Brickearth is a term originally used to describe superficial windblown deposits found in southern England. The term has been employed in English-speaking regions to describe similar deposits.
Brickearths are periglacial loess, a wind-blown dust deposited under extremely cold, dry, peri- or postglacial conditions. The name arises from its early use in making house bricks, its composition being suitable for brick-making without additional material being added; unlike clay, its bricks can be hardened (fused) at lower temperatures, including in wood-fired kilns.
The brickearth is normally represented on 1:50,000 solid and drift edition geological maps.[1] In the Thames valley, in broad patches brickearth overlies fluvial terrace gravel; it has been reclassified on later maps as the "Langley Silt Complex".[2]