A short history of tiles

Tiles are all around us, on walls and floors, in churches, pubs, shops and homes. Some people collect them, some study them, and some live with a Victorian hall floor they want to keep. A national society and several museums help people find them and look after them.

This page is a short history of tiles. It is not connected with Tile Library Co., the tile showroom in Goudhurst.

A long history

The Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society says tiles have a history stretching back more than one thousand years. In the 13th and 14th centuries, builders paved Europe's churches with decorated tiles. Holland was an important centre for tiles in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century, Britain pioneered mass-produced tiles.

The society is a registered charity. Since 1981 it has promoted the study and conservation of tiles and architectural ceramics in Britain.

Tiles you can visit

The society keeps a searchable Locations List of tile and architectural ceramics sites. In 2005 it produced the Tile Gazetteer, which describes around 2,500 sites chosen from the 6,000 on that list. The gazetteer covers England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, county by county.

The society asks readers to assume a listed building has no public access unless there is clear evidence that it admits visitors. As the society puts it, owners change buildings, and a tiled pavement can disappear under a carpet.

Museum collections

The V&A's curators describe its ceramics collections as global in scope, from about 2500 BC to the present day. Tiles are among the highlights they name.

The V&A also tells the story of William De Morgan, the Arts and Crafts tile maker. His workshop produced tiles continuously from 1873 to 1907. Visitors can see his tiles in place in the Arab Hall at Leighton House in Kensington.

Jackfield Tile Museum, in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, stands in a former tile factory whose tiles went around the world. Its galleries include a London Underground station, a 1940s bar and centuries of tile making. The National Trust asks visitors to book before they go.

Caring for an old tiled floor

The society publishes guidance sheets written by the Jackfield Conservation Studio. Its sheet on Victorian encaustic and geometric floor tiles gives a few starting points:

• Test any cleaning method in an unobtrusive corner first, never in the middle of the floor.
• Keep the floor from getting too wet, because water can loosen tiles or start a reaction with salts.
• Never use wire wool or a hard abrasive.
• Never use beeswax or linseed oil as a protective coating.

The studio adds that a carpet can harm a tiled floor when it stops moisture from the ground below escaping.

Useful links

• About the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society (TACS)
• TACS Locations List (TACS)
• How to set about conserving tiles, terracotta and faience (TACS)
• Cleaning Victorian encaustic and geometric floor tiles (TACS and Jackfield Conservation Studio)
• Ceramics collection (V&A)
• William De Morgan: master of Arts and Crafts tile design (V&A)
• Ironbridge Gorge, including Jackfield Tile Museum (National Trust)