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Pewter on display

owners

Some suggestions where to see pewter on display. 

The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum

Dumbarton Rd., Stirling, FK8 2RQ

Open Tuesday – Saturday 10.30 – 17.00, Sunday 14.00 – 17.00.
For further details and information, telephone 01786 471917 or email the museum.

The Museum houses an extensive collection of Scottish pewter and the Neish collection of British pewter.

At the bottom of the page is a pdf of the Neish Collection courtesy of Patricia Neish

The Museum of London

London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN
For details or further information telephone 0207 6003699 or email info@museumoflondon.org.uk

The Museum’s pewter collection, especially of 16th & 17th century pieces, is unparalleled for provenanced examples with specific local associations. (See ‘Pewter A Handbook of selected Tudor and Stuart pieces’ published by The Pewter Society, which is a compilation from the Museum of London collections.) The museum also has an extensive collection of mediaeval pewter items – recent finds, mostly by mudlarks, of more than 600 pewter pilgrim badges and souvenirs and small secular badges, have been added to a collection already totalling about 250 in 1975. A further 500 or so of these are included in the Archaeological Archive.

Arlington Court

Arlington, near Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4LP
For details or further information telephone 01271 850296 or email arlingtoncourt@nationaltrust.org.uk

On display: The Chichester collection of pewter; a large and varied collection representing a cross section of pewter that caught the eye and wallet of the pewter collectors of the first decades of the 20th century. Some candlesticks, flagons, porringers and spoons are of particular interest. The section of measures is especially large and includes English, Scottish, Irish and also many examples from the Channel Islands. A notable specialist group is the collection of small boxes. Some highly important foreign pieces from France, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands also form part of the collection which was identified and listed by the Society in 2000.

Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

The Square, Barnstaple, Devon EX32 8LN
For details or further information telephone 01271 346747 or email museum@northdevon.gov.uk

On display: The Stanley E Thomas pewter collection. The collection includes over 100 pieces, with an emphasis on Devon and West Country pewter. The collection is very varied and includes a number of flagons, three of the finest being locally-made 17th century ‘beefeaters’, 17th and early 18th century chargers, dishes and plates, three being decorated with wrigglework, two examples of footed plates, a rare Stuart candlestick, a dome-lidded tankard from Exeter, a set of ‘harvester’ measures and a variety of other measures and mugs. Most of the pewter is on display in period room settings. Catalogues of the collection, compiled by the Society, are for sale at the Museum.

American Museum & Gardens

Claverton Manor, Bath
For details or further information telephone 01225 460503 or email info@americanmuseum.org

The museum shows, mainly in period room settings, the development of American Decorative Arts from 17th century New England to 19th century New Orleans and New Mexico. A selection of 50 quilts are always on display. Additional displays are devoted to Folk Art, Native American Art, Silver and Pewter. The extensive grounds contain a replica of part of the garden at George Washington’s Virginia home, and an Arboretum of North American trees and shrubs.

Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum

Clarence St., Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3JT
For further details or information, telephone 01242 237431 or email artgallery@cheltenham.gov.uk

On display: The A.T.Isher pewter bequest. Now the subject of a book & catalogue by Jan Gadd and published by the Pewter Society, the Isher bequest consists mainly of 17th century items including important pieces such as church flagons, flat-lid tankards, wrigglework plates and measures.

Strangers Hall Museum

Charing Cross, Norwich NR2 4AL
For details or further information telephone 01603 667229 or email helen.renton@norfolk.gov.uk

A number of items of domestic pewterware usually on display as part of room settings or features on rural life. Check or details before visiting.

Weston Park Museum

(formerly the City Museum and Mappin Art Gallery), Weston Park, Sheffield, S10 2TP
For details or further information telephone 0114 278 2600.

Houses the city’s collections of cutlery, Sheffield metalwork, ceramics, coins, archaeology and ethnography, natural history and fine art.

The Royal Cornwall Museum

River Street, Truro , TR1 2SJ, UK
For details or further information telephone 0872 272205 or email enquiries@royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk

A number of items of domestic pewterware usually on display as part of room settings or features on rural life. Houses a small display of Cornish flatware and also within the reserve a large part of the collection of Major Richardson donated in the 1930s. All enquiries should be made in advance to the museum.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
For details or further information telephone 020 7942 2000 or email vanda@vam.ac.uk

They have a small pewter exhibit (in room 116) consisting of two cases with English, French and German pewter.

Cathederals

Quite a few cathederals have treasuries where a selection of pewter flagons,chalices and candlesticks may be seen. Chichester, Peterborough and Guildford all have displays of pewter.

The National Museum of Scotland

Chambers St., Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
For further details and information, telephone 0131 247 4442 or email info@nms.ac.uk

On display: several pieces of Scottish pewter in a variety of settings arranged mostly by use. Museum staff will assist in directions.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Kelvingrove, G3 8AG
For details or further information telephone 0141 287 2699 or email museums@cls.glasgow.gov.uk