CONSERVINGCERAMICTILES Tony Herbert discusses current conservation problems and opportunities from the standpoint of the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society Ceramic tiles, particularly from the 19th century and later, have frequently been the Cinderella materials of conservation. Their contribution to the architectural decoration of building types as diverse as churches and pubs is enormous, yet the 'Buildings of England' series has largely ignored them until the handful of recent revised editions. The listing process has likewise passed many good examples by. It might be assumed that buildings with tiles by such famous people as William De Morgan would be both listed and well looked after, but a recent survey by a postgraduate student at the Architectural Association has shown that many De Morgan tiles in the London area are far from well looked after or even recorded. The new English Heritage database of listed buildings in England, developed with RCHME, shows only 14 buildings where De Morgan tiles are specifically recorded. The conservation of buildings with important architectural ceramics is a central concern of the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society (TACS) founded and constituted as a registered charity in 1981 to foster the study of tiles. Hard-pressed Conservation Officers may at this point groan audibly at yet another special interest group wanting to put its oar in the already overcrowded pool of building conservation. The Society hopes to avoid the excesses of narrow, single interest pressure groups so hated by the commentator Bernard Levin. Its membership of around 400 reflects a broad range of skills and backgrounds CONTEXT 52 from tile collectors with a historical interest through architects and museum curators to an increasing number of tile makers, decorators and restorers whose work often contributes directly to the conservation process. The Society sees its links with the network of Conservation Officers as one offering mutual benefits and with the potential for further development. One of the Society's assets is the fund of historical knowledge within its membership. This needs to be utilised to support the conservation work of local authorities. Inevitably Conservation Officers sometimes lack the detailed historical information or comparative perspective which is necessary to support a case. TACS publications -a biennialjournal and a biannual bulletin called Glazed Expressions -contain valuable material which can be supplemented by the expertise of its members to the benefit of local planning authorities. It may sound unfashionably paternalistic to suggest that broad public education is the key to successful conservation policies. For tiles, especially Victorian tiles, the growth of public interest has been very marked. The Society, in conjunction with Scarborough Museum and Fired Earth Tiles, mounted a travelling exhibition in 1991 which has helped to raise their profile. The interest aroused needs to be supported by information available and the Society's Millennium objective is for a published gazetteer of buildings across Britain with tiles or architectural ceramics. This will use for its basis a tile The Harris and Pearson building - unrecognised for too long but now listed grade II thanks to Dudley MBC. location card index built up over several years. The index is very far from complete and will be extended and put onto a computer database. Help will be required in making the coverage as complete as possible and checking whether some buildings still exist. When this work is completed, in several years' time, the result should not only be a publication of use and interest to the general public but also a source of information useful for selecting buildings for statutory protection or defending them in the light of impending change or demolition. Inevitably, the Society(and particularly its Gazetteer Editor, Dr Lynn Pearson) will need to enlist the help of Conservation Officers -so you have been warned! Better information all round should help to avoid last minute battles such as the recent case of the Harris and Pearson building in Dudley Metropolitan Borough. Although the building has existed since 1888 it was only in 1995 that its importance was identified in a report commissioned by the Council. It is a colourful ceramic building constructed as the entrance to a brickworks from refractory and polychromatic brick with buff terracotta detailing and glazed lettering - all made by Harris and Pearson. A request for the building to be placed on the statutory list made no progress with DNH for over 12 months and demolition began in April 1996. Dudley MBC took the courageous decision to issue a Building Preservation Notice with most of the roof already stripped. This bold use of the legislation was applauded byTACS and fortunately this has been endorsed by the recent decision of the Secretary of State to list the building Grade II. However, relief at the outcome must be tempered by the nagging feeling that a body like TACS should have promoted recognition of the building at a much earlier stage. An interesting example of a more rational approach to surveying and conserving tiled buildings is demonstrated by work on tiled porches currently being conducted in Crewe and Nantwich in Cheshire. Hundreds of doorways in houses built around the 17
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