Before today’s endless toy options, building sets were teaching tools, and some were directly inspired by the look and feel of masonry. In the 1800s, German educator Friedrich Fröbel introduced wooden blocks for hands-on learning. Later, German firm F.A. Richter & Co. became a leading producer of miniature “Anchor stone” building blocks after acquiring a patent connected to Otto Lilienthal and his brother, Gustav Lilienthal.
Richter’s blocks were made from molded quartz sand, chalk, and linseed oil, designed to imitate stone masonry. Even the colors followed architecture, from creamy limestone to brick red and slate blue. For anyone who works with brick and stone, that detail lands: the “finish schedule” matters, even when the project fits in a box.
World War I changed the market. With German imports banned and anti-German sentiment high, demand opened the door for a new maker in Bushey. After returning from Royal Navy service, Ernest A. Lott set up shop at Vale Works on Vale Road. He produced interlocking artificial stone blocks on a slightly larger scale than Richter’s, aiming for exact miniature replicas of buildings.
Lott also leaned on design expertise. He secured help from Harrow architect Arnold Bidlake Mitchell, known for Arts and Crafts work, who designed miniature structures and advised on cutting the relatively weighty blocks. That partnership is a straightforward lesson for today’s jobs: when the design intent includes arches, lintels, and crisp details, the cutting plan and tolerances need attention from the start.
In 1918, Lott exhibited at the British Industries Fair at London Docks, where Queen Mary bought a box. Product lines expanded over the years, including Kindergarten Blocks, Tudor Blocks, painted and embossed “bricks,” and Wonderbrix sets scaled for 00-gauge model railways. Instructions walked kids through building churches, cathedrals, bridges, and market halls, putting traditional forms like arches and masonry openings into play.
Lott’s Bricks faded in the 1960s as imported interlocking plastic bricks took over. The legacy remains local, with collections and documentation held by Bushey Museum and the Brighton Toy & Model Museum.
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