Brightly coloured tiles, often decorated with enchanting scenes or designs, are among the most common and fascinating survivals from the medieval period. When decorated floor tiles were first introduced, tilers were specially commissioned to create elaborate pavements for wealthy, royal, and ecclesiastical patrons. Before long, individual tilers branched out to manufacture decorated tiles and market them commercially. Soon, manor houses, merchant's houses, and parish churches were enlivened with thses colourful decorated floors.


Drawing partly on the material from her previous book, English Medieval Tiles (now out of print) and partly on new research, the author explains how the tiles were made and decorated, how the tilers combined the production of elaborate floor tiles with plainer, more functional roof tiles, and how they earned their living.