A Tile Tale: Ernest Batchelder’s Telling Tiles

Striking Artistic Tiles Are Prized Possessions

Fireplace at the Music Academy | Credit: Courtesy

When my husband and I began our first house-hunting experience, we attended an open house at a charming little bungalow on a tiny street on the Lower Riviera. “Little” and “tiny” were the operative words; it was just too small to meet our needs. The Realtor kept trying to convince us that its historic features outweighed our objections. “Look at the fireplace,” she insisted. “It has a Batchelder tile! Wouldn’t you like to live in a house with a Batchelder tile?”

We agreed the unique green bas-relief tile surrounded by darker earth tones was lovely, but at the time, we had no idea what she was talking about. We thought it was strange to promote the sale of a whole house based on less than a square foot of tile with an odd name.

Credit: Courtesy
Credit: Courtesy
Credit: Courtesy
Credit: Courtesy
Credit: Courtesy

In 1993, we purchased a more fitting bungalow a few blocks away and have lived there ever since. Built in 1912, it has neither a fireplace nor a Batchelder tile, but we love it anyway. Owning a historic house in a historic neighborhood conveys certain responsibilities to preserve, protect, and optimize its care for the next generation. I’ve been lucky enough to live among a caring group of neighbors who, since 2002, have worked together to become stewards of a neighborhood we named Bungalow Haven. We have gained and shared knowledge about myriad aspects of the Arts and Crafts era when our homes were built — including Batchelder tiles.

Los Angeles–based artist Ernest Batchelder began his craft in 1910, benefitting from a construction boom in the Arroyo Seco area. His tiles have been prized ever since for their subtle colors and striking nature motifs, geometric shapes influenced by Medieval, Mayan, and Byzantine themes. A description from a widely distributed catalog of his distinctive tiles:

Our material is appropriate for interior and exterior enrichment. It is used for mantels, pavements, fountains, counters, storefronts, in fact, it is suitable for any place where a fired clay product may be properly specified. Our product is hand wrought by processes developed in our own factory. The body is an encaustic, non-vitreous material; the color is a mineral slip fired into the surface at high temperatures in such a way that it becomes an integral part of the body, presenting a surface texture free from gloss and with the mottled surface characteristic of Batchelder Tiles. It will be found that there are slight variations of shape and size.

Music Academy flooring tiles | Credit: Courtesy
Music Academy fireplace tiles | Credit: Courtesy
Music Academy fireplace tiles | Credit: Courtesy
Music Academy fireplace tiles | Credit: Courtesy
Music Academy fireplace tiles | Credit: Courtesy

It turns out Santa Barbara has a fair share of homes, not just modest bungalows, that include Batchelder tiles. Real estate listings frequently list them as a desirable characteristic of a property. The grand Granholm Estate in Montecito, built for philanthropist David Gray in 1918, features floors fashioned from Batchelder tiles. At the Music Academy of the West, the fireplace surround in the library consists of a collection of beautifully detailed, nature-themed Batchelder tiles.

Early in his career as a tile maker, Batchelder lived in Altadena and fired the tiles in his backyard kiln; his distinctive creations were installed in the fireplaces of numerous nearby homes built a century ago.

When recent wildfires ripped through Eaton Canyon in Altadena, far too many residents were left with little to nothing, their possessions lost, reduced to heartbreak and ash. But some, whose modest homes and historic Craftsman bungalows burned to the ground, began an immediate effort to salvage the treasured tiles that survived the firestorm, even as they were still reeling from the magnitude of their losses.

As good neighbors do, they banded together and quickly organized their efforts to maximize their effectiveness. Sifting through the ruins and carefully removing the prized tiles from chimneys still standing gave meaning to the moment for these survivors of what was once unthinkable. These century-old bits of art hold memories and more: They have become priceless remnants of the lives they once lived, hopeful reminders of the lives that they will rebuild.

Fashioned from earth and intentionally fired in their creation, the tiles withstood a second, unintentional firing that did not break them. And they will forever be a part of home in a very special community.

For more information about the Altadena’s Save the Tiles effort, see savethetiles.org.

The Santa Barbara Batchelder

In Santa Barbara, the name George Batchelder is known locally as the developer of the Riviera, the philanthropist who donated the land for the Santa Barbara Bowl, and a visionary who advocated for the Andalusian design of the courthouse.

Since it’s an unusual name and the two contemporaries were involved in housing, the question naturally arises if Ernest (1875-1957) and George (1861-1936) were related. While both men left their mark on the art and architecture of this area, and both were born in New Hampshire, it’s unclear whether they were related.

Cheri Rae is a longtime neighborhood advocate and the author of A String of Pearls: Pearl Chase of Santa Barbara. She is a board member of the Pearl Chase Society, and the longtime editor of the society’s newsletter, The Capital, where this article first appeared. Email Cheri at pcs@pearchasesociety.org or visit pearlchasesociety.org.