To exploit the demand for rented accommodation needed by the working classes, local builders purchased small plots and put up houses that were usually two storey terraces without front gardens. Early Jericho houses up to the 1840s are generally of local red brick, probably from Headington, with roofs of Welsh slate. The bricks are often laid in a pattern known as Flemish bond where each stretcher is followed by a header. Sometimes a grey header is used to make a simple but attractive pattern. A few early houses are timber framed above the ground floor but plastered fronts disguise this. Where they survive, the original windows are sash windows with small panes of glass and there is usually a plaster lintel above doors and windows, which occasionally became a focus for decoration. In contrast to later terraces the small scale development provided a diverse and picturesque street picture: the houses of different builders sit next to each other on the same street, giving uneven rooflines and adding variety to the appearance of the houses.