20 THE KENT PEGTILE REVIVAL Peter Cobley on the successful revival of a once flourishing local industry. The hurricane force winds on the night of 15/16 October 1987 caused extensive damage to woodlands, trees, hedgerows and buildings throughout the county of Kent. It was estimated that between 30 and 50 timber framed barns were destroyed. It did, however, also provide an incentive for the revival of manufacture of the handmade plain clay tile which had ceased ro be produced 30 years previously. The stories of roofs being completely stripped of tiles abound. Across the county many traditional roofs were damaged and this resulted in intense pressure on the local building trade. The price of second hand peg tiles increased from 35p ro £2 each. The decline in brick and tile makers in Kent is well researched. In 1891 there were 150, in 1913 it had reduced to 105 and by 1938 only 64 existed. The decline accelerated after that and the last known manufacturer at Stapleh urst ceased production just over 35 years ago. As a result, the repair work to all traditional brick tile roofs was of necessity done with second hand tiles acquired (sometimes illegally) from other roofs, or patched with unsympathetic mass produced clay or concrete tiles. It is important to appreciate the reason for the development of the local pegtile industry to understand the uniqueness that the particular product gives to Kent's buildings. The name 'peg tile' is derived from the means of fixing tiles to roof battens using round oak pegs driven into square holes (not 'square pegs into round holes'). Records show that tiles were being produced in Kent as early as the 12th century. They had to be easily made for they were often made on-site by a travelling tile maker. Locally dug clay was used and the tiles, after drying, were fired on site. With the tile makers' skill as the only way of judging the kiln's temperature it is not surprising that a tremendous variety of colours and textures resulted. The composition of the clay was important; chalky clay produced a creamy coloured tile whilst a clay rich in iron oxides became a glowing orange. In 1477 a Royal Charter of Edward IV stated that a "standard size of tile should be 6½in. wide x l0½in. deep x 5/sin. thick". Today, this is the British Standard size for plain clay tiles, and modern tiles are produced to these dimensions. However the locallyproduced peg tile never followed these dimensions and a size of 9in. x 6in. remained the predominant size in Kent up until the late 19th century when the size was increased to lOin. x 6in. x ½in. As a result of this, modern tiles cannot be used on old roofs. Nor do the modern machine made tiles look correct since their texture and colour are not often in sympathy with the older examples. In some cases concrete tiles have been used to patch or replace old roofs and the difference is readily seen (see photographs). Although the varying size of the modern clay tile was important, the key factor in establishing a need for a replacement hand-made tile was that none of the machine made products had a similar variation in colour or texture or were adequately cambered to provide a suitable match on an existing peg tile roof. The aesthetic importance of the roof in Kent buildings is well illustrated by Alec Clifton-Taylor's description of them as "these gently billowing eiderdowns of mellow terra cotta red which offer an experience of colour and texture of quite exceptional richness". The Revival After the 1987 hurricane, a meeting was instigated by Kent County Planning Department of those interested in reviving a traditional peg tile industry in the south east of England. In May 1988, a report investigating the potential for the production of peg tiles in Kent was prepared. This report established that there would be a market for hand-made peg tiles and, as a result, the County Council agreed to contribute £10,000 for the design and construction of a display stand, production of leaflets, and an audio visual presentation, for use at County Show and other venues. By the end of 1988, and with the help of the Rural Development Commission, it became clear that there was a market for newly produced peg tiles and there were manufacturers willing to produce. As a follow-up early in 1989 an opinion survey was carried out and this resulted in a Kent County Council publication The demand for peg tiles. By this time four manufacturers were producing locally hand-made clay tiles and fittings. Nearly 400 questionnaires were sent to architects, surveyors, roofing contractors, house-builders, merchants and local authorities to assess the likely demand for these tiles in the medium term. The survey also CONTEXT 29
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