Corporation Plate and Insignia. By Llewellyn Jewitt and W. H.
St. John Hope. 2 vols. (Bemrose and Sons.)—The late Mr. Jewitt put together the substance of this book, and Mr. Hope has enlarged, corrected, and generally completed it. It may be taken as quite certain that the information here collected could not be found
elsewhere. We do not pretend to criticise the work ; even to describe it is beyond our power within any possible limit. The plan has been to take the counties of England and Wales in order, to name the municipal towns and cities in each of them, corporations old and new being included ; and to enumerate and describe, often with the help of drawings, the plate, the maces, great and small, the armorial bearings, and generally the para-
phernalia that belong to them. It will probably surprise most readers to see what a wealth of objects of antiquarian and
historical interest is included in the possessions of English
towns. Of course London stands at the head of all, for the number and the magnificence of its corporate riches Not
only does the Corporation itself own great possessions in this way, but the Wards have property of their own. It is not surprising that no less than seventy pages have been allotted to the Metropolis alone. Nor does the descrip-
tion of these treasures possess an antiquarian interest only. There is a close connection between them and history, the
growth of the municipalities being not the least important side of the general development of English life. There are places too, which, relatively to their size, are wealthier than London itself. There is, for instance, Abingdon, which has four maces, all of the seventeenth century, a mayor's gold chain and badge, seals, and a fine collection of plate. In this last are two loving- cups, six punch-bowls, five tankards, two goblets, two candle- sticks, ten salt-cellars, a tobacco-plate, and a number of minor articles. Twelve towns have fifteenth-century maces, the oldest
being an iron mace belonging to Colyford. The House of Lords' mace is of the date of 1660, that of the Commons eleven years older, but with a head altered in 1660. The Lords' (second) mace is the largest in England, measuring 5 ft. if in., except those of Winchester and London, which beat it by 1k in.
Previous page
