Provenance

The exact location of each of the tiles recorded in the Parker-Hore Collection is of great importance. Many of these tiles have now been removed, some to the safe storage of a museum, others have been discarded, some have been relaid in the original location but the overall design of the pavement has been lost. Others are very fragmentary so it is difficult to discern the original design and it is here that the archive may be of help in identifying the iconography.

The precise provenance enables the subject designs to be examined within individual buildings. Did the Queen's chambers have different tile designs from those of the King's? Do the tile designs in the parish church reflect their patrons heraldic devices? Is the iconography in use in the nunneries different from those of the monastery in the same locality? Can we discern any trends in the individual motifs used at local, regional or national level?