In 1939, Longmead House was demolished by the owner and property developer Basil Underwood. Seventeen Delft tiles were rescued from the demolition of Longmead House and were gifted to Reverend de Blogue, who had them installed in the floor, under the east window of St Mary’s Church. Today these tiles are underneath the Altar. The tiles date from between 1710 and 1850. Originally these tiles, probably formed the decoration around a fireplace in another Grand old House. Longmead House was built in 1866, so the tiles were not new when the house was built, and we suspect that the tiles were recycled and were maybe used in Longmead House’s Chapel. These tiles are another early example of architectural salvage and recycling.
They are today, concreted into the floor underneath the Altar in St. Mary’s Church. These tiles were made in Holland, some have religious scenes from the Bible, with Chapter and verse on them. Nine of the tiles were made from 1720-1780, identified from the corner motifs and the rest from 1810-1850. (There are 17 tiles in total) The only tile without a biblical scene is, Tile 14, the Galleon, which is also the oldest, made between 1650-1680.
(Click on an image to enlarge)
The corner motifs of Carnation, Ox Head or Spider, can indicate what the year of manufacture was. All the tiles have a Biblical scene between two blue circles, which means they were made in Rotterdam, Holland.