As a result of the brick tax between 1756 and 1850, the increase in the size of a brick is now useful in helping date the construction of a building.
Pre-1784 bricks in the house on the right versus newer bricks on the left.
The impact of the brick tax on architecture was to see many areas returning to the use of timber and weatherboarding in house construction, especially weather tiles to simulate brick work, known as mathematical tiles. Until 1833 the brick tax also applied to roof tiles and drainage pipes. The taxation of pipes led to a lower quality of housing as many households could not afford drainage pipes due to their increased price. Tiles were taxed based on the size and level of decoration, which made people use plain tiles, which were the cheapest. In general buildings constructed before 1784 and after 1850 show more ornaments, better design and detailing than buildings built within this period.
A Brick Tax was first proposed in 1756. The proposal was initially considered to be only partial since much of Britain used stone for building, and unfair, as the tax would not apply to the rich as their houses were built almost exclusively from stone. It failed to pass but was reintroduced in 1784 to help pay for the War of American Independence by which time bricks had grown in popularity and use. Bricks were initially taxed at 2s 6d per thousand and the word ‘excise’ imprinted on bricks that had been taxed.
To mitigate the effects of the per-thousand brick tax, manufacturers began to increase the size of their bricks (useful now as the size of the bricks can help date the construction of a building) this was eventually held in check by new legislation that specified the size of a single brick. The brick tax was finally abolished in 1850 by which time it was considered to be a detriment to industrial development.