Tag: tring

A Brief History of…

In which eight rare medieval wall tiles are bought for £17 and are now priceless.

Mary TebjeLeave a comment

The Tring Tiles.

Tucked away on a side wall in the Medieval Galleries in the behemoth that is the British Museum, hang the enchanting Tring Tiles. Remarkable then, that despite such an immense archive spanning thousands of years, these eight tiles have been on a world tour and are now on permanent display.

The history of the Tring Tiles is so terribly brief, as not much is known about them, not even whether they were made in England, or in France.

They have been described as a ceramic religious comic strip of the life of a young Christ, almost like a 14th century Springfield cartoon. The yellow characters tell apocryphal tales about the childhood of Christ in a raw comic strip full of odd and unfamiliar images; Christ killing a school mate who has annoyed him, in another scene, a man dies because he spoilt a pool that Jesus made and he is brought back to life and simply walks away! I don’t recall being told these stories as a child.

Fashions come and go, and that extends to things ecclesiastical. During an early 18th century make-over of the Tring Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, the tiles were covered up and then stripped out in the early 1880’s, only to be offered for sale in the Dickensian-sounding local Curiosity Shop. The owner refused to say how he came by them. Happy to sell them on however, to a Rev Owen, who upon his death in Chelmsford in 1922, the tiles were disposed off amongst his personal and household items. They were bought by an antiques dealer for £17, and he sold them to the British Museum.

So much could have gone wrong through all of these transactions! And then another two tiles turned up in Tring and were gifted to the V&A. Will any more turn up one day…I hope the residents of Tring are thoroughly examining their cellars and garden walls.

Although not a common English method, I like to think they could have been made in the nearby Penn potteries, an important centre for decorative tiles that were destined for great houses and buildings across London and the South East.

Just like the Holy Trinity Penn ‘Doom’ painting that was very nearly lost if it weren’t for the rain, so too would these remarkable treasures have also been lost. Thank goodness for eagle-eyed folk and purveyors of all things curious!

Tring Tiles
“Eight tiles of lead-glazed red earthenware with decoration representing incidents from the apocryphal accounts of the infancy of Christ. Executed by scratching through and cutting away a white slip under a yellow clear glaze.’  British Museum
Artist: unknown
Maker: unknown
Origin: England. or France
Made: late Medieval, circa 13th century
The Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul Tring
Saint Peter & Saint Paul Tring
Further ideas on things to visit and places to explore in Tring

For more information on what to see and do locally in Tring and the Chilterns.

“Mama, Papa, I’m going to make a museum…” claimed the precocious founder of the Natural History Museum in Tring!

Natural History at its Victorian best

National History at its Victorian Best

Mary Tebje3 Comments

“Mama, Papa, I’m going to make a museum…”

The historic market town of Tring is a busy, growing commuter town within easy reach of London and within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Located on the original Akeman Street – a major Roman road in England that linked Watling Street with the Fosse Way, the Natural History Museum (NHM) Tring is in auspicious company. Built in 1889 to house one of the finest zoological collections in private hands, this in a museum frozen in time.

Just across the street are the picturesque Louisa Cottages Alms Houses on Akeman Street, built in 1893.

Inside the NHM Tring is a veritable feast of the exotic, elusive, exquisite, extinct and downright delightful exhibits from another age of museum-going. With not a gadget in sight, the slightly surreal setting of sturdy, floor-to-ceiling wooden display cases, drawers and fine cabinets that house thousands of stuffed exhibits that continue to entrance generations of local residents.

Circus fleas

The galleries are busy, bustling with families looking for items to capture on their trail sheets and clearly enjoying themselves. You don’t have to be five years old to qualify for the free trails, it’s a pleasure being able to potter. We saw the iconic Chilterns red kite and elusive kingfisher up close; delighted at the fruits of a busy mother’s labours as she sat up late at night dressing the fleas her children had caught from their pets, are on display next to exquisite moths and butterflies, to marvel at the 128-year old tortoise that lived with an assortment of animals (including kangaroos and an Emu), in nearby Tring Park.

On display is more than just stuffed animals though. It is a whole other value system in which our relationship with wild and domestic creatures was clearly very different: witness the display case of stuffed domestic dogs, a dodo and the famous Tring polar bear. We accept them as the animals were captured, slain and stuffed long ago, but I was surprised to see some dogs ‘donated’ as late as 1970. Perhaps not such a lost art after all?

“Mama, Papa, I’m going to make a museum…”

The museum founder, Lionel Walter Rothschild (1868 – 1937), second Baron Rothschild belonged to a rich and powerful family that influenced and shaped the local landscape (and seems once owned much of it), was a keen naturalist from an early age and collected all manor of exotic creatures which he brought back to his private museum in Tring. Famous for riding around town in a carriage pulled by a zebra, local response is not, unfortunately recorded, but I do wonder what they made of it all.

Natural History Museum, Tring
Armadillo, Natural History Museum, Tring

My son wanted to show me the Galapagos tortoise that Lord Rothschild once road upon, but I was too distracted by the dust on top of the display case to appreciate the size of the animal…I really must stop doing that. That said, this is no fusty-musty museum, some of the galleries have been overhauled to improve presentation and durability of the exhibits without detracting too much from what I really enjoy; a museum that is not trying to hard, knows its core product, doesn’t smell of fried food, nor does it break the budget – it’s free! What’s not to like?

Ideas for local places to visit and explore

For further information on visiting NHM Tring which is open all year round except from December 24 – 26th, there is also a regular programme of events and wildlife photography exhibitions.

The story of the Tring Tiles is so terribly brief, as not much is known about them, not even whether they were made in England, or in France.

For information on what else to explore and enjoy in the Chilterns