.

Red brick is also used in building and there are “red brick” universities in the middle and North of England. These are not as posh as places like Cambridge and Oxford but their courses are as good as the ancient ones. Examples of red brick universities are Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield.

The photo on this post is from my collection of photos manipulated in an app called Layout.