What lies beneath the floorboards?

The unveiling of a Minton tiled floor, laid over 150 years ago, is attracting thousands of visitors to one of Liverpool’s finest buildings.

St George’s Hall is currently open to the public who wish to see the 30,000 Minton tiles, which are laid in the Great Hall of the building. The priceless mosaic floor is usually covered over by wood in order to preserve the tiles and provide a harder wearing surface.

Minton tiles were manufactured by Minton Hollins tile factory in Stoke on Trent. The tiles can still be found all over the world, with Minton tiles even situated around fire places and on floors of the White House in Washington.

Councillor Warren Bradley, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “When the floor was unveiled earlier last year, more than 33,000 visitors flocked to the Hall to see the beautiful Minton Tiles.

“Since then, we have had many requests to unveil the floor once again, and so I’m delighted to announce that the exquisite tiles will be on display once more.”

The Minton tiled floor was laid in 1852, two years before St George’s Hall was open to the public and cost £2000. The decision to cover the tiles came in 1883 in order to provide a more suitable surface to dance on. The floor was then not seen again until the Hall’s centenary in 1954, in which more than 100,000 people queued to see it.

The floor of the Great Hall is being unveiled from 10th February until 23rd February and is open daily for visitors to witness a piece of history.

Community historian, Steve Binns MBE, commented: “Originally when they first thought about laying the floor, they wanted black marble but that cost too much and so Minton tile was chosen instead.

"Now we are faced with an interesting conundrum, we have a marvellous piece of art which we can show of to members of the public but it also has to be preserved and that means keeping in covered up.”