Maws and Co at Charing Cross Hospital.

This is the detail of one of the line of great tile pictures at the head of the escalator to the first flour at Charing Cross Hospital.

They are perhaps best seen as the set of four - each depicting 'worthwhile and uplifting' work, as it was seen in the 19th century.

The depict apples being gathered, fields ploughed and sown, cows being milked manufactured by Maw and Co. In the 19th century, fashionable maws and Co manufactured the tiles that covered the hallways of hundreds of thousands of Victorian villas - in the medieval style. they also had some mor illustrious customers;

In Maw’s printed catalogues the 'Lists of persons and establishments supplied' ran to five pages and included the British Royal Family, Alexander II of Russia, maharajas, dukes, earls, railway companies, cathedrals, hospitals, public buildings, schools and colleges, and even warships

All of which was a very far cry from the lives of the patients of the old Charing Cross hospital. However they do represent one 19th century dream of a return to the old ways and lives summed up by the 'Arts and Crafts Movement'.

Luckily, the tiled pictures moved with the hospital and now brighten up a big, empty wall.

I'd had a rough week, last week, and by the weekend I was completely out of action.

This morning wasn't so bad, which was lucky, as we had an early start to get back to Charing Cross for my Chemotherapy. I was pretty much out for the count while it was going on but felt better when it was over.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
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Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com