HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER
MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION

WITH THE ADDITION OF SCOTTISH, IRISH, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES SILVERMITHS
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BRITISH SILVERSMITHS - ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF MARKS: WT-ZZ
ALPHABETICAL LISTING
OF SILVERSMITHS' NAMES		 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
  [B] = BIRMINGHAM    [C] = Chester   [D] = DUBLIN  [E] = EDIMBURGH  [EX] = EXETER  [G] = GLASGOW    [L] = LONDON  [N] = NEWSCASTLE   
[S] = SHEFFIELD   [Y] = YORK
(lower-case letter denote smaller ones but they may be capital letters)
CLICK ON THE YELLOW NAME FOR MAKER'S MARK IMAGE
WT into two circles (William Townsend [ D ]) mid 18th c.
WT and two pellets into a quatrefoil (William Toone [ L ]) 18th c./1st half
WT (Walter Thornhill [ L ] )
WT (William Twemlow [ C ]) end 18th c.
WT in script (William Turner [ L ] ) 19th c./1st half
WT (William Turton [ L ] ) 18th c./2nd half
WT (William Turner [ L ] ) 18th c./2nd half
WT into a rectangle (William Tanner or William Troby [ L ] ) 19th c./1st half
WT (William M Traies [ L ]) 19th c./1st half
W 'star' T (William Thorneywork [ B ] ) end 19th c./beginning 20th c.
W.T (William Thompson [ D ]) end 18th c.
W.T into a chamfered rectangle (William Traies [ L ]) entered 1823
W.T into a chamfered rectangle (William Theobalds [ L ]) entered 1841
W.T into a shield (W Turner [ B ]) 20th c./1st half
W.T (William Turton [ L ] ) 18th c./2nd half
W.T into a chamfered rectangle (Walter Trickett [ S ] ) entered 1894
W over TC over C (Thomas & William Chawner [ L ] ) 18th c./2nd half

WT over LB (William Theobalds & Lockington Bunn [ L ] ) 19th c./1st half
WT over RA (William Theobalds & Robert Metcalfe Atkinson [ L ] ) 19th c./1st half
W.T.S (W T Staniforth [ S ]) 20th c./1st half
W.T.T & Co (W T Toghill & Co [ B ]) 20th c./1st half
W.T.W into three circles (W T Wiseman [ B ]) 20th c./1st half
W over T.W over W (Thomas Whipham & William Williams [ L ] ) 18th c./1st half
WV (William Vincent [ L ]) 18th c./2nd half
W.V & S into an oblong chamfered rectangle (William Vale & Sons [ B ][ C ][ S ]) end 19th c./beginning 20th c.
WV NB and English Lion passant (William Norris Venning [CANADA]) 1813-1871
WW into a trefoil (William Williamson [ D ]) 18th c./1st half
WW (William Woodward [ L ]) 18th c./2nd half
WW (William Ward [ D ]) end 18th c.
WW (William Ward [ D ]) end 18th c./beginning 19th c.
WW (William Welch, junior [ EX ]) beginning 19th c.
WW (gothic) (William Woodman [ EX ] ) 19th c./1st half
WW into a rectangle (William Woodman [ EX ] ) 19th c./1st half
W.W into a heart (William Williams [ B ]) beginning 20th c.
W.W in script (Walter H Willson Ltd [ L ]) 20th c./2nd half
W.W into a rectangle (William Welch Sr. [ PLYMOUTH ] ) 19th c./1st half
W.W (William Ward [ D ]) 18th c./2nd half
W.W (William Weston or William Williams II [ L ]) 19th c./1st half
W.W in script (W H Wilson Ltd -William Wilson- [ L ]) 20th c./1st half
W.W (William Withers [ L ]) 18th c./2nd half
W.W into two conjoined circles (White & Sons [ S ]) 20th c./2nd half
WW in script under & into a trefoil (Wakely & Wheeler [ C ][ D ][ E ][ L ] ) 20th c.
WW & T.B (William Watson & Thomas Bradbury [ S ]) 19th c./1st half
WW over HG into a shield (Watson & Gillott - William Watson & Herbert Gillott [ S ]) entered 1896
W.W (William Withers [ L ]) 18th c./2nd half
W.W over B.T (Johnson, Walker & Tolhurst Ltd -Walter Walker & Brownfield Tolhurst- [ L ]) end 19th c./beginning 20th c.
W.W.C (William Walter Cashmore [ B ]) 20th c./1st half
W.W.C into a chamfered rectangle (William Walter Cashmore [ B ]) 20th c./1st half
W.W over F.D into a quatrefoil (William Thomas Wright & Frederick Davies [ L ]) 19th c./2nd half
W.W over H.G into a shield (Watson & Gillott - William Watson & Herbert Gillott [ S ]) end 19th c/beginning 20th c.
W.W.G over &S into a shield (W.W. Griffith & Son [ B ]) entered 1921
WW over H into a trefoil (W. W. Harrison & Co [ S ]) entered 1866
W over W.S over P in a cross shaped contour (William Shaw II & William Preist [ L ]) entered 1749

W.W.W (William Wrangham Williams [ L ]) 19th c./2nd half
WW over WP (William Wilson & William Parkin [ L ]) 18th c./2nd half
WY (William Young [ S ]) 20th c./1st half
W.Y (William Yates Ltd [ S ]) 20th c./2nd half
Y&W (Yapp & Woodward -John Yapp & John Woodward-) [ B ] ) mid 19th c.
YB into a rectangle (Yates Brothers [ S ]) 20th c./2nd half
YM (not identified [ B ]) 1977
Z (John Zeigler [ E ] ) 19th c./1st half
Z.B & S (Zachariah Barraclough & Sons [ B ][ C ]) end 19th c./beginning 20th c.
Z over B& S over Ld into a quatrefoil (Z Barraclough & Sons Ltd [ S ]) 20th c./1st half
BRITISH TOWN MARKS AND DATE LETTERS
London town marks Birmingham town marks Dublin town marks Edinburgh town marks Sheffield town marks Exeter town marks
London Birmingham Dublin Edinburgh Sheffield Chester
The hallmarking of British silver is based on a combination of marks that makes possible the identification of the origin and the age of each piece. The marks are:

Town mark, corresponding to the mark of the Assay Office that has verified the piece
London town mark Sheffield town mark Birmingham town mark Newcastle town mark Dublin town mark Edimburgh town mark Glasgow town mark

Lion passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased, certifiying the silver quality
lion passant: 1598-1820 lion passant: after 1820 Britannia and lion's head erased: from 1697 to 1718
Maker's mark, identifying the silversmith presenting the piece to the assay office (usually the initials of Christian name and surname of the silversmith)

Date letter, in cycles of twenty letters of the alphabet of different shape identifies the year in which the piece was verified by the Assay Office
London date letter 'a'
A further mark was used in the period 1784 - 1890:
Sovereign head ('duty mark'), certifying the payment of the duty
Sovereign head: duty mark from 1784 to 1890
work in progress on this page - your help, corrections and suggestions will be greatly appreciated -