Flushwork

In architecture, flushwork is the decorative combination on the same flat plane of flint and ashlar stone. If the stone projects from a flat flint wall then the term is proudwork, as the stone stands "proud" rather than being "flush" with the wall.

Flushworked buildings belong to the Perpendicular style of English Gothic architecture. It is characteristic of the external walls of medieval buildings – most of the survivors being churches – in parts of Southern England and especially East Anglia. Flushwork begins in the early 14th century, but the peak period was during the wool boom between about 1450 and the English Reformation of the 1520s, when church building virtually ceased and brick construction became more fashionable. The technique continued in occasional use, and saw a major revival in the 19th century, and is still sometimes used in a modern style today, as well as for the restoration or extension of older buildings.

Flushwork, and flint architecture in general, is usually found in areas with no good local building stone. Although the labour cost of creating flushwork was high, it was still cheaper than importing the large quantity of stone necessary to build or face the entire structure.

The flints in flushwork areas are very carefully knapped (trimmed to shape by chipping) and selected for fit and consistency of colour. The stone usually used is a light limestone, often imported by sea and river from Caen in Normandy or other continental sources, which gives a strong contrast with flint that is most often black. The decorative patterns often form a notable contrast in these respects to those in nearby plain wall areas.

Typical motifs are arcades, chequers (diapering), shields, heraldic devices, and letters or whole inscriptions. Many motifs are very similar to those achieved in carved or pierced stonework in other areas.

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