The bath brick (also known as Patent Scouring or Flanders bricks),[1] patented in 1823 by William Champion and John Browne, was a predecessor of the scouring pad used for cleaning and polishing.
Bath bricks were made by a number of companies in the town of Bridgwater, England, from fine clay dredged from the River Parrett near Dunball.[2] The silt, which was collected from the river on either side of the Town Bridge, contained fine particles of alumina and silica.[3] It was collected from beds of brick rubble left in the rain for the salt to be washed out and then put into a "pugging mill" which was powered by a horse to be mixed, before being shaped into moulds and dried. These would be wrapped in paper and boxed for sale in England and throughout the British Empire.[4] By the end of the 19th century around 24 million bath bricks had been produced in Bridgwater for the home and international markets.[5]
The brick, similar in size to an ordinary house brick, could be used in a number of ways. A mild abrasive powder could be scraped from the brick and used as a scouring powder on floors and other surfaces. Powder could also be moistened with water for use on a cloth for polishing or as a kind of sand paper. Items such as knives might be polished directly on a wetted brick.[6]