Polychrome brickwork is a style of architectural

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by s ...

wherein bricks of different colours are used to create decorative patterns or highlight architectural features in the walls of a building. Historically it was used in the late Gothic period in Europe, and the Tudor period in England, and was revived in Britain in the 1850s as a feature of

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. Later in the 19th century and into the early 20th century it was adopted in various forms in Europe for all manner of buildings such as French eclectic villas, Dutch row houses, and German railway stations, and as far away as

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, where the technique reached heights of popularity and elaboration in the 1880s.

Beginnings in the British Gothic Revival

All Saints, Margaret Street, London W1 - Porch - geograph

The revival of polychrome brickwork is generally thought to have been instigated by British critic and architectural theorist

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

, in his 1849 book ''

The Seven Lamps of Architecture ''The Seven Lamps of Architecture'' is an extended essay, first published in May 1849 and written by the English art critic and theorist John Ruskin. The 'lamps' of the title are Ruskin's principles of architecture, which he later enlarged upon i ...

'', where he lauded not only Medieval and Gothic architecture as 'truer' than the Classical, but also the ‘honest’ medieval use of materials as both structure and decoration, above the use of applied colours or veneered materials. He gave as examples Tuscan and Venetian Romanesque and Gothic buildings such as the

Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, which has a facade of white stone and pink marble in a diaper pattern (which is in fact a veneer). Other theorists and architects at the same time were also exploring the medieval use of materials in this way, later described as ‘constructional polychromy’. While some designers had already used more than one colour of brick,

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

made lavish use of the technique in his All Saints Margaret Street, built between 1850–59, with an exterior of banded and diaper patterned brickwork in black and cream on a red brick background. Butterfield went on to use polychrome brick in more projects, and other architects also adopted the new technique at the same time. For example

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...

used black bricks on a red background in his 1858–61 St James the Less in Pimlico, considered one of his finest designs, and

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

used black brick stripes on a red background on the Sandbach Literary Institution in 1857. The use of coloured brick effects became quite popular in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

across the United Kingdom, often in combination with stone, usually with far less elaboration that Butterfield. Some architects in the 1870s-80s were more enthusiastic, such as in the work of

Watson Fothergill Watson Fothergill (12 July 1841 – 6 March 1928) was a British architect who designed over 100 unique buildings in Nottingham in the East Midlands of England, his influences were mainly from the Gothic Revival and Old English vernacular architec ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, and in Bristol in the 1860s-80s it was often used is what is now known as 'Bristol Byzantine' style, for instance the 1869 Welsh Back

Granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

Use in Europe

Polychrome brickwork also became popular in Europe in the later 19th century as part of the various medieval and Romanesque revivals. In France the

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in ...

in Noisiel, designed by Jules Saulnier and completed in 1872, is an early and very elaborate example, which is also noted for its early use of iron structure. Later the use of two tone brickwork was popular in eclectic picturesque villas, as well as other building types. Examples, again usually restrained use of two colours, can also be found in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany '

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

' style buildings sometimes employed decorative brick.

Use in Australasia

In Australia, the first use of polychrome brickwork is generally attributed to architect Joseph Reed's Independent Church (now St Michaels) in Melbourne's Collins Street, completed in 1866, closely followed by St Jude's in Carlton. Architects such as

Crouch & Wilson Crouch and Wilson was an architectural practice based in Melbourne, Australia in the late nineteenth century. The partnership, between Tasmanian-born Thomas Crouch and recently arrived Londoner Ralph Wilson, commenced in 1857 in Elizabeth Street. ...

and Percy Oakden soon also employed it on church design, while Reed also applied it on houses, notably the

Rippon Lea Estate Rippon Lea Estate is a heritage-listed historic house and gardens located in Elsternwick, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the care of the National Trust of Australia. It was added to the Australian National Heritage List on 11 August 20 ...

. Most of the State Schools built in the 1870s-80s were in a brick Gothic style with at least two colours. Rare examples of its use can be found in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, however it is most prevalent in

, where it began, and where it became increasingly popular, reaching a peak in the boom years of the 1880s when it was used extensively on all manner of buildings from

terrace house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s to villas, from shops to factories. Early New Zealand examples are

All Saints' Church, Dunedin All Saints has been open since 1865, and is presently in the Dunedin North parish which includes the northern part of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand and is made up of the former parish of All Saints and the former parish of St. Martin's North ...

and Lisburn House

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand both designed by Mason and Wales architects.

Examples

Notable examples of its application include: Historic examples * Santa Maria e San Donato, Murano, Veneto, Italy, 12th Century *

Château de Blois A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

, main front Louis XII wing, Loire Valley

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Fulham Palace Fulham Palace, in Fulham, London, previously in the former English county of Middlesex, is a Grade I listed building with medieval origins and was formerly the principal residence of the Bishop of London. The site was the country home of the ...

, London, late 15th century, all walls in diaper pattern black brick on red brick. * The Vynne, Hampshire, late 16th century. Nineteenth Century Great Britain and Ireland * Sandbach Literary Institution,

, 1857 * St James the Less, Pimlico, George Edmond Street, 1861 *House, 24 Cornhill Market, Banbury, UK, William Wilkinson, 1866 *Granary, Welsh Back, Bristol, 1869 by Archibald Ponton and

William Venn Gough William Venn Gough (1842–1918) was an architect responsible for a number of prominent buildings in Bristol. His works include the Cabot Tower, Colston's Girls' School (now Montpelier High School), Trinity Road Library, St Aldhelm's church ...

