Brick arch and wooden lintel

[theprinceofdarkness]

My son has an Edwardian cottage in Bedminster (Bristol). All the rear openings in the 9" solid brick wall are covered by a brick arch that has a 3" high wooden lintel set in, so the bottom of it is level with where the bottom of the arch bricks should be. These bricks have had their bottoms cut off. To make up the distance between the the arch and the wood, cut bricks have been mortared in. Seems that in the centre a whole brick has been used.
So why the belt and braces approach?
A few of the wooden lintels have reached their end of life and one could easily dropped down 12" or so (kitchen window goes right up to the ceiling). So can one just cut out the wood and rely on the brick arch holding, and remortar the infill bricks as required, while the concrete lintel is installed?
Frank

 

[stuart45]

Sounds like a relieving arch, which was sometimes used to do as it's name says and take some weight off the lintel.

 

[^woody^]

Sounds like an arch centre/filler piece to me.

 

[stuart45]

Have you just remembered the job you did in Bristol woody and forgot to come back and take out the centre?

 

[tony1851]

Careful - you'll confuse him.

 

[^woody^]

It's rough down there. We didn't want to hang around, so just left a pot of Dulux and a brush.