What is "bath brick"

Bath \Bath\, n. A city in the west of England, resorted to for its hot springs, which has given its name to various objects.

Bath brick, a preparation of calcareous earth, in the form of a brick, used for cleaning knives, polished metal, etc.

Bath chair, a kind of chair on wheels, as used by invalids at Bath. ``People walked out, or drove out, or were pushed out in their Bath chairs.''
--Dickens.

Bath metal, an alloy consisting of four and a half ounces of zinc and one pound of copper.

Bath note, a folded writing paper, 8 1/2 by 14 inches.

Bath stone, a species of limestone (o["o]lite) found near Bath, used for building.

Brick \Brick\ (br[i^]k), n. [OE. brik, F. brique; of Ger. origin; cf. AS. brice a breaking, fragment, Prov. E. brique piece, brique de pain, equiv. to AS. hl[=a]fes brice, fr. the root of E. break. See Break.]

1. A block or clay tempered with water, sand, etc., molded into a regular form, usually rectangular, and sun-dried, or burnt in a kiln, or in a heap or stack called a clamp.

   The Assyrians appear to have made much less use of bricks baked in the furnace than the Babylonians.
   --Layard.

2. Bricks, collectively, as designating that kind of material; as, a load of brick; a thousand of brick.

   Some of Palladio's finest examples are of brick.
   --Weale.

3. Any oblong rectangular mass; as, a brick of maple sugar; a penny brick (of bread).

4. A good fellow; a merry person; as, you 're a brick. [Slang] ``He 's a dear little brick.''
   --Thackeray.

   To have a brick in one's hat, to be drunk. [Slang]

   Note: Brick is used adjectively or in combination; as, brick wall; brick clay; brick color; brick red.

   Brick clay, clay suitable for, or used in making, bricks.

   Brick dust, dust of pounded or broken bricks.

   Brick earth, clay or earth suitable for, or used in making, bricks.

   Brick loaf, a loaf of bread somewhat resembling a brick in shape.

   Brick nogging (Arch.), rough brickwork used to fill in the spaces between the uprights of a wooden partition; brick filling.

   Brick tea, tea leaves and young shoots, or refuse tea, steamed or mixed with fat, etc., and pressed into the form of bricks. It is used in Northern and Central Asia.
   --S. W. Williams.

   Brick trimmer (Arch.), a brick arch under a hearth, usually within the thickness of a wooden floor, to guard against accidents by fire.

   Brick trowel. See Trowel.

   Brick works, a place where bricks are made.

   Bath brick. See under Bath, a city.

   Pressed brick, bricks which, before burning, have been subjected to pressure, to free them from the imperfections of shape and texture which are common in molded bricks.

The bath brick (also known as Patent Scouring or Flanders bricks), 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. The silt, which was collected from the river on either side of the Town Bridge, contained fine particles of alumina and silica. It was collected from beds of brick ruble 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 dired. These would be wrapped in paper and boxed for sale in England and throughout the British Empire. By the end of the 19th century some 24 million bath bricks had been produced in Bridgwater for the home and international markets.

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.