Corporate or commercial? Considering modes of ceramic roof tile production in Chichester in the medieval and beyond

Abstract

Medieval tileries, their mode of production and development are still very poorly understood. This research update combines historic and recent excavation data, along with documentary evidence to suggest that there may have been a rare example of a commercial tilery, operating independently of the church or crown in the Chichester region (UK), as early as the thirteenth century.

This kiln site produced utilitarian roof tile, potentially for distribution across the region, including to sites of low status. The industry appears to have moved out of the city of Chichester to the hinterland in the late medieval period.