In 1934 the Tylers’ and Bricklayers’ Company instituted a scheme for the award of gold medals to architects, and silver medals to the foreman bricklayers of the best brick built buildings erected during the preceding year within 8 miles of Charing Cross. Pre-war gold medals awarded included those to Sir Giles Gilbert Scott OM for Battersea Power Station and to Sir Edward Maufe RA for the London Hospital Students’ Hostel.
In 1972 the Company decided to reconstitute the gold medal scheme in a different form and to include tiling as well as brickwork. The awards became triennial for buildings completed during the previous three years in the Greater London area which, in the opinion of the Adjudicating Committee, did most to enhance the crafts of bricklaying and tiling and to encourage the use of bricks and tiles. There are three awards, for Brickwork, Wall Tiling and Roof Tiling. Awards took the form of a lead plaque bearing the Company coat of arms presented to the building owner in the hope that it would be affixed to the building. They were accompanied by the presentation of the silver medals to the Architect, the Contractor and the Foreman Bricklayer and Tiler. These medals, like the earlier gold and silver medals, bear the Company coat of arms and are in the form of the Livery Medals worn by Liverymen of the Company. The reverse side of the medals was engraved with the recipient’s name and the year of the award. Commendations and Special Mentions have, on occasions, been made.
At a later stage, the decision was taken to give recognition to the person or organization that had commissioned the building.
More recently the awards were changed to give silver medals only to the Architects and Foremen Craftsmen with certificates bearing single sided medals being presented both to them and to the Contractor and Building owner.
Prior to the 2008 Awards the Court accepted the recommendation that it was no longer appropriate to give an engraved silver medal to the Architect on the grounds that it inevitably went to a partner / director in the practice rather than to the project architect.
