I’ve been keeping my eyes out for terracotta tiles which jazz up the fronts of late Victorian buildings and have begun to sketch and record them – their patterns and dates if provided. I had a hunch that they might give me a means to map connections with times and places.
Yesterday I was sketching in Islington, first along the Hornsey Road and then along Upper Street when I looked up and saw the very same tiles that I had sketched on a primary school in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Yes, I’ve turned into a tile anorak…
However, the above sketches are the tiles which I drew from Hassell St School:
I’d love to know where these tiles were made. One source could be Blashfield’s
Another could be Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth.
Either way, the primary school in Newcastle-under-Lyme seems to have been ahead of the ornamental facade game by a few years – go ‘Castle!
Seen any tiles near you? Send me a pic with the location and any other info and I’ll add it to the log.
Thanks for reading and happy Friday wherever you are.
Ronnie
Drawing the Street 