Holy Trinity Church 1719

Brick Manufacturers: York Handmade Brick Company

Architect: Mosedale Gillatt Architects

Brickwork Contractor: Historic Property Restoration Limited

The brickwork at( Grade I listed) 17Nineteen was a major challenge in this project as it is a predominantly brick building (with areas of stone coursing and details), and the brickwork had deteriorated significantly over the years.

The bricks had suffered from high levels of water ingress at the wall heads and bases, and extensive areas of hard nonporous cement mortar both internally and externally.

Removal of x2 notice boards highlgihted that originally (when it was built in 1719) the church was tuck pointed and the small areas which were found to be still intact are a rarity in this part of England, and with carefully working around these areas we were able to retain this for future generations and prosperity.

However, the overriding impression of the building was the brickwork and pointing, and Historic England and Sunderland Council Conservation Team were involved in decisions regarding brick replacement, lime mortar sampling, methodology etc with the design team from the early stages.

Matching and replacing the existing brick involved numerous samples of colour and size, and The York Handmade Brick Company Limited visited site in Sunderland and produced an excellent match in both colour, size and shape.

It was agreed that “Thirkleby Blend, especially fired to minimise striping on the face was the best option and these were made specifically by devising a way of stacking them in the kiln so that the bricks that are stacked on edge only contact each other face-to-face rather than perpendicularly. The brick size was also made to measure reduced to 230 x 110 x 55mm as smaller bricks were used in the early 1800’s.

The scope of works includes repair, consolidation and repointing of masonry (stone and brickwork) to all external elevations, as well as repair, consolidation and repointing of internal masonry - In total 16,865 bricks were replaced and produce the seamless impression that can be seen today.