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Medieval floor tile
Site: St Margaret's Church, Ipswich, Suffolk
Period: Medieval
Excavator: Linzi Everett, Suffolk C.C. Archaeological Service
Published: In-house report.
Catalogue entry: Thirty fragments of floor tile were identified in the St Margaret's Church CBM assemblage, including medieval relief-decorated, late medieval Flemish types, and a post-medieval quarry tile. Most fragments were heavily worn and difficult to identify to type as the fabrics were quite variable. At least one Flemish green-glazed and one yellow-glazed with white slip were present. Only two relief tiles were unworn, and both showed a shield containing three lions passant guardant, one yellow-glazed (left) and one brown-glazed. This type is fairly common in Suffolk and is likely to be of 13th/14th century date. These finds may indicate that part of the original church floor contained relief tiles, replaced in the 14th/15th centuries by a chequerboard Flemish tile floor.