Baroness Rawlings
Main Page: Baroness Rawlings (Conservative - Life peer)
Baroness Rawlings
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have on the whereabouts of the historic Portuguese tiles from the British Residence in Lisbon after its former premises were sold in 2003.
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, the former British ambassador’s residence known as Lapa Palace, which was sold in 2008, contains fine examples of traditional Portuguese azulejos tiles. These were included in the sale and are still in place in the house.
Baroness Rawlings (Con)
My Lords, I am most grateful to my noble friend the Minister for all the trouble he has taken to find these historic tiles and for his satisfactory Answer. These tiles are important. They are part of our heritage, having been installed for Her Majesty the Queen’s state visit in 1957 to commemorate the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373. This is the oldest active treaty in the world today. Will the Minister see whether the Foreign Office will ask the present owner’s permission for these very special tiles to be officially documented and, in the future, to be viewed on request?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the tiles have been documented at pages 75 to 78 of Appendix B of The Residence of the British Ambassador at Lisbon by TA Bull, published by the British Historical Society of Portugal in 1995, plus there is a selection of photographs by former Ambassador Stephen Wall. I can tell my noble friend that in December 2014 the British ambassador visited the property and was able to view the tiles, which she found to be in good repair and condition.