Adrian de Villiers

In the article below, Adrian de Villiers (Chief Architect Heritage Advisory Services at the Department of Public Works) explores the history and legacy of the brickfields of John J Kirkness. The piece first appeared in the December 2017 edition of The Arcadian. Thank you to the Arcadia Residents and Ratepayers Association (ARRA) for giving us permission to publish.

Many of you may have, at some time, come across a brick in the garden reading ‘KIRKNESS’ or ‘PRETORIA’ imprinted onto the frog (stamped depression) of the brick. John Johnston Kirkness and his unmistakable rich red-to-purple clay brick has left an indelible legacy on hundreds of the buildings and homes we live in, located in older parts of Pretoria. The vast majority of houses in Arcadia are certainly built with bricks from KIRKNESS.

This treasured brick heritage came from the brickfields of John Johnston Kirkness who was born on the 1st April 1857 on the Orkney Islands in North Scotland. Beyond kilns and building, Kirkness played an active role in the economic, cultural and religious life of Pretoria and was the fifth mayor of the City. He died at the age of 82 years on the 13th June 1939, in Pretoria.

John J Kirkness Advert (PeriodPaper LLC-Collectible Original Print Archive)

Kirkness's building education commenced at the Heriot Watt College in Edinburgh where he...

On an earlier version of The Heritage Portal the following question was posted: "I need to repair the wooden flooring in my historic home. Any recommendations?" Adrian de Villiers, Chief Architect at the Department of Public Works replied with the following priceless advice.

When one's talking 'old wooden floors', there are two types of wooden floors. There is the parquet block floor which is laid in hot tar onto a solid substrate like a cement screed. Then there is the suspended wooden floor at Aunty Julie's house, which is found in earlier buildings than those with 'parquet'.

Suspended floors have a void below them which is naturally ventilated. The tongue and groove planks are supported by a system of beams called 'sleepers' and joists that rest on the sleepers. The planks are often nailed to the joists with blind-nailing (meaning the nails are hidden) or just as often, they are nailed from the top vertically into the joist below (meaning you can see the nail head flush with the floor surface).

I imagine the floor you're referring to is a suspended floor (with most likely, tongue and groove boarding). When it comes to fixing a floor like this, a lot depends on the type of repairs that are needed. For instance... Do you just want to refinish the floor?... or are there structural problems which require replacement of boards or joists? A floor in a bad condition can be repaired only to have the same problems cropping up a few months later. That is... if...