The Tileworks of Bucks Country

I was lucky enough to take a quick trip to Doylestown, PA last month with my sister to meet up with our cousins at The Tile Works of Bucks County or what we used to think of as The Moravian Tile & Pottery Works.

Interestingly enough… look at the tile that is by the entrance. It is the same design my husband and I received as a wedding present in 1998.

Here’s a brief history: Between 1911 and 1912, Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) built the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works to “master the potter’s art and establish pottery under personal control.”

The success of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works rested on Mercer's pure genius. With a small capital investment, relatively inexpensive operating costs, and an ability to produce a range of wares that made the best use of biotechnology, the pottery produced unique tiles that were praised by critics and sought after by architects. The honest, hand-made quality of his work fully expressed the ideals of the American Arts and Crafts Movement, elevating Mercer to one of the movement’s most important proponents. His tiles were emblematic of the survival, or rebirth, of the handcraft tradition. By the turn of the century, he was recognized as a premiere maker of “artistic” tiles. For the next thirty years, his work was sought out by leading architects and tastemakers to decorate public and private buildings all across the country. Mercer’s pioneering influence was far-reaching and still affects many tilemakers today. [The Tile Works website]

The Tiles are so intricately designed.