The making of floor tiles was brought to England from the Continent around AD1250.
By the 14th century, a tilery in Coventry was supplying religious houses and churches in Leicestershire, including Ulverscroft Priory, where this one is from. This example carries the Arms of the Warren family. Henry VIII brought the era of medieval religious houses to an end between 1536 and 1539, with the 'Dissolution of the Monasteries'.
Many of these complexes were converted to country houses, like Grace Dieu in North West Leicestershire, or the churches themselves became the parish church for the local community, like Owston in Harborough. Ulverscroft Priory's became a tenant farm.
