English silver is silver made in England and marked under one of the most rigorous and long-established hallmarking systems in the world. Wares must normally be tested at an assay office and stamped with marks indicating the standard of silver, the assay office, the maker and, historically, the year of assay through a date letter, allowing pieces to be identified with great precision.
The London Goldsmiths' Company has regulated the trade since the medieval period, and provincial assay offices included Birmingham, Sheffield, Chester, Exeter, York and Newcastle. The higher Britannia standard was compulsory for a period from 1697, and the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries saw the arrival of Huguenot silversmiths such as Paul de Lamerie, whose work set new standards of craftsmanship. Georgian silver, including candlesticks, coffee pots, salvers, sauce boats and tea services, is particularly admired, as is the Regency work of Paul Storr. Victorian makers produced elaborate revival styles and later Arts and Crafts silversmiths favoured hand-hammered surfaces. Collectors look for clear marks, good weight, crisp decoration, a pleasing colour and freedom from repairs, alterations or later embossing added to plain Georgian pieces.
