Clay floor/roof tiles have a long heritage in the Europe, topping some of our most eye-catching historic homes. They’re still hugely popular, and with good reason. While modern concrete options lose their color over time, clay tiles hold their hue and even mature with age. They’re extremely durable, typically lasting around 100 years. Modern, machine-made clay tiles can be used in both contemporary and traditional builds. But where authenticity is paramount, for example on a high-spec custom home or a sensitive restoration project, there’s no substitute for handmade tiles. Historically, the clay for floor/roof tiles was dug locally and left to weather before being worked. The blocks or ‘lumps’ of clay were mixed with water and moulding sand before being thrown into wooden batts (moulds), wire-cut to size and finished by hand. The tiles were stacked to dry out in the sun before being kiln-fired to fasten the color. Regional variation in the type of clay and moulding sands available, as well as the firing methods used, led to significant differences across the country in terms of the finished tiles’ color and texture. Differences could even be seen between tiles made by the same craftsman – adding to the rich texture of an historic roofs-cape and providing the kind of individuality that’s difficult to match with a purely mechanized production process.
