Charles Chadwick, Esq., of Healy Hall, Lancashire, and Mavesyn-Ridware, in
the county of Stafford, to whom the monks of St. Stephen, at Caen,
presented, in the year 1786, a series of encaustic tiles with heraldic
devices taken from the floor of the (so called) "Great Guard Chamber of the
Palace of the Dukes of Normandy," died in 1829. I infer that the tiles were
brought to the Lancashire residence of Mr. Chadwick because the description
and the drawing for the engraving were both supplied to the _Gentleman's
Magazine_ by a Lancashire antiquary, Thomas Barnett, of Hydes Cross,
Manchester: but as the descendants of Mr. Chadwick no longer reside in
Lancashire, the hall being occupied by a woollen manufacturer, I have been
unable to obtain any information respecting the tiles, though long desirous
to do so.
I direct attention to another series of the same tiles, sixteen in number,
which were presented to the Society of Antiquaries through the president,
the Earl of Leicester, in 1788, by John Henniker, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., S.A.,
and M.P., who afterwards took the additional name of Major. This gentleman
received the tiles from his brother, Captain Henniker, then resident at
Caen; and in 1794 he published an interesting account of them with
engravings, entitled _Two Letters on the Origin, Antiquity, and History of
Norman Tiles stained with Armorial Bearings_ (London, John Bell, Strand).
The engravings both in this volume and in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ are
indifferently executed, and too small in scale to be of use. Mr. Henniker
describes the colours of his tiles to be "yellow and brown," while Mr.
Barnett states that the tiles in Mr. Chadwick's possession were "light grey
and black;" a curious discrepancy, seeing that in all other respects they
were exactly similar. These tiles are of so much heraldic and antiquarian
interest that if either set could be made available for the purpose, it is
very desirable that they be engraved of full size, and printed by the
modern easy process to imitate the colours.