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Floor tiles
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore, born 1812 - died 1852 - Enlarge image
Floor tiles
- Place of origin:
Stoke-on-Trent, England (made)
- Date:
1847-1850 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore, born 1812 - died 1852 (designer)
Minton & Co. (maker) - Materials and Techniques:
Earthenware tiles with inlaid decoration, and slate edging slabs
- Credit Line:
Given by the Department of the Environment
- Museum number:
C.1:5-1985
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 122e, case 1
Object Type
Encaustic tiles (tiles with decoration inlaid into their surface with contrastingly coloured clay) were produced in large quantities from the mid-19th century. The firm of Minton & Co. was one of the major producers.
Places
The old Palace of Westminster, London, was largely destroyed by fire in 1834, so a competition was held to design a new building for the seat of Parliament. After much debate, a stipulation was made that the new design had to be in the Gothic or Elizabethan Revival style. Charles Barry (1795-1860), who was assisted in his Gothic Revival design by A.W.N. Pugin (1812-1852), won the competition. Construction of the new building started in 1840. The House of Lords was opened to great acclaim in 1847, and the House of Commons was completed in 1852. Encaustic tiles, a common feature of Gothic Revival buildings, were used extensively throughout the Palace of Westminster.
Design & Designing
In 1844 Charles Barry again enlisted Pugin's help, this time to design the interior fittings for the Palace of Westminster. Barry prevented the government from putting the production of the designs out to tender. This allowed Pugin to work with his established contacts in the manufacturing industries. The encaustic tiles were produced by the firm of his friend Herbert Minton (1793-1858) in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Pugin is reputed to have sketched the designs for a number of encaustic tiles while on the train to Stoke.
