Dish

A robustly constructed pewter dish with a narrow rim, deep well and flattened, turned and hammered base. The rim has been reinforced on the underside. There are incised circles (DM 113 mm) both inside and on the underside. Also underneath is a scratched square subdivided into quarters with letters in 15th-century script in each - clockwise from bottom left, 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd'. No other marks. In medieval times slices of stale bread ('trenchers') were used as plates, and were often gathered up and distributed to the poor after a feast. By the mid- 1500s bread trenchers were replaced with wooden platters and pewter or silver plates.