Plate

Pewter plate, the rim is engraved with the Crowned Garter and Royal Arms of Hanover of 1816-1837 (the arms of England in the first and fourth quarters, Scotland in the second and Ireland in the third, with the arms of Hanover placed on an escutcheon overall surmounted by a Royal Crown and a three-point label). The Royal Arms are flanked by the words ‘ROYAL’ and ‘KENTISH’. The centre of the plate has an engraved crest of a Boar’s head on a torse, and below are scratched inscriptions ‘W. L.E. LISZT’ and ‘Ave Maria’ which were evidently added at a later date. There are faint touches underneath of two ‘Xs’ ; a ‘LONDON SUPERFINE’ label and the very indistinct mark of Thomas Alderson, London.

The Royal Kentish Bowmen formed in 1785, was a socially prestigious archery club, from 1789 under the patronage of George, Prince of Wales. The club met on Dartford Heath and in addition to archery competitions they had premises where dinners were held; the organisation did not survive the Napoleonic Wars. The three-point label in the Royal Arms indicates that the Arms are those of the Prince of Wales. See C.R. Humphery-Smith, ‘The Royal Heraldry of England’, in The Coat of Arms, vi (1960-61) and vii (1962-63). Alderson made most of the pewter for the Coronation Banquet of George IV in 1821 (see Tom Pickett ‘The Coronation banquet of George IV’ in JPS, Spring 2008, pp 36-40. The key point, however, is that the Royal Kentish Bowmen ceased its activities in 1802, which is 14 years before the earliest date of the arms on these plates and 14 years before the estimated start date of the pewterer who made them. In my view that makes it unlikely that the inscription has anything to do with the Bowmen. It is unclear when and from whom the Museum of Rural Life at Reading acquired the plates. It is possible that the 'Royal Kentish' refers instead to the Royal Kentish Hotel in Tunbridge Wells (later to become Royal Tunbridge Wells). This hotel was built c1810-20 by Edward Hilder Strange, facing the common in Tunbridge Wells and one minute from the chalybeate spring. He also planted the avenue of trees opposite aligned with the hotel which is still known as Strange's Avenue. He died in 1825 but his widow continued running it to c1832. The date of the hotel fits the plates perfectly. Dr Ian Beavis, Research Curator at the Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery said 'In its day, the Royal Kentish Hotel was one of the two major establishments in town – the other being the Royal Sussex on the Pantiles – and both made great play in their marketing with the reflected glory of the royal visitors (including several members of the Hanoverian dynasty) who patronised Tunbridge Wells'. I cannot for the moment think of any evidence that would prove a connection, but it seems entirely plausible that the proprietor would have commissioned engraved plates like this. There are two images of the hotel: one is an engraving of 1825 which shows a central bow window (now gone) above the entrance. The other is a postcard of 1863 which shows the bow window surmounted by a large royal coat of arms. [Sources: http://www.dover-kent.com/2014-project-a/Kentish-Hotel-Tunbridge-Wells.html and http://theweald.org/m13.asp?PicIdto=9901925 .] I can find no record of 'Liszt' being associated with the hotel, so that later inscription remains an enigma.