Speaker: Dr Tom Chamberlain
This talk will look at types of medieval inlaid tiles found in England, concentrating on the Wessex style found in Winchester and other areas of S England. Many inlaid tile pavements were destroyed with the dissolution of the Monasteries and with them much of the records and equipment about their manufacture. How might these tiles have been made? The talk will detail trials involved with the recreation of these tiles. The second part of the talk will be a live demonstration.
Biography
Tom and his wife are potters based in Hampshire producing domestic stoneware. Living near Winchester Tom has visited several of the world-renown tile pavements and collections found in that city. There is little documentation as to how tiles were made in the medieval period and how they could be recreated. Tom has been working to develop methods and techniques to authentically recreate medieval inlaid tiles. Initially he recreated single tiles in the Wessex style and these have been built up into a ‘sampler’ pavement – as described in Glazed Expressions. More recently he has been working to recreate the inlaid tile roundels found at Muchelney Church in Somerset, in the Kings Chamber at Clarendon Palace near Salisbury (now in the British Museum), and also the tile mosaics typical of the Yorkshire Cistercian Abbeys. He is documenting his progress through articles and talks, through social media and through his blog
