From the early 17th century bricks began to be used in house building and Herefordshire had a great many brickworks.
Brickmakers and the bricklayers were skilled craftsmen, and in Herefordshire much of the raw material was processed from Downtonian Red Marl with bricks sometimes being made on the site of the building being constructed.
For a period between 1784 and 1850 a brick tax was in force, and the brickmakers response was to increase the size of the bricks thus reducing the number used and therefore the tax.