Birds & Rushes 5 Tile Set on County White

Five 152 x 152mm decorated tiles supplied together as a set, designed to be read as one panel rather than repeated at random. Originally these panels were made for the cast iron fireplaces of the period, which is why they suit a hearth, a chimney breast or a washstand splashback particularly well. The set is made to order, so allow a little longer than for the stocked plain tiles.

Birds among rushes, in multi-colour decoration on the County White ground, drawn across five tiles as a single panel. Birds and water reeds were one of the defining motifs of the later nineteenth century, when English designers took up the asymmetry and the natural subjects of Japanese prints — it is a looser, more atmospheric idiom than the formal borders of the earlier Victorian period. As with any deep translucent glaze, a screen does not do it justice; a panel under real light does.

Usually two. A Victorian cast iron register grate is tiled down both cheeks, and the standard insert takes five six-inch tiles in each side panel — which is exactly why these sets come in fives. One set does one side, so a pair completes the fireplace. Measure your own insert before ordering, because sizes did vary and some later grates take four tiles or a slightly different rebate. Send us a photograph and a measurement and we will tell you what you need.

As one panel, in the order supplied, not shuffled or repeated at random — the design is drawn to run from tile to tile. Dry-lay all five on the floor first and check the sequence before any adhesive is mixed. In a fireplace they run vertically down each cheek; on a wall they can run vertically or horizontally, but keep the joints tight and even at 2 to 3mm so the drawing carries across them rather than being interrupted. If you are using two sets on a fireplace, decide before fixing whether the two sides mirror each other or both read the same way up.

Not in this design — Birds & Rushes is supplied as the five-tile panel only, with no border or corner tile of its own. That is not a problem, and many people prefer it: the panel is designed to be read on its own against plain tiling. If you do want a decorated edge around it, the Artworks range has borders and corners in other designs on the same County White ground, and the plain mouldings will frame it cleanly in a matching glaze. We are happy to suggest a combination that does not fight the panel.

Yes. The set is specified for wet and dry wall areas, so it can go in a shower enclosure, behind a bath or above a basin, provided the background is sound and properly tanked and a flexible waterproof adhesive and grout are used throughout the wet zone. The decoration sits under the glaze rather than on top of it, so it will not wear or wash off. It is a wall product only — never lay it on a floor.

Every Artworks piece is finished in the same County White glaze, so field tiles, half tiles, mouldings, skirtings and wrapping pieces are designed to be used together. As with any glazed ceramic there can be slight variation between production batches, so we recommend ordering everything for a scheme at the same time.

Artworks County White is usually held in stock. We arrange careful parcel or palletised delivery depending on the size of your order, and UK delivery is free on orders over £1,000. If your project is time-sensitive, call us and we will confirm availability before you order.

Yes. Cut samples are free to collect from our Ascot showroom, or we can post one to you for the cost of postage. Seeing the glaze in your own light is the surest way to judge how it will sit against your paint, stone and metalwork.