Dutch pantiles in the county of Norfolk: architecture and international trade in the 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

Over a period of two hundred years, beginning in the late 16th century, Norfolk imported pantiles from the Netherlands in vessels which sailed outwards with cargoes of grain and woollen goods. The tile found ready acceptance in the county on account of its versatility and relatively low cost. The decline of the import-trade in the second half of the 18th century was offset, in the short term, by the import of English-made pantiles from Humberside, and in the long term by the production of pantiles within Norfolk itself.