Tiles By William Godwin Of Lugwardine
There is spot where my eyes fall as I enter the house between the front door and the foot of the stair, where I always felt there was something missing and it was only when I visited Bow Church to admire C R Ashbee’s restoration work that I realised there would once have been floor tiles in my entrance way. It was a notion enforced when I noticed some medieval encaustic tiles at Charterhouse and began to research the possible nature of the missing tiles from my house.
In 1852, William Godwin began creating gothic tiles by the encaustic process century at his factory at Lugwardine in Herefordshire and became one of the leading manufacturers in the nineteenth century, supplying the demand for churches, railway stations, schools, municipal buildings and umpteen suburban villas. Inevitably, some of these tiles have broken over the time and millions have been thrown out as demolition and the desire for modernity have escalated.
So I decided to create a floor with the odd tiles that no-one else wants, bringing together tiles that once belonged to whole floors of matching design, now destroyed, and give them a new home in my house. Oftentimes, I bought broken or chipped ones and paid very little for each one – but I hope you will agree that together their effect is magnificent.
Encaustic tiled floor designed by C R Ashbee for Bow Church using Godwin tiles
Medieval encaustic tiles at the bricked-up entrance to Charterhouse in Smithfield
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May we see a photograph of the whole tiled area, please?
I would love to see the completed hallway.
Beautiful!
A bit of a tease to show the individual tiles and hold back on a view of the floor….
I approve of “muchness”, and would be pleased to have a tiled hallway that is a “memory quilt”
of various found tiles, shards, remnants, collected bits, and shimmering color. In fact, it sounds downright preferrable to a mannerly austere entryway! Philadelphia artist Isiah Zagar has covered miles of his South Philly neighborhood with cracked-tile mosaics, and also added an abundance of MIRROR in the mix, so the viewer can “see themselves” in the artwork. I happened to walk past one of his work sites, and noticed dozens of old plastic spackle buckets, full of
random bathroom tiles (separated by color) ready to become art. I still think of those humble tiles, and speculate how beautiful they became, under the creative hand of Isiah.
Here’s to “muchness”!!
Wonderful! Carrying on a very old tradition.
The church floor is a lovely design, and this is yet again a delightful look into your corner of the world. I thank you. I will admit to a moment of grief, having reached the end of the piece and not seen the real treasure, which of course is the end result of your curiosity and perseverance!
Lovely tiles. I guess Lugwardine is not a million miles from Bredwardine.