Roath Porch Tiles

Many porches in the Roath, Splott, Adamsdown, Pen-y-lan and Cathays areas of Cardiff are adorned with decorative tiles.

Roath Porch Tiles – Leaflet and Walk

Roath grew rapidly at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th with the expansion of the docks taking coal from the South Wales valleys across the world. The architects employed by the Tredegar, Plasnewydd and Bute Estates to build new homes brought colour and variety to the streets and entrances with these tile panels. They were made by factories such as Burmantofts in Leeds, Craven Dunhill at Jackfield and Maw & Sons who made the Tile Corridor for the Old Library. Many of them are assembled from relief designs made in moulds and then decorated with coloured glazes, others designs are made by tube-lining where a thin piped outline is coloured in with glazes.

Hilary Roberts