Tiled Victorian Fireplace

Fireplace tiles first made an appearance in the Georgian era – the whole fireplace opening was often tiled and a fire-basket would be placed in the recess on the tiled hearth. The industrial revolution brought the mass production of ceramic tiles and thus hand-painted tiles became a characteristic feature of the tiled Victorian fireplace.

There were many Victorian potteries, especially in Staffordshire, and these employed cheap labour to decorate tiles, using a variety of methods. A plain glaze was created using white lead, flint, china stone and china clay, and these were ground together to form the glaze. Added metal oxides gave different colours, whilst a clear glaze was applied over any coloured decoration to enhance the design.

With regards to hand-painted tiles, artists painted directly onto them. Designs were often placed on the tile and ‘copied and pricked’ through a piece of paper. The pattern was then transferred to the tile by ‘pouncing’ through the holes with charcoal.

The most common method of decorating Victorian tiles, transfer printing, was invented by two Liverpool printers, Sadler and Green. An engraved copper plate was covered in ink and tissue paper was then pressed onto the plate. This was then placed onto the tile and the pattern transferred, ready for the artist to colour in.

Tiled Victorian fireplaces achieved maximum popularity between the years of 1880 and 1901, with tile sliders being introduced for cast iron fireplaces from 1860 onwards. These 6-inch tiles featured at either side of a fireplace opening and served a purely decorative function. Gradually, ceramic tiles were used to decorate the centre chimneypiece and fully tiled fireplaces also began to make an appearance.

The famous designer William de Morgan (1839-1917) was a founding member of the Arts and Crafts Movement. This movement was against the mass-produced goods so prevalent in the Victorian era and sought to re-establish the link between work and creator. William de Morgan created his own ceramic tile patterns, experimenting with glazes and finding ways to recreate the intense blues and greens as used in Majolica ware. The movement advocated the richly detailed Gothic style, and de Morgan’s work reflected this. Tiles often depicted medieval scenes, with intricate and colourful designs.