About this piece
back to topAn antique English Minton & Co. encaustic tile, designed by A. W. N. Pugin for the Earl of Shrewsbury at Alton Towers, Staffordshire.
This design is an exact match to an identical tile in Ceramics Rooms 139 at the V&A Museum, London, by A. W. N. Pugin and dates to 1842-44. It also featured in the V&A’s 1994 edition of ‘Pugin: A Gothic Passion’, a book dedicated to the achievements of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.
This striking encaustic tile centres around a strong yellow and back colour palette, the yellow glaze detailing a stylised monogram of the letters ‘J’ and ‘T’. This is thought to represent the initials of John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury and one of Pugin’s prominent patrons.
The V&A Museum reports that Pugin “reputedly made drawings for tiles during his many journeys on the night train from London to Staffordshire while engaged in works for the Earl of Shrewsbury”.
Minton & Pugin
To this day, Minton & Co. are considered one of the major pottery and porcelain manufacturers of British history. Established in 1793, the company was founded by Thomas Minton (1765 – 1836) in Stoke-on-Trent. Until 1845, the pottery manufacturers traded under various styles before adopting the ‘Minton’ name.
English architect, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852), designed many encaustic tiles in gothic and neo-medieval themes for churches and religious buildings across England and further afield. It is well known that Minton was the architect’s manufacturer of choice, commissioning the company to create tiles for one of his most prestigious projects: the Palace of Westminster and its famous clock tower. He also created Alton Castle, Staffordshire.
Alton Castle / Alton Towers
After the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury died in 1827, he was succeeded by his nephew, John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, who completed the gardens and house started by his uncle. In 1831, the Talbots’ principal residence in Heythrop burned down. The 16th earl then came to live at Alton permanently, bringing everything that could be saved from Heythrop. Noted architect Augustus Pugin designed a new entrance hall, banqueting hall and various other rooms, extending the house further. The property was renamed Alton Towers.
In 1852, following the death of the 16th Earl, Alton Towers was briefly inherited by his cousin, Bertram. But when he died four years later at the young age of 24, all work on the house ceased. As there was no direct heir to the estate, Bertram left the earldom and Alton Towers to a younger son of the Duke of Norfolk. This was contested by Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, a distant cousin of the late earl, who filed a legal writ to determine lawful ownership of Alton Towers. As the contents of the house were not contested, everything within the house was auctioned off in a 29-day sale of 4,000 lots.
