| Ref No | 2012.103/C/1/9 |
| Level | File |
| Extent | 5 items |
| Title | Photographs of painted tiles for [Woodside Primary School, Amersham] |
| Date | [1956] |
| Description | Five black and white photographs of painted tiles commissioned by the Ministry of Education to surround sinks and drinking fountains in a [Woodside Primary School, Amersham] Annan hand painted, glazed and refired one hundred and six tiles for the commission. Her designs included snails, cockerel and fish. The first photograph in the file is annotated on the reverse by [Annan?] with notes related to the numbers of tiles needed for each drinking fountain and sink. All the photographs show the tiles in situ at the school. |
| Notes | Annan was commissioned by the pioneering education architects David Medd and his wife Mary Crowley to create tiles for the school in Amersham. Both Medd and Crowley were part of Stirrat Johnson-Marshall's Development Group at the Ministry of Education, which had garnered a reputation for creating cost-effective, yet light-filled, flexible teaching environments. Medd was particularly passionate about integrating original hand-crafted art into new school buildings and commissioned Annan to create hand-painted tiles for the schools' sinks and drinking fountains. |
| Related Material | See 2012.103/G/1/3 for Annan's correspondence related to the commission, including letters from both Medd and Crowley. For additional images and context related to the commission see 'A Life in Education and Architecture – Mary Beaumont Crowley Medd', Ashgate, 2013 by Catherine Burke. This book was used to identify Woodside Primary School as the Amersham school referenced in Annan's correspondence. |