Bungaroosh (also spelt bungeroosh,[1] bungarouche, is a composite building material used almost exclusively in the English seaside resort of Brighton and its attached neighbour Hove between the mid-18th and late 19th centuries, when it grew from a fishing village into a large town.[2] Bungaroosh is often found in buildings of that era in the town and in its near neighbours Worthing and Lewes,[3] but is little known elsewhere.[2] It can incorporate any of a wide variety of substances and materials, and is used most often in external walls.[1][4]
The manufacture of bungaroosh involved placing miscellaneous materials, such as whole or broken bricks, cobblestones, flints (commonly found on the South Downs around Brighton), small pebbles, sand and pieces of wood into hydraulic lime and then pouring it between shuttering until it has set.[5][4] The shuttering (formwork) process typically involved erecting a wooden frame , pouring in the lime and adding solid materials to the mixture. Other structural fittings, such as brick piers or wooden lintels, could then be added if more support was needed or other structures were to be added.[5] This was particularly common in Brighton, where bungaroosh walls were often built behind the impressive stuccoed façades of Regency-style houses.[5][4] The material is particularly prevalent in the early 19th-century squares, crescents and terraces of Brighton's seafront,[6] such as Regency Square, Royal Crescent and the Kemp Town estate. Another technique was to wait for the mixture to set, then render it with a lime-based mixture and paint it. This produced a consistent, regular surface which could be used to build the symmetrical façades required in Georgian architecture - a popular style in Lewes.[6]
Bungaroosh uses lime as in Roman concrete and cement. This expondentially hardens over time and to date there has never been a failure of a bungaroosh wall. If holes are cut in it though or cement is used it stops this product from breathing, allowing damp permeation in and out and also cutting said holes can cause failure.The etymology of the word is unknown, so as it’s unknown speculation is simply speculation.
https://www.heritagebuildingadvisors.co.uk/projects/bungaroosh
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Antram, Nicholas; Morrice, Richard (2008). Brighton and Hove. Pevsner Architectural Guides. London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12661-7.
- Collis, Rose (2010). The New Encyclopaedia of Brighton. (based on the original by Tim Carder) (1st ed.). Brighton: Brighton & Hove Libraries. ISBN 978-0-9564664-0-2.
Other resources
- "Living with … bungaroush" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2013. (1.4 MB) (from The Regency Society)
- "Flint and bungaroush". Building crafts & skills. The Regency Town House. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
. Bungaroosh, article in the website Heritage Building Advisors.co.uk