0:00:03 > 0:00:04Shining, rare and exotic.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08From the earliest times, silver has been accumulated by the wealthy
0:00:08 > 0:00:09as an expression of power.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14And the malleability of this precious metal
0:00:14 > 0:00:19has made it attractive for craftsmen keen to fashion it to the latest taste.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22But never more so than in the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26when Britain's rich were richer than ever before,
0:00:26 > 0:00:27when fashionability was key
0:00:27 > 0:00:31and silver was available in new-found quantity.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36In this era, the upper echelons of society
0:00:36 > 0:00:40built impressive collections of this dazzling metal.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49And with silversmiths of unparalleled skill flocking to British shores,
0:00:49 > 0:00:54these collections became expressions of the most exquisite craftsmanship in Europe.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00I'll be uncovering the British love affair with silver,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04tapping into the fantastical 18th century world of exuberance,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08display, creative indulgence.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12This was the era when wealth and display
0:01:12 > 0:01:15were focused around the dining table
0:01:15 > 0:01:19and vast fortunes were spent on dazzling silver tableware.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27I'll also explore how exciting new dining styles in the 19th century
0:01:27 > 0:01:30provided yet more excuse for innovation...
0:01:30 > 0:01:33before industrialisation
0:01:33 > 0:01:38and mass production began to widen the appeal of this precious metal.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42These two extraordinary centuries reveal the characters,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44the dinner parties
0:01:44 > 0:01:48and the stories behind internationally renowned silver
0:01:48 > 0:01:51that takes your breath away.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55I'm going to immerse myself in the golden age of silver.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10In Britain, one metal has sparkled more brightly than all others -
0:02:10 > 0:02:12silver.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17From Greek and Roman times,
0:02:17 > 0:02:22silver coinage represented portable wealth of a very precise value.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26And this precious metal has always been a sign of status
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and conspicuous consumption.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Monarchs and lords have commissioned extravagant domestic silver.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37From elaborate water fountains,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41to delicate egg cups. Gilt tea canisters,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44to stunning basins for washing privileged hands.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50But in the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54with the landed gentry at their wealthiest and most powerful,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56silver had its finest shimmering moment,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59creating the most ostentatious dining tables in the land.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04The rich were very rich indeed.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10In 18th-century England, the aristocracy represented 0.02% of the population,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14but they controlled government, enjoyed vast wealth
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and owned 20% of England's land value.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22The display of this wealth, preferably the tasteful display,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25was every gentleman's privilege.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Silver was one such privilege.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34It was originally sourced from central Europe,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36but from the 16th century onwards,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40we increasingly traded in woollen cloth for Spanish silver,
0:03:40 > 0:03:45mined from great reserves discovered in the New World.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49By the 18th century, Britain had become a huge economic force,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53with its merchants trading around the world, creating vast wealth
0:03:53 > 0:03:59and the prosperous elite could spend their fortunes on silver.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02The wealthy, particularly the aristocracy,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06ever ready to patronise London's renowned and skilled craftsmen,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10made the most of this precious metal that flooded into the country.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15BELLS
0:04:16 > 0:04:22But it was here around the dinner table where those with money,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25celebrity or blue blood showed their metal.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Where politics, romance and socialising took place
0:04:29 > 0:04:31and it was dazzling.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36If you were at the top of society, then you wanted the best
0:04:36 > 0:04:41and so you wanted the most expensive, luxurious
0:04:41 > 0:04:45and fashionable objects and those were made in silver.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51So, who were the men behind the silver?
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Men like Paul Crespin, pictured here.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Many silversmiths working in England had one trait in common -
0:05:00 > 0:05:04a background of suffering that belies the beauty
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and creativity of their craft.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12David Willaume the younger,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Peter Archambo,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Paul de Lamerie. These are all French Protestants.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22'In the face of religious persecution,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26'their families fled France in the late 17th century...'
0:05:27 > 0:05:32..and in the process, changed the face of English silverware forever.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41The men responsible for this exquisite work,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45such as this urn chased with shells and scrolls,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47were of French Protestant origin,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49known as Huguenots.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55But behind the sparkle lies the unsavoury story of oppression.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Protestants were, at best, tolerated in Catholic France,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03due to the Edict of Nantes -
0:06:03 > 0:06:06a law which promoted basic religious tolerance.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15In 1685, Louis XIV revoked this vital edict.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20It was no longer legal to be a practising Protestant in France.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23The Huguenots were in turmoil.
