Discovered Edwardian tiled hearth! Restore or not?

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Doing up a 1919 terrace. Ripped out stuck on1980s fire/ hearth and there's these tiles underneath.

The plan had been a Yorkshire stone flag hearth and a wood burner but now I'm thinking i love these tiles. Even with damage on one side. Can I restore this hearth or is it impractical and they wouldn't look right with a stove anyway?

Definitely do it.

Just choose a stove that is period appropriate. We have similar (but less beautifully ornate!) Tiles and a stove and it looks great.

I would try to restore or carefully salvage them and use somewhere else maybe.

I definitely would restore them, I love them!

Oh totally restore them, it's awful when people rip out period features. They are such a feature and lovely.

Restore! They will look stunning when finished.

They are lovely and I would want to restore them - but they are in quite poor condition so you may not end up with the look you want. Salvage them either way because you could always use the tiles that are still in good condition somewhere else.

DP and MIL (who we are staying w due to house being building site) and telling me it's impractical, the tiles are too low (they are flush with floor boards) etc etc. This thread is confirming my gut- they are too old and beautiful to cover up.

Even if covered I would not allow them to be ripped out.

What could we do with the tiles elsewhere if we got them carefully removed? (Although I'm far less keen on this)

Oh wow! What a fantastic find!!!! I'd definitely try to restore them!

Restore definitely!

Depending on how many/what size, you could use them for tile-top table. My Gran had an old wash-stand covered in salvaged tiles from a demolished Victorian country house. It used to be in the bedroom that I slept in when I went to stay with her, but I don't know what happened to it when she died.

They are really beautiful but I agree that they look like most of them are quite badly damaged. I’d clean them up properly (with a product designed for the job, probably a thick gloves & mask job) and then see what you are dealing with. They look like a fairly unusual pattern, can you find replacements for the damaged ones? Or can you afford to have very good replicas made (it will be expensive as they are intricate and you only want small batches)? If you can afford it, I would absolutely save them and fill in gaps with salvaged replacements or very well made reproduction tiles from a specialist maker.

We have an Edwardian house and tried wherever possible to keep period features. It gives the house more individuality and I like the feeling of being connected to all the generations that lived in the house before. I would restore what tiles I could and re-tile the fireplace with a mixture of originals and plain tiles . It looks like a deep red would work and would be in keeping with the Edwardian look

Update: The builders "salvaged as many as possible"... I've got some intact, others in 2 or 3 pieces and a few in bits. Wrapped up in paper in a box now to go to tile man to see what he can do.

I feel a bit gutted. I hate original stuff getting taken out of place. Original skirtings being refitted as I type though and coving restoration soon.

Thank you for the ideas for what to do with them. I'll update again once restored.

Stick them on a board and frame them. They will look good even if damaged.