Moravian Pottery and Tile Works

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property
Moravian Pottery and Tile Works
Location:	Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates:	40°19′23″N 75°7′25″W / 40.32306°N 75.12361°W / 40.32306; -75.12361Coordinates: 40°19′23″N 75°7′25″W / 40.32306°N 75.12361°W / 40.32306; -75.12361
Built:	1912
Architect:	Dr. Henry Chapman Mercer
Architectural style:	Mission/Spanish Revival
Governing body:	Local
Part of:	Fonthill, Mercer Museum, and Moravian Pottery and Tile Works (#85002366)
NRHP Reference#:	72001098
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	June 1, 1972[1]
Designated NHLDCP:	February 4, 1985[2]

The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works (MPTW) is a history museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is maintained by the County of Bucks, Department of Parks and Recreation. The museum was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972,^[1] and was later included in a National Historic Landmark District along with the Mercer Museum and Fonthill. These three structures are the only poured-in-place concrete structures built by Mercer.^[2]

Handmade tiles are still produced in a manner similar to that developed by the pottery's founder and builder, Henry Chapman Mercer. Tile designs are reissues of original designs. Mercer was a major proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement in America. He directed the work at the pottery from 1898 until his death in 1930.

Mercer generally did not affix a potter's mark to tiles made while he directed the work at MPTW. Following his death, there were several marks used to indicate that a tile had originated at MPTW. When the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation took over the MPTW as a working museum, all tiles made by the museum were impressed on the obverse with a stylized "MOR", the words "Bucks County" and the year of manufacture (see illustration).

The reproduction tiles made today are made using Mercer's original molds, clay that is obtained locally and has properties similar to those of Mercer's original source, slips and glazes that follow Mercer's final formulations, although some have been modified to reduce the lead and heavy metal content to less toxic levels.

The Tile Works is one of three poured-in-place concrete structures built by Mercer. The others include Fonthill, which is located on the same property and served as his home; and the Mercer Museum, located approximately one mile away.

Sample work from the tile plant in Mercer Museum, the cement museum by Henry Mercer.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Fonthill, Mercer Museum, and Moravian Pottery and Tile Works". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1901&ResourceType=District. Retrieved 2008-07-02. 

External links

• Official Homepage
• "Henry Chapman Mercer and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works" by Cleota Reed; an extensively illustrated biography of Mercer and evaluation of his role as an archeologist, architect, and artist.
• "Guidebook to the Tiled Pavement in the Capitol of Pennsylvania" by Henry Chapman Mercer; Mercer's own guide and description of the wall and floor decorative tiles and their story.
• "The Mercer Mile: The Story of Henry Chapman Mercer and his concrete buildings" by Bucks County Historical Society; describes the MPTW, Fonthill (Mercer's home) and the Mercer Museum (home of his American tool collection).