Touring the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works - Doylestown, PA

Doylestown, the county seat of our dear Bucks County, PA,

is the locale of a great museum called the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works.

We toured it, totally loved it, and now I'm excited to show you my photos!

Henry Chapman Mercer founded and built the place in 1898,

and served as its director until he died in 1930.

It's an attractive poured-concrete building with several tall chimneys.

Mercer drew his design inspiration from the Spanish architecture

of California missions in San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara.

Here's a close-up of the detailed tile work on one of the chimneys.

We did the self-guided tour for an affordable $5 each

and learned quite a bit about this "working history" museum.

I really recommend a visit if you've an interest in tile.

Many of the original tile designs came from iron fireplace fire-backs.

These tiles with their muted earth tones were my favorites.

An example of a tile mold for this woman hand-dipping candles.

An illustration of the process from mold to finished product.

Philadelphia's own Ben Franklin is represented.

Molds for a grape harvest, left, and Moses with the Ten Commandments on the right.

We attended this year's Tile Festival, which was wonderful!

You can read my blog post about it here.

Also in Doylestown is Henry Mercer's collection of pre-industrial age artifacts,

housed in the Mercer Museum, which I blogged about here.

Mercer's home, located right next to the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works,

is called Fonthill Castle, which we plan to tour sometime soon.

(stay tuned!)

Links for your research:

Moravian Pottery & Tile Works

Mercer Museum

Fonthill Castle

Christ Church Burial Ground - Philadelphia

I recently shared a post with you on Christ Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

which was attended during the Revolutionary era of these United States of America.

There are some graves on the grounds of the church, but in 1719.

As the congregation grew, a 2 acre burial ground was purchased
 "on the outskirts of town" - only 3 of today's city blocks away.

In addition to many important men, among them signers of 
the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, 
the most popular person buried here is Benjamin Franklin.

To the right of the entrance is this plaque: 

 Here's the grave of Franklin and his wife Deborah, as seen from the sidewalk looking in.

 So, let's pass through the gate and take a look inside Christ Church Burial Ground.

 I had hoped to be able to read the epitaphs, 
but the years had worn away almost all traces.

 Flat table-tombs are especially susceptible to erosion.

 I found 2 gravestones that were still legible:

Here lyeth the Body of

Eleanor Dupuy

who died 21st Jan. 1753.
Aged 2 years.

Daughter of Daniel

& Eleanor Dupuy.

In Memory of

Alexander Conynch

Late of Letterkenny in

IRELAND

who departed this life

October the 15th 1748.

Aged 31 years.

Back to the grave of Ben Franklin.

 As a young man, Franklin came up with his own epitaph, 

but later in life, he left instructions that only a simple inscription was to be used.

Benjamin and Deborah Franklin  1790

A plaque next to his grave shows that epitaph.

Christ Church Burial Ground is located on Arch Street 
between 4th & 5th Streets in Philadelphia.

Learn more at their website.