When was the Medieval Era? - There are lots of different names forthis bit of time, sometimes people say the Middle Ages or the DarkAges and the exact dates vary according to which bit you are thinkingabout. Here we are looking at the era that stretches from after theRomans left in about 410 until 1485 when the Tudor Era began.

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In medieval times, havinga tiled floor showed youhad great wealth. Beforethis, floors would havebeen constructed ofbeaten earth orflagstones.

Have a go at making yourown floor tile design withcolouring, drawing orbaking!

WHY D ID THEY

USE T ILES ?

Many thanks to North Somerset Council'sSenior Archaeologist, Cat Lodge, for

sharing this information

Rusty the Dog has been travelling in time and youcan explore with him through one of his activitiesor learning packs. You can also read stories of hisadventures on the Weston Museum website.

Tiles were made from the end of the 12thcentury and were most common in the 13thand 14th centuries. They were produced byskilled craftsmen who would travel thecountry. Making and laying tiles was difficultand time consuming, which meant that it wasexpensive.

Buildings such as churches, monasteries andconvents had tiled floors.

In the later medieval period, owners ofcastles and manors began to decorate theirhomes with ceramic tiles.

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MosaicPlainGlazedEncaustic

There were different types and designs ofMedieval floor tiles, some were very simple,others were much more detailed.

The tiles on display at Weston Museum showvarious patterns and designs, includingplants, flowers, animals and shields.

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SK ILLED WORK

TYPES OF T ILES

• 375 g Plain Flour• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda• 3 tsp Ground Ginger• 120 g Unsalted Butter (cold & cubed)• 175 g Light Brown Sugar• 5 tbsp Golden Syrup• 1 Large Egg

Vegan recipe alternative• 56g Vegan Butter (e.g. Vitalite)• 100g Brown Sugar• 100g Unsulphured Molasses (Golden Syrupor Black Treacle)• 1 Flax Egg (a tbsp of Flax mixed with 3 tbspof boiled water and left to stand for a minute)• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract• 250g All Purpose Flour (plain flour)• 1 tsp Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) and1/4 tsp Salt• Spice: 2 tsp Ground Ginger, 2 tsp GroundCinnamon, 1/4 tsp Allspice, 1/4 tsp GroundCloves

Diamond or square shapes around 8 cm x8cm (just over 3 inches) are a good size forthese biscuits, but smaller or larger is finetoo.

Once you've made your biscuits, you candecorate them with intricate iced designs.Medieval people did not separate real fromimaginary animals, so Unicorns, Dragons, andMermaids are all welcome here!

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MAKE AN ICED

GINGERBREAD T ILE

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YOU WILL NEED :

• Preheat your oven to 190C/180C Fan andline 3-4 Baking trays with Parchment paper(or do it in two batches if you only have twotrays).

• Add the flour, Bicarbonate of Soda, andGinger to a large bowl and add the cold,cubed butter to the bowl.

• Rub together with your fingers until itresembles breadcrumbs (Or mix the fouringredients in a food processor until itsbreadcrumbs).

• Mix in the sugar and then add the GoldenSyrup and Egg - beat with a spatula/yourhands until it is a smooth dough.

• Knead the biscuit dough, and then Roll thedough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

• Roll it out to 1/2cm thickness and cut outyour 8cm x 8cm squares for your tiles.

• Place them on the lined baking trays andbake in the oven for 10-11 minutes, cool on awire rack fully, then decorate with icing!

DecorationYou can use flour paste or writing icing todecorate your tiles. Make them as simple oras intricate as you like.

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s INSTRUCT IONS :

Sometimes tiles would be laid out in aspecific order that made a repeated pattern.See if you can copy the tile design over to theother squares in a way that mirrors them andmakes a bigger pattern.

You can also colour some in or design yourown pattern from scratch.

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CREATE A NEW T ILE

DES IGN

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Send us a picture of your work on socialmedia, find us on Facebook, Twitter orInstagram @westonmuseumInclude the hashtag #westonmuseumrusty

SHOW US YOUR WORK !

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