The William Tennent House Association invites you to a tour of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 10 AM at 130 E. Swamp Road, Doylestown, PA 18901.
Dive into the world of Henry Chapman Mercer. Explore the decorative halls and historic workshops that lay throughout the grounds. Watch craftsmen as they turn Bucks County Clay into Mercer Tiles.
The cost to attend is $15 per person. The reservation deadline is MAY 6TH.
SPACE IS LIMITED. ONLY A TOTAL OF 15 PEOPLE CAN ATTEND THE TOUR.
The online Registration Form can be completed below. Registration can also be made by check payable to William Tennent House Association and mailed to P.O. Box 2572, Warminster, PA 18974 along with your name, contact information and number attending.
For additional information, please email [email protected]
Event proceeds benefit the preservation of the William Tennent House. If you can’t make it but still want to help you can make a donation or find other ways of supporting the William Tennent House Association here.
You can register online by using the form below.
About the Tile Works: 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 to decorate public and private buildings all across the country. Mercer’s pioneering influence was far-reaching and still affects many tilemakers today.