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: HV - HZ
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
(click on the photo to enlarge image)
H.V.P.&Co mark, H V Pithey & Co , Chester 1910
H.V.P. over &Co into a shield
H V Pithey & Co
Chester 1910 hallmark
H.W mark, Lee & Wigfull -Henry Wigfull-, Sheffield 1917
H.W
Lee & Wigfull -Henry Wigfull-
Sheffield 1917 hallmark
H.W cutting in no surround mark, Arthur Hamill Westwood, Birmingham 1962
H.W cutting in no surround
Arthur Hamill Westwood
Birmingham 1962 hallmark
HW mark, Horace Woodward & Co,London 1879
HW
Horace Woodward & Co
London 1879 hallmark
HW mark, Henry Wilkinson , Sheffield 1923
HW
Henry Wilkinson
John Street, Sheffield
Sheffield 1923 hallmark
HW over & Co into a quatrefoil mark, Henry Wilkinson & Co, Sheffield 1873
HW over & Co into a quatrefoil
Henry Wilkinson & Co
Sheffield 1873 hallmark
The founder of the firm was J. Winter in 1760c. In 1829 the firm was active as Henry Wilkinson & Co and in 1872 was converted into a limited liability company under the style Henry Wilkinson & Co Ltd. In 1892 the firm was acquired by Walker & Hall.
H over W&Co over Ld into a quatrefoil mark, Horace Woodward & Co Ltd, London 1915 H over W&Co over Ld into a quatrefoil mark, Horace Woodward & Co Ltd, Birmingham 1910
H over W&Co over Ld into a quatrefoil
Horace Woodward & Co Ltd,
London 1915 hallmark


Birmingham 1910 hallmark
The firm was established in mid 19th century by George Cartwright and Joseph Hirons under the style Cartwright & Hirons. In 1853 they were joined by Horace Woodward and the style changed to Cartwright, Hirons & Woodward. In 1859 the firm became Cartwright & Woodward and in 1865 the business was continued by Horace Woodward under the style Horace Woodward & Co. In 1893 the firm was converted into a limited liability company under the style Horace Woodward & Co Ltd. The company was acquired by Adie Brothers Ltd in 1919.
H.W.Ld mark, Henry Williamson Ltd , Sheffield 1909 H.W.Ld mark, Henry Williamson Ltd , Sheffield 1911 H.W.Ld mark, Henry Williamson Ltd , Birmingham 1905 H.W.Ld mark, Henry Williamson Ltd , Birmingham 1905
H.W.Ld. or H-W-Ld
Henry Williamson Ltd
Sheffield 1909 hallmark
Sheffield 1911 hallmark
Birmingham 1905 hallmark
Business established in London by Henry Williamson in 1865. The firm was converted in 1892 into a limited liability company under the style H. Williamson Ltd. The firm went into liquidation in 1898 and was acquired by a new company of the same name. In the 1920s the firm had financial difficulties, culminating into a reorganization of their affairs in 1929 and went out of business in the 1930s.
HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER - MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION
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
CAPE SILVERSMITHS A - C D - I J - M N - T U - Z
CHANNEL ISLANDS SILVERSMITHS A - F G - H I - P Q - Z unidentified
CANADA SILVERSMITHS 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
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's passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased certifiying the silver's 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

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 duty
Sovereign head: duty mark from 1784 to 1890
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