0:06:23 > 0:06:29They faced arrest, imprisonment, torture, execution.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31It was a terrible predicament.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34To leave France for a Protestant was illegal.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Certainly, they couldn't take property out of the country.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40So, if they were caught, they could be imprisoned,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42sent to the galleys, killed.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47Despite the high risks, from 1670 to 1710,
0:06:47 > 0:06:52around 50,000 Huguenots flooded into Protestant England.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57In London, Spitalfields, on the northeast edge of the city,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00became a stronghold of Huguenot silk weavers,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03while leading silversmiths settled here in Soho
0:07:03 > 0:07:05from the late 17th century.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07It's now strange to think about it,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11but at that period, French was a very common language on these streets.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The word "refugee" entered the English language
0:07:16 > 0:07:19to describe these desolate Protestants.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The Huguenots brought their skills,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28their crafts and their French taste with them.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32This was vitally important, because in London in the late 17th century,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36the French court style was the height of fashion, the height of taste.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38People importing goods from Paris,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40imitating France in every way they could.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43So can you imagine in London, hundreds,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47if not thousands of skilled French crafts men suddenly arrived?
0:07:51 > 0:07:53The Huguenots' refugee status
0:07:53 > 0:07:57made them willing to work longer hours for lower rates.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02As a group of outsiders, the Huguenots stuck together,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06intermarrying and finding work for each other.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10They quickly established a reputation for the quality of their work.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I'm meeting with silver historian Christopher Hartop
0:08:15 > 0:08:19in a French Protestant church to discuss the refugee's struggle.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24So tell me, what were conditions like for the Huguenots when they arrived in London?
0:08:24 > 0:08:25It was probably pretty daunting.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30One and two becomes a multitude of Huguenots coming in.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33They usually just had the clothes on their backs.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37- Right.- So the tide, the public reception starts to turn.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42So, 20 years later, there's a petition to the Goldsmiths' Company
0:08:42 > 0:08:47saying that these Huguenots are taking our work away from us.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50If you wanted to have a shop and sell your own silver,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53you had to take it to Goldsmiths' Hall,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55where it was assayed and then hallmarked.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59And in order to do that, you had to be a freeman of the City of London.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Not necessarily a freeman of the Goldsmiths' Guild,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05you had to be a freeman, a member of one of the guilds.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10This is fascinating. There were people who wanted to stop them expanding.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- They worked a closed shop against them, I suppose.- It did, in time.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18So you find people like Archambo actually becoming a member of the Butchers' Company.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20- Really?!- He wasn't a butcher.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25'But the Huguenots had talents the English couldn't compete with.'
0:09:27 > 0:09:31I mean, this is a typical English piece of silver,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35from the 1670s. It's really a bit like folk art.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- It's quite crudely done, it's quite light...- Yes.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42..made of very thin gauge silver. The handles are cast in sand,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45so you can see there's lots of granulation, of air holes in it.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50- Really interesting.- What the people at the top of the social scale wanted were French things
0:09:50 > 0:09:53and this is a typical Huguenot-style thing.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58It's by Jacob Margas and made in London in the 1690s.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00It's a much heavier gauge.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04It's a baroque style, very simple. This is done by lost wax casting,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06where you can get much more detail.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11And so it's much more highly finished than this.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Absolutely, yes, yes.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Baroque was the grand sculptural style
0:10:19 > 0:10:22employed across the arts in the 17th and 18th century
0:10:22 > 0:10:25to impress and overawe.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29It used elaborate ornament, inspired by natural forms,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32to appeal to the senses, as well as the intellect
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and it showed just what Huguenot silversmiths could do.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42But the silversmith every aristocrat wanted to commission was Paul De Lamerie,
0:10:42 > 0:10:47who lived and worked here in what is now London's Chinatown.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51The Victoria and Albert Museum describes Paul de Lamerie
0:10:51 > 0:10:56as the greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Now that's quite an accolade.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Despite a troubled start in life,
0:11:00 > 0:11:05de Lamerie becomes the most sought-after silversmith of his generation.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21Paul de Lamerie seems to have had an extraordinary grasp of the market,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23of contemporary taste.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25He had an eye on the best craftsmen
0:11:25 > 0:11:28and he was also a brilliant networker
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and had extraordinