Our Beth | Project Details

2018-06-26 11.39.57.jpeg — Our Beth

A Transatlantic Love Story

Minton Tiles c. 1865 -1867

Bethesda Terrace, Central Park NYC (USA)

Manufactured in Stoke-on-Trent, England

Background: Bethesda Terrace was designed as the formal centrepiece of Central Park, New York City. It’s affectionately known as ‘the heart of the park’. The majestic Arcade is famed for its unique Minton Tile Ceiling created with nearly 16,000 encaustic tiles made in The Potteries (Stoke-on-Trent, England) over 150 years ago. Less well known is the ‘lost floor’ also commissioned from Minton & installed at the same time in the mid 1860s; but sadly replaced by 1911 after suffering from serious water damage & subsidence. The floor designs were very different to those of the ceiling & it was created using an estimated 45,000 bespoke encaustic & (smaller) geometric tiles. The original vision for ceiling & floor tiles was hugely symbolic & significant for lots of reasons & its loss means that Bethesda Terrace & Central Park are effectively missing a very important part of this magnificent landmark.

The grand vision including Bethesda Terrace was outlined in Olmsted & Vaux’s Greensward Plan for Central Park. However, the somewhat unsung hero behind the exquisite design details including the Minton Tiles was Jacob Wrey Mould; a then recently naturalised British Architect who had previously worked under Owen Jones; the influential Architect & Design Theorist famed for his ‘Grammar of Ornament’ (published in 1856). Wrey Mould’s Minton Tile designs for Bethesda Terrace clearly owe much to his earlier experiences with Jones.

Project: A small consignment of original ceiling & floor tiles have made a unique return journey from Manhattan - via Liverpool - to their ’birthplace’ in Stoke-on-Trent as part of a transatlantic cultural (re)connection project led by Danny Callaghan (UK) & Matt Reiley (USA). The two artists undertook a month-long odyssey - guided by the original transit route - which aimed to celebrate the historic commission & promote a contemporary conversation about the wider cultural significance & value of this majestic tile masterpiece.

The Minton Tile Ceiling at Bethesda Arcade is the most visited & photographed architectural ceramic in the world; with many of the estimated 65million visitors making their pilgrimage each year. Over the decades the tiles & terrace have developed an almost mythical reputation as a focus for love, protest and congregation. A wide range of individuals & communities have strong connections with this location & these tiles; many people (rightly) lay claim to ‘Our Beth’ as the focus & backdrop for their own significant experiences down the years.

How about you? Do you have a connection with Bethesda Terrace & the Minton Tile Ceiling? You might own Minton Tiles or maybe you or your family even worked for the company & could share Minton memories? Perhaps you can shed more light on the history & contemporary nature of some of the key places that feature along the original transit route: Central Park, Port of New York, Liverpool Docks, Trent & Mersey Canal or The Potteries? What’s your ‘Our Beth’ story?

The project encouraged a wide range of people to get involved & join the conversation between August & September 2019:

Weekend Pop Up Events (Heritage Buskers, Secret Museum & Shared Tile Tales):

24th & 25th August 10:30am - 3:30pm at Bethesda Terrace, Central Park NYC (USA) Minton Tile Ceiling, Bethesda Arcade (Bethesda Terrace & Fountain).
31st August & 1st September 10:30am - 3:30pm at South Street Seaport Historic District NYC (USA) Various locations through the two days including: Fulton Street, Schermerhorn Row, Pier 16, Peck Slip, Pearl Street; check our Twitter account on the day for locations & come find us!
14th & 15th September 10:30am - 3:30pm at Albert Dock, Liverpool (UK)* Various locations through the two days including: Salt House Quayside, Pump House, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Canning Dock, Piermaster’s House, Dukes Dock; check our Twitter account on the day for locations & come find us!
21st & 22nd September 10:30am - 3:30pm at CLAYHEAD, Stoke-on-Trent (UK)* Winkhill Mill, Swan Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 7RH. Click here for a location map.
*UK dates coincided with national Heritage Open Days 2019; click here for more information.

Website & Social Media

Everyone was able to follow the journey & join the conversation by exploring the journal (blog), listening to our podcasts & interacting with us on Twitter @potteriestiles. Our website social (media wall) also enables you to connect with us & share your contributions if you use Twitter, Facebook or Instagram & use #OurBeth (click here to check it out).

Tile Tales & More…

Here’s a taster of the original transit route & some of the shared stories Our Beth will explore & celebrate; hopefully with your help! The images are arranged in reverse order to echo the ‘return journey’ to be retraced during the project;

New York - Liverpool - Stoke-on-Trent

Bethesda Terrace 1869

The Minton Tile Ceiling & Floor have been installed at Bethesda Terrace Arcade; under the arches of the central loggia by the date this image was produced. Credit: https://www.lepoint.fr

Minton Tile Ceiling Design

Original watercolour by Jacob Wrey Mould. Wrey Mould is responsible for the exquisite detailed designs throughout Bethesda Terrace. Credit: Thanks to Cynthia S. Brenwall, NYC Municipal Archives.

Minton Tile Floor Design

Original watercolour by Jacob Wrey Mould. Incredibly exciting to (re)discover the designs for the ‘lost floor’ installed in Bethesda Terrace Arcade along with the ceiling in the mid 1860s. These encaustic & geometric tiles were also commissioned from & made by Minton in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Credit: Thanks to Cynthia S. Brenwall, NYC Municipal Archives.

Bethesda Terrace Arcade, Central Park NYC

A unique & sublime ceramic masterpiece created using nearly 16,000 bespoke encaustic tiles made in The Potteries (Stoke-on-Trent, England) between 1865-67. It’s the only encaustic tile ceiling in the world. Credit: Ceramic City Stories

Miller & Coates

Tile supplier & import agent based at 279, Pearl Street, Manhattan. This is an introduction page taken from an 1890s catalogue. Miller & Coates were engaged by Central Park Commissioners to supply & broker the import of Minton Tiles for Bethesda Terrace Arcade. Credit: https://archive.org

South Street Seaport c.1901

Although this image is somewhat later than the Minton Tile import dates; this is where the transatlantic packet line ships from Liverpool docked. It is believed that the Minton Tiles consignments were unloaded on to horse & cart bound for Central Park probably taking a route up what is now Broadway. The tiles arrived before Brooklyn Bridge was built & opened. Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org

Port of New York 1860

The Mitchell Map of New York City provides incredible detail. This section gives us a sense of Lower Manhattan just before the Minton Tiles arrived; an intensive network of docks or ‘piers’ & key streets connected to our story including Pearl Street & Peck Slip. Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org

Port of Liverpool 1865

Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean; parallel scenes on Liverpool’s waterfront. Dukes Dock (adjacent to Albert Dock) is likely to have been used in the export of Bethesda’s Minton Tiles. Image taken from the Jackson & Sulman map. Credit: https://www.liverpoolworldheritage.com

Dukes Dock Warehouse 1958

This warehouse was designed by James Brindley for the Duke of Bridgewater. The openings enabled Mersey ‘sailing flats’ to unload cargo undercover. The warehouse was known to be used for storing ceramic products from North Staffordshire including tiles. Credit: https://localwiki.org/liverpool/

Minton Tile Floor, St Georges Hall, Liverpool

Another majestic Minton Tile masterwork on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean! This incredible ‘pavement’ (floor) in St Georges Hall was created with 30,000 bespoke encaustic tiles also made in Stoke-on-Trent, England in 1852; more than 12 years earlier than the Bethesda tiles. Credit: https://www.contrarylife.com

The Potteries (Stoke-on-Trent, England)

A world centre for ceramic production for nearly three centuries. More than 2000 bottle ovens (kilns) once marked the city’s unique skyline & caused extreme pollution. This community certainly suffered for their art. Credit: https://www.researchgate.net (Gayle Matthias)

Cliff Bank Works, Stoke-on-Trent

This site was occupied by Minton & Hollins between 1860 - 1870s & is believed to be the location where Bethesda’s tiles were manufactured under the expert stewardship of Michael Daintry Hollins; Herbert Minton’s business partner. Herbert Minton died in 1858 before the commission was undertaken. Credit: http://www.thepotteries.org

Winkhill Mill, Stoke-on-Trent

This building is located on the original Cliff Bank Works site. It is home to The Firing Line; one of the world's few remaining tile works still using traditional techniques . It is also houses CLAYHEAD Secret Museum; a unique community-sourced collection of historical ceramics made in Stoke-on-Trent. The project is led by Ceramic City Stories. Credit: Ceramic City Stories

CLAYHEAD Secret Museum

CLAYHEAD Secret Museum; a unique DIY heritage resource & community-sourced collection of historical ceramics made in Stoke-on-Trent. The project is led by Ceramic City Stories. Credit: Ceramic City Stories

Bespoke Handmade Tiles

Traditional techniques & historical dust presses c1900 are still used on this site today. We work closely with The Firing Line to encourage & support the manufacture of a range of handmade tiles including: geometric, relief moulded, mosaic & even bespoke encaustics. We like to think Minton & Hollins would be both intrigued & proud that their expertise still inspires today’s ‘Potters’ in the city! Credit: Ceramic City Stories