The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works (MPTW) is a history museum located in

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 cen ...

. It is owned by the County of Bucks, and operated by TileWorks of Bucks County, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The museum was individually listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1972, and was later included in a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

along with the

Mercer Museum The Mercer Museum is a museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The Bucks County Historical Society operates the Mercer Museum, as well as the Research Library, and Fonthill Castle, former home of the museum's founder, archeologist Henry Chapm ...

and Fonthill. These three structures are the only cast-in-place

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

structures built by Mercer. Handmade

tiles Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

are still produced in a manner similar to that developed by the pottery's founder and builder,

Henry Chapman Mercer Henry Chapman Mercer (June 24, 1856 – March 9, 1930) was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker, and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works; and th ...

. Tile designs are reissues of original designs. Mercer was a major proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement in America. He directed the work at the pottery from 1898 until his death in 1930. Mercer generally did not affix a

potter's mark A factory mark is a symbolic marking affixed by manufacturers on their productions in order to authenticate them. Numerous factory marks are known throughout the ages, and are essential in determining the provenance or dating of productions. Por ...

to tiles made while he directed the work at MPTW. Following his death, there were several marks used to indicate that a tile had originated at MPTW. When the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation took over the MPTW as a working museum, all tiles made by the museum were impressed on the obverse with a stylized "MOR," the words "Bucks County" and the year of manufacture (see illustration). The reproduction tiles made today are made using Mercer's original molds, clay that is obtained locally and has properties similar to those of Mercer's original source, slips and glazes that follow Mercer's final formulations, although some have been modified to reduce the lead and heavy metal content to less toxic levels. The Tile Works is one of three cast-in-place

structures built by Mercer. The others include Fonthill, which is located on the same property and served as his home; and the

, located approximately one mile away. The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works offers workshops and an apprenticeship program to teach the art of handcrafting ceramic tiles and mosaics.

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* * * {{authority control Museums in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Art museums and galleries in Pennsylvania American art pottery National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings completed in 1912 Ceramics museums in the United States Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania 1912 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Bucks County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Berks County, Pennsylvania

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