The history of British tiles reflects both the fashions of
interior and exterior decoration, as well as the development of
British ceramics manufacture.
From the encaustic tiles made during the first flowering of
medieval tile production in the 13th century, to the tin-glazed
earthenware or delftware tiles popular in the Stuart and the
Georgian periods, the British tiles industry was already centuries
old when mechanisation in the 19th century saw tiles produced in
greater numbers and greater variety than ever before.
Once the preserve of architectural historians keen to salvage
fragments of architectural heritage, antique tiles have been
rediscovered by collectors for their ease of display, decorative
appeal and affordability.
The majority of old tiles encountered today are products of the
Industrial Revolution - tin-glazed earthenware tiles from the
delft-producing centres of the mid 18th century and dust-pressed
tiles from the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Dust-pressing, the compacting of powdered clay in a hand- or
steam-operated press, facilitated a revolution in tile production
when invented by the engineer Richard Prosser in 1840. Quickly
exploited by the Staffordshire potter Herbert Minton, who bought a
share of the patent, the method was quicker and more efficient than
tiles made in 'plastic' clay and created a uniform product with a
perfectly smooth surface unlikely to shrink or warp during
firing.
Transfer printing, first seen on the delftware tiles made by
John Sadler in Liverpool in the 1750s, allowed for the easy
repetition of designs that embraced the full range of Victorian and
Edwardian fashions from naturalism and japonism to classicism and
historicism. For reasons of hygiene and decoration, they adorned
porches, bathrooms, butcher's shops and fishmongers, or were set in
fireplaces and picture frames or in occasional furniture from table
tops and wash stands to jardinières and coat stands.
At the same time medieval encaustic floor tiles, the
hard-wearing, two-coloured clay tiles with a lead glaze that
neo-gothic architects admired in some of the nation's most
venerable buildings, were also a source of inspiration. From the
1840s Minton & Co, Maw & Co, Godwin, Campbell Tiles, and
Craven Dunnill were amongst the foremost manufacturers of encaustic
tiles made in a range of patterns, colours and figurative designs
for use in all manner of ecclesiastical, public and domestic
buildings.
Above: a Liverpool delftware tile, c.1765, printed in red by
John Sadler with 'Shuttlecock and Battledore', an early version of
badminton, 6in (15cm). It sold for £320 at Woolley & Wallis,
Salisbury in October 2012.
So large is the range that many enthusiasts will opt to narrow
their field of vision - choosing to collect, for example, by
factory, subject or designer. Victorian tiles by major
manufacturers are often marked on the back with design registration
lozenges or the name and place of manufacture.
More likely to remain anonymous are the actual designers who
typically worked in the Potteries on a freelance basis.
Nevertheless, many key names of the period have been identified. At
Minton alone these include A.W.N. Pugin, Dr Christopher Dresser,
William Wise, Walter Crane and Moyr Smith.
The latter, active at Minton between 1882 and 1889, produced
many sets of (typically 12) tiles on themes such as the Waverley
novels, the seasons, the months of the year, Shakespearean
characters, Aesop's Fables and the Old and New Testaments.
Mechanically produced tiles contrast with those made at the end
of the century by adherents to the Arts and Crafts movement. At the
London workshops of Morris & Co. and the art potter William De
Morgan, dust-pressing and transfer printing were eschewed in favour
of a return to more traditional manufacturing methods.
Intimately involved at all levels of the design and production
process, De Morgan also experimented with lustre decoration. This
was achieved by introducing metallic elements into the glaze and
became the hallmark of the turn-of-the-century wares made at the
Pilkingtons factory in Lancaster.
Hand decoration was a feature of both the tube-lined Art Nouveau
tiles popular in the first decade of the 20th century and the
singular Art Deco-influenced productions made by the Carter factory
in Poole.
Good examples of all these products are on view at the Jackfield
Tile Museum in Shropshire, housed in the former works of Craven
Dunnill and Co. and close to the site of the Maw & Co. factory.
The museum, an almost complete Victorian tile factory where
encaustic tiles are again being made, is presently nearing the end
of a comprehensive restoration programme.
As a general rule old tiles are numerous enough to remain
relatively cheap to buy.
Thankfully no longer destined for landfill, those from the
Victorian and Edwardian periods, the heyday of British ceramics
manufacturing, are still freely available at antique fairs,
fleamarkets, junk shops and architectural salvage firms.
Given their relatively portable nature and the ease of
identification, tiles have proved perfect internet collectables and
tiles of all types can be viewed in quantity on eBay.
The market is governed by decorative rather than practical
appeal. Here many anonymous Victorian transfer-printed tiles
decorated with standard floral designs or geometric patterns are
still sold for under £10 each (even some by major makers such as
Minton and Wedgwood), but better examples now command closer to £20
and those with the most appealing designs by recognised artists can
be considerably more.
It is not unusual for the instantly recognisable Minton tiles
carrying the linear designs of Moyr Smith or Walter Crane to bring
three-figure sums, particularly when the subject matter chimes with
the collecting audience. Nursery scenes are among the most
desirable (those with religious subject matter less so) while
complete sets will command a premium over and above the sum of 12
individual tiles.
More rarefied wares from the period will be sold by dealers or
auctioneers specialising in British art pottery.
Tiles designed by the Dresser workshop have a dedicated
following outside of the tile collecting community (and here prices
can exceed four figures), while at the very top of the scale are
the rare Burne-Jones designed tiles by Morris & Co or the
singular creations of William De Morgan. Both are micro markets on
their own.
Even entry level floral-patterned pieces by De Morgan begin at
around £100 and prices rise quickly into four figures for
multi-tile galleon panels or the iconic 5in (13cm) square tiles
worked in lustre colours with animals and birds, real or
imagined.
The appearance on the market in recent times of several
important collections has yet to wholly satisfy demand. A record
for a single William De Morgan tile was set by Woolley & Wallis
of Salisbury in 2012 when a rare lustre kingfisher tile sold at
£5100.
Above: a William De Morgan tile painted in blue with a
Kingfisher catching a bird. It sold for £5100 at Woolley &
Wallis, Salisbury in 2012 - a record price for a single William De
Morgan tile.
Tiles from the 13th to the 18th century typically form part of
the English pottery market. Complete medieval lead-glazed encaustic
tiles come to market infrequently, although they are occasionally
available from specialist English pottery dealers. Small fragments,
often found by mudlarks on the Thames, are easier to come by for a
few pounds on eBay.
So numerous are 18th century Dutch delft tiles, made in vast
quantities for export all over the world, that examples with
standard landscape motifs or biblical subjects can be bought for
under £30 each and it is a finely-painted example (or one with a
particularly appealing subject matter, be it an animal or a
sportsman) that brings over £100.
English delft tiles, made in a number of centres including
London, Liverpool and Bristol, are generally scarcer and more
desirable - although again most monochrome tiles with small faults
can be bought for two-figure sums.
More expensive are tiles from the late 17th century series
detailing the story of the Popish Plot or the colourful
'Fazackerly' wares and the 'overglaze' transfer printed tiles by
Sadler and Green, both made in Liverpool in the second half of the
18th century. Rococo pastoral scenes were Sadler's stock in trade
but his well-known range of printed tiles depicting famous actors
and actresses of the period are great social history and among the
most coveted of all.
Tiles and Tilework of Europe by Alun Graves, V & A
Publications, ISBN-10: 1851773452.
The Decorative Tile in Architecture and Interiors by
Tony Herbert and Kathryn Huggins, Phaidon Press, ISBN 10:
0714831611.
Tiles - A Collector's Guide by Hans van Lemmen, ISBN
10: 0285629573.
Fired Earth - 1000 Years of Tiles in Europe by Hans van
Lemmen and John Malam (eds), Richard Dennis, ISBN-10:
0903685280.
Tile Art - A History of Decorative Ceramic Tile by Noël
Riley, Magna, ISBN-10: 1853484016.
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