*Midland Hotel at

St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

(1866–76) *

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

(1870) *

Royal Albert Memorial Museum Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) is a museum and art gallery in Exeter, Devon, the largest in the city. It holds significant and diverse collections in areas such as zoology, anthropology, fine art, local and overseas archaeolo ...

, Exeter (1868) *

St Augustine's, Queen's Gate St Augustine's, Queen's Gate, is a Grade II* listed Anglican church in Queen's Gate, Brompton, London, England. The church was built in 1865, and the architect was William Butterfield. History In 1865 the curate of Holy Trinity, Brompton, the Rev ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(1865) * Naas Presbyterian Church (1868) *

Exeter School Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School. History The School traces its ...

(1878) * Mageough Home (1878) *

Templeton carpet factory Templeton On The Green, converted from the Templeton Carpet Factory, is a distinctive building near the People's Palace, Glasgow, People's Palace, in Glasgow, Scotland, opened in 1892. In 1984 it was converted into the Templeton Business Centre, ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

(1889–92) *Offices, George Street, Nottingham,

s, 1895 Europe * Reuss Stables, Greiz, 1870 * Menier Chocolate Factory, Noisiel, designed by Jules Saulnier, 1872 *

Water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, Gutenbergstrasse, Krefeld, 1872–77 *Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory (now

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK, German: ''Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung'') is a German government-funded research institute addressing crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate imp ...

), Emanuel Spieker, 1879 *Maison Le Castel, Vichy, 1893 * Villa mon Plesir, Vichy, France, 1894 * Luisenhaus, Gesundbrunnen, Berlin, 1893 * Maurice Bisschops house, Avenue de la Couronne, Brussels, 1895 *Villa Germaine, Avenue Palmerston 24, Brussels, 1897 *Grand Market Hall, Budapest, 1897 Australasia * St Michael's Uniting Church, Melbourne (1866) *

Ripponlea, Victoria Ripponlea is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. Ripponlea recorded a population of 1,532 at the 2021 c ...

(1868) * Cambridge Terrace Carlton, Victoria (1873) * St George's Uniting Church St Kilda East, Victoria (1877) *Boag's Brewery

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

(1880s) * Yorkshire Brewery Collingwood, Victoria (1880) * Holcombe Terrace Carlton, Victoria (1884) * Denton Hat Mills

Abbotsford, Victoria Abbotsford ( wyi, Carran-carramulk) is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra Local government a ...

(1888) * Old Museum Building, Brisbane (1891) * Church of England Mission Hall, Little Bourke Street,

(1894) *

(1865) * Lisburn House

, New Zealand (1865)

Gallery

File:Sandbach Literary Institute.jpg, Sandbach Literary Institution, George Gilbert Scott, 1857 File:St James the Less, Vauxhall Bridge Road, SW1 - geograph.org.uk - 1851125.jpg, St James the Less, Pamlico, George Edmond Street, 1861 File:Keble College brickwork - geograph.org.uk - 719038.jpg, Keble College, Oxford, William Butterfield, 1870s File:The Deli Brasserie - Banbury.jpg, House, 24 Cornhill Market, Banbury, UK, William Wilkinson, 1866 File:Victoria Court - Bristol byzantine.jpg, Warehouse, Victoria Street, Bristol, 1870s File:Exhausted Brickwork - geograph.org.uk - 1650684.jpg, Granary, Welsh Back, Bristol, 1869 by Archibald Ponton and

File:Bath Road reservoir site - geograph.org.uk - 1633359.jpg, Water Tank, Bath Road, Reading, UK File:Watson Fothergills Offices at 15 George Street in Nottingham.jpg, Offices, George Street, Nottingham, by Watson Fothergills, 1895 File:Templeton's Carpet Factory, Glasgow Green, Scotland.jpg, Templeton's Carpet Factory, Glasgow Green, Scotland, William Leiper, 1892 File:Strandvaegen 29-33a.jpg, Building on the Strandvaegen, Stockholm File:Briques6.JPG, Residential building in France File:Gründerzeithaus Goethestraße 3 Ebeleben .jpg, Late 19thC house in Ebeleben, Germany File:Marstall Greiz.jpg, Prince Reuss Stables in Greiz, Germany, 1870 File:AOP-Potsdam.jpg, Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory, Germany, 1879 File:Villa 4, quai d'Allier.jpg, Villa mon Plesir, Vichy, France, 1894 File:Rue d'Isly.jpg, House, Rue d'Isly, Lille, France File:Brickwork detail, Grand Market Hall, Budapest.jpg, Grand Market Hall, Budapest, 1897 File:Gesundbrunnen Badstraße Luisenhaus-001.jpg, Luisenhaus, Gesundbrunnen, Berlin, 1893 File:St Michael's Church Collins Street Melbourne.jpg, St Michael’s Church, Collins Street, Melbourne, Joseph Reed, 1866 File:Brunswick Methodist Church 004.JPG, Methodist Church, Sydney Road, Melbourne, Percy Oakden, 1872 File:Chinese Mission Church, Little Collins Street.jpg, Chinese Mission Church, Little Collins Street, Melbourne, Crouch & Wilson, 1872 File:Victoria Terrace House, North Fitzroy, Melbourne.jpg, 1880s terrace house, North Fitzroy, Melbourne File:Rippon lea.jpg, Rippon Lea Estate, Melbourne, Joseph Reed, 1860s-80s. File:Denton Hat Mills, Abbotsford, c1890.jpg, Denton Hat Mills, Abbotsford, Melbourne, c1890

References