One small niggle, they weren’t making what we think of as London Stocks at Brick Lane (or anywhere else) in the 17th century. The bricks from Spitalfields were made of brickearth, not clay, and didn’t have much if any ‘Spanish’ added to them to aid firing. That came later in the 18th century with London Stocks made from clay and with rubbish added to help fire the brick from the inside.

When we excavated Spitalfields Market we found not only the quarry pits that the brickearth was dug from, but the brick kiln, the waster bricks and the wall to what would be the Artillery Ground that was built in the last years of the monastic hospital of St Mary. The brickearth was largely stripped for brick making over large parts of Spitalfields, Homerton and Haggerston, but these bricks were red bricks, rather than the clay London Stock with its addition of ‘Spanish’ rubbish.

I imagine it would be cost-prohibitive to ship them across the Atlantic to enhance the facade of our house…

I am grateful that such skilled craftsmen continue to keep this business, which is a gift to all of us who will see its product, going.