Minton Floor Tiles History

The fashion for encaustic tiles spread with the gothic revival lead by agustus pugin a friend of herbert minton s.

Minton floor tiles history. Victorian floor tiles or minton tiles were used extensively from the late 19th century right up until the 1940 s. It was a leader in ceramic design working in a number of different ceramic bodies decorative techniques and a glorious pot pourri of styles rococo shapes with oriental motifs classical shapes with medieval designs and art nouveau. Encaustic tiles may be glazed or unglazed and the inlay may be as. Walter was engaged in the design and construction of vast additions to the capitol 1851 1865.

They were first installed in 1856 when thomas u. We supply complete floors components to repair and restore floors as well as all the materials. Pretty soon minton tiles were being laid in the house of parliament and further afield and minton was on the way to becoming the largest tile producer in the world. Encaustic tiles tiles with decoration inlaid into their surface with contrastingly coloured clay were produced in large quantities from the mid 19th century.

Mintons was a major company in staffordshire pottery europe s leading ceramic factory during the victorian era an independent business from 1793 to 1968. For the floors in his extensions walter chose encaustic tile for its beauty durability and sophistication. Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay they are usually of two colours but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The next step was to give the floor an acid rinse using another tile doctor product called grout clean up which is designed to remove grout smears and mineral salts that will have been trapped into the pores of the tile after years of being covered in carpet.

The grout clean up was worked into the tiles using a 400 grit burnishing pad to refine the tile surface and close up the pores. Thomas minton produced earthenware and in 1798 started making fine bone china on his death he was succeeded by his son herbert who started producing decorative tiles. The pattern appears inlaid into the body of the tile so that the design remains as the tile is worn down. We have huge experience designing and supplying new floors to period homes new builds and restorations.

However their exquisite tiles still commanded a relatively hefty price tag so only the rich and famous could afford a minton floor. The richly patterned and colored minton tile floors are one of the most striking features of the extensions of the united states capitol. Was one of the major producers. A tile is a manufactured piece of hard wearing material such as ceramic stone metal or even glass tiles are generally used for covering roofs floors walls showers or other objects such as tabletops alternatively tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite wood and mineral wool typically used for wall and ceiling applications.

A very brief history of minton and victorian vintage tiles.