Victorian brick arch slipping

[tomhamilton37]

Hello. I have a stepped crack appeared above a victorian brick arch in my terraced house. It's above a doorway which is no longer used. It seems that the arch has dropped a bit.

As the doorway is not used (the door leads nowhere), my thoughts are to brick this up completely. If i go down that route, does any repair need to be done to the arch and bricks above, other than repointing?

Is it possible to inset the bricked up area a little, to keep a bit of the history of the building, or will that sacrifice structural integrity?

How big a job is this?

Thanks!

 

[^woody^]

If the opening is blocked up, the arch is supported, so won't need any other work other than pointing up. However you may want to check why the arch has dropped in the first place - has the wall to the left moved sideways?

Yes, you can inset the brickwork. Use fishtail ties or wall starters.

 

[tomhamilton37]

If the opening is blocked up, the arch is supported, so won't need any other work other than pointing up. However you may want to check why the arch has dropped in the first place - has the wall to the left moved sideways?

Yes, you can inset the brickwork. Use fishtail ties or wall starters.

Thanks Woody, that's really helpful and good to know. Here are some photos of the wall to the left. I can't see any signs of movement. There is a window nearby with no visible lintel... I wonder if this has anything to do with it? It's been like that since I moved in 9 years ago, but the crack above the arch is new - I just checked my original survey and it states that the arch was in good condition back then. I'm in the process of getting a replacement window made. Is removing that window a bad idea until I get the doorway bricked?