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The way the bricks fit together in a wall is called the bond, and it creates the visible pattern on the surface of the wall. It was the ability to spot different bonds while walking around a town that first got me interested in brickwork. It's a bit like learning to recognise different trees or different birds. FIrst you just learn to give them names, then you learn why they are as they are.
Centuries ago, builders discovered that walls, which were more than a single brick thick, would be more stable if some bricks were laid along the line of the wall and some along the wall. Bricks laid along the wall show their sides (stretchers) and those laid across the wall show their ends (headers). At first builders mixed them at random, but then they developed regular patterns or bonds. Over the years different bonds emerged, driven by considerations of strength, cost, ease of laying and fashion. A significant cost factor may have been the proportion of bricks that would be visible on the outer surface of the wall. If they were, then they needed to be high quality 'facing' bricks, but those hidden within the wall could be cheaper low quality bricks.
| Bond | Pattern | Notes | Fraction of facing bricks | Click images to enlarge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flemish | Each course has alternating headers and stretchers, with the headers aligned with the stretchers in adjacent courses. | More common in England than in mainland Europe | 67% (2/3) | |
| English | Alternate courses of headers and stretchers, with the joints in the stretcher courses aligned | More common in mainland Europe than in England. Often used in high status buildings | 75% (3/4) | |
| ... | Often used for bridges and industrial buildings where strength is important | 75% (3/4) | | |
| English Cross | Alternate courses of headers and stretchers (like English Bond) but with the joints aligned with the centres of the bricks in alternating stretcher courses | Common in mainland Europe, and also known as Dutch Bond (Kreuzverband in German). | 75% (3/4) | |
| ... | It is rare in England, where it often suffers from 'Northeast cracks' running along the diagonal lines of weakness. | 75% (3/4) | | |
| Garden Wall | Three courses of stretchers alternating with one course of headers | 63% (5/8) | | |
| Sussex | Each course has three stretchers alternating with one header | Also called Flemish Garden Wall | 57% (4/7) | |
| 'Long Sussex' | Each course has five stretchers alternating with one header | 55% (6/11) | | |
| American | Five courses of stretchers alternating with one course of headers | More common in America than in UK | 58% (7/12) | |
| Monk | Each course has two stretchers alternating with one header. (Occasionally six or four courses of stretchers instead of five.) | In Common Monk Bond, Headers alternate ¾ brick length left and right on successive courses | 60% (3/5) | |
| ... | In Symmetrical Monk Bond, the headers are aligned centrally between the stretchers on adjacent courses | 60% (3/5) | | |
| ... | In Raking Monk Bond, the headers in successive courses are aligned 1¾ length one way and 1¼ length the other way | 60% (3/5) | | |
| ... | Raking Monk Bond creates diagonal stripes that are visible from a distance, as in this example | 60% (3/5) | | |
| ... | Some examples show little pattern in the relationship between the headers in successive courses, like this example. | 60% (3/5) | | |
| Flemish Stretcher | Courses of alternating headers and stretchers separated by one or more courses of stretchers | 58% (7/12) | | |
| Hexham | Courses with alternating pairs of headers and stretchers are separated by two courses of stretchers | There can be a lot of variability, so the wall needs careful study to determine the predominant underlying pattern | 55% (5/9) | |
| ... | In some cases there is a single separating course of stretchers | 58% (7/12) | | |
| Header | All bricks are laid across the wall, showing headers but no stretchers | The only bond where all bricks are visible on the external surface. | 100% (1/1) | |
| ... | The small unit makes elaborate patterns possible with different coloured bricks, but this is not always exploited, as in this example | 100% (1/1) | | |
| Combinations | Some buildings combine more than one bond, for example terrace houses with front and rear walls in Flemish Bond, and the large end walls in Sussex Bond. | Sussex Bond is cheaper to build than Flemish, but weaker. Strength is less critical for end walls, which are normally plain, than for front and rear walls with many door and window openings. | – | |
During the transition between solid walls and cavity walls, several hollow wall bonds appeared. Some used special bricks, but most were formed by laying the bricks on edge so although the thickness of the wall was still the length of a brick the bricks laid along the wall occupy less than half of the width, leaving a gap between them. These bonds were called 'rat trap'' (presumably because a rat could get into the spaces). They are also called Rowlock or Chinese bonds.
Hollow wall bonds needed fewer bricks, and less mortar, for a given area of wall and so were cheaper to construct. They were also warmer because the air gap reduces heat transfer. It also reduces damp penetration, but not completely because the gap is bridged at regular intervals by the crossing bricks. Dearn's Bond (Chinese English Bond) would be particularly bad because the crossing bricks form continuous layers that would prevent any moisture that penetrated the outer skin from running down the inside. That might be why it is rare – I have never found any.
Chinese bonds were in use in the late 19th century but by the 1920s had largely been displaced by the cavity wall (ie Stretcher Bond). In the 1970s the British-born Indian architect Laurie Baker, who encouraged the efficient use of materials and energy in buildings, promoted building with rat trap bonds rather than solid walls. On the Internet it is hard to find any mention of the original use of rat trap bonds. Almost all articles (other than practical ones) refer to Baker, and many credit him with inventing it .
The commonest form of Rat-trap Bond is equivalent to Flemish Bond, but the principle can be applied to any bond (except Header Bond). The pictures show several examples. Click on the images to enlarge.
 Rat Trap Bond (painted over) Wokingham |
 Rat Trap Bond (showing cavity) Wokingham |
 Chinese Monk Bond |
 Chinese Sussex Bond Wokingham |
 Chinese Sussex Bond (showing cavity) Wokingham |
Modern walls normally have a single outer leaf of brick, with a space separating it from the inner leaf. Cavity walls had an air gap until the late 20th Century, but this is now usually filled with foam, and modern walls are built with a layer of insulation between the two leaves, rather than an air gap.
With a single brick thickness the only way to lay the bricks is along the wall. This gives Stretcher Bond, where every course has just headers. Stretcher Bond has a monotonous appearance compared with solid wall bonds. When cavity walls were introduced in the early 20th century, this was often offset by using half bricks to emulate the appearance of Flemish Bond. That was costly, and since the 2nd World War Stretcher Bond has become ubiquitous. It is even used for solid walls in gardens, etc, with the two skins tied together with the metal brick ties used in cavity walls.
In the late 20th Century, some architects re-introduced the use of simulated solid wall bonds (by using half bricks) in some high status buildings, but they haven't restricted themselves to Flemish Bond (see below).
Also in the late 20th century, architects have relieved the monotony of Stretcher Bond by using courses or patterns of different coloured bricks .
Outside of UK, it is quite common to stagger successive courses of Stretcher Bond by ¼ brick rather than ½ brick, which also breaks up the pattern, but this is less common in Britain. Click on the images to enlarge.
For more detailed information on brick bonds see Wikipedia.
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