Community Archaeology Ac vity Sheet

BRICK BONDS

Bricks can be laid in a variety of ways to provide strength, stability and

decora on. The way bricks are laid out is known as a bond and over me

dis nc ve bond pa erns developed.

Instruc ons

Set up the Lego™ brick wall as shown below:

Now spend a moment thinking about its construc on.

What do you think? Does it have a good structure? Does it look nice? Is this how you would build a wall? If not, why not? Perhaps there is a be er technique?

Now have a go at building a be er wall. Experiment with different ways of laying the bricks and see how many different pa erns, or bonds, you can make.

Think about the strengths and weaknesses of each pa ern—are some methods stronger than

others? Do some look nicer than others? Do some take longer to build than others?

Finally, think about which method you would choose to build different structures. For example, which one would you choose for a house? Or how about for a storage shed or an important public building? What are your reasons for your choices?

How did you do? Turn over to see how many of the bond pa erns you made.

Stretcher Header English

Flemish Sussex English Garden Wall

Header Bond—a very strong bond, mainly used for curved walls such as

in a bow window.

English Bond used to good decora ve effect. This is the oldest form of bond and was popular un l the late 17th century.

Flemish Bond—a very popular bond, par cularly in the Georgian period.

Diaper-pa ern brickwork, using black, over-fired bricks.

Stretcher Bond—the most common bond in modern buildings.

HOW DID YOU DO? HOW MANY OF THESE BONDS DID YOU MAKE?

Brick Bond

Patterns