Civic Plate

Portsmouth’s civic plate is of national importance ranked only second to that of Norwich (which unlike Portsmouth had its own silver trade and assay office). The bulk of the collection was gathered during a relatively short period between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It has had an extraordinary history. This includes surviving several threats of invasion, bombardment during the Civil War and the upheaval of the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution and the devastation of the Blitz. On the night of 10-11 January 1941 over 2,000 fires were seen in the City and the Guildhall was one of the hundreds of buildings completely gutted. In a miraculous occurrence the muniment room concealed in the basement of the Guildhall survived the onslaught. When it was opened following the building burning for several days, all the plate, including the mace, was found undamaged. Although the City Council had to move to a hastily requisitioned hotel elsewhere in the City, the mace was still able to be placed before them for the remainder of the war, a visible symbol of hope and continuity.