Do you have a planning application to register or inspect at the City Council offices at Avalon House, Chesil Street? Then spend a few minutes admiring some decorated medieval floor tiles while you are there.

The small sample of tiles, all found in Winchester and now held in Winchester City Council's museums service collections, would once have adorned the floors of the many monastic houses that stood in Winchester until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the sixteenth century. Some of the designs represented in the small display case are: a griffin, a mythological creature with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle which the Church saw as a symbol of the earthly and divine natures of Christ; fleur de lys, an ancient heraldic symbol which may represent a lily or an iris; and a rose-like gothic church window.

Cllr Therese Evans, the City Council Portfolio holder for Culture, Heritage and Sport, said "These are beautiful medieval tiles from Winchester and the use of Avalon House as a display area enables the curatorial team to exhibit objects that might otherwise not been seen by local people."

The objects can be viewed during Avalon House reception opening times: Monday to Friday: 8.00 am to 6.00 pm