Malting floor tiles

These two pierced ceramic tiles, one from the brewery on Haven Bank, the other from the Bradninch brewery, were made by Stanley Bros, Nuneaton. Mould-made, they were used to pave drying floors of malting kilns. At its height the brewing industry in Exeter had reached a total of 15 breweries in and around the city. None remain today. The Malthouse on Haven Banks on the west bank of the Exe was built around 1789, but malting did not begin until 1791. Three conical malting kilns were added to the brewery in 1900. Lying over a metal lattice 6m above the ground, the floors of ceramic tiles were purpose built to distribute heat around the kiln. When the brewery closed, the tiles were removed, and only some fragments remained for the excavation of 1994 to find.

Publication: Parker, R.W. 1996: Archaeological Recording at the Malthouse, Haven Banks, Exeter. Exeter Archaeology.

Acknowledgments: Exeter ArchaeologyRAM Museum