Early Silver Dognose Forks

On January 4, 2014, I asked the question: What does a girl have to do to get some Britannia-standard forks?  When I posed my earlier question, I really had "Britannia-standard forks from the Queen Anne period with a Hanoverian terminal" type of forks in mind, but when I came across the four forks below, I found I was quite happy with the dognose terminal.  They are all delightfully heavy and a pleasure to use.  My favorite has to be the four-tined fork, a form that has been on my wish-list for quite some time.

Left to right: maker unknown, 1701; Pierre Harache, 1705; pair, makers mark of Pierre Platel visible on one only, date letter rubbed but appears to be 1714 (which seems somewhat late for the style)

Following are close-ups of the hallmarks and engravings:

Left to right: Mark of Pierre Platel, Pierre Harach, unknown maker.  I particularly like the lion's head erased on the fork on the right.

Crest and arms on forks

The only arms I know anything about are those on the fork pictured above at 6 o'clock.  This fork bears the arms of Frowde with Ashburnham in pretence, for the marriage of Margaret Ashburnham to Sir Philip Frowde.  Margaret was Philip's third wife, and by her had fours sons, Ashburnham, Peter, William and Michael.  Philip died in on August 6, 1674 and is buried in Bath Abbey Church. 


Sir Philip Frowde was appointed as manager of the General Post Office by the Duke of York and acted as agent for its lessee, Katherine, Countess of Chesterfield (Bell 203) during the time of the Great Fire in London of 1666.  In Unknown London, Bell notes that "Frowde and his lady anxiously watched the Fire bearing toward them, and at midnight, when the peril had become grave, they fled for safety" (Ibid.).  This would seem to suggest that Sir Philip and his family lived, at least part of the time, in rooms at the General Post Office.  Sir Philip Frowde's will identifies him as being in possession of the Rectory, or "Sheafe," of Welcombe in Devon and an Adventurer in the African Royal Company (Hooppell 456).



Sources:

Bell, Walter George. Unknown London. John Lane, 1922.  Google Books. Web. 21 September 2016.
Hooppell, Rev. R.E. "The Froudes, or Frowdes, of Devon." Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature, and 
      Art, Vol. XXIV, pp. 441-457. William Brendon and Son, 1892. Google Books. Web. 21 September 2016.