The English like their bricks. Good, solid, kiln-fired bricks.
In fact, not a lot of people know this, but there is a country-wide ordinance that says from any public space there must be at least one house or building that is visible that has been cladded with bricks. There is a very unusual trade (brickechequers, please note the British spelling); these are people employed by the government who visit the public places and fine any property owners, if their properties are visible from a public space but do not contain a minimum number of bricks.
Anyway, the north of England is no exception to the rule. (Digression: many scholars believe North England might even be the historical home of bricks, as even today the North Englander’s seem to enjoy putting things in on top of other things.)
I was given a wonderful guided tour through the northeastern English village of York and the territory known as Yorkshire, where I captured this incredible snap:
