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Tile
Unknown - Enlarge image
Tile
- Place of origin:
Dorset, England (possibly, made)
Hampshire, England (possibly, made)
Wiltshire, England (possibly, made) - Date:
ca. 1280 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Red earthenware, stamped and inlaid with white clay
- Museum number:
1268-1892
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 122e, case 5
Object Type
Inlaid floor tiles (with decoration inlaid into their surface using contrasting coloured clay) were produced in England from at least 1237. During the 13th century they were used to decorate palaces and religious houses. This tile is a typical product of what is known as the Wessex School. This group of tilemakers was active in the later part of the 13th century, and produced tiles for a large number of sites throughout the region. Among these were the cathedrals of Salisbury and Winchester.
Place
The first phase of construction of the Priory Church at Christchurch began in the late 11th century on the site of an earlier Saxon church. A variety of Medieval inlaid tiles are known from the Priory, some of which are among the earliest found in England; these date from around 1242-1244. This tile is from a slightly later group of tiles made around 1280. Also part of this second group is a tile pavement which remains in situ in a chapel, now serving as the vestry, which was added to the priory in the late 13th century.
People
The tile was formerly in the collection of Mr Edkins, a Victorian builder who was involved in the restoration of a number of cathedrals and churches and who amassed most of his collection through his work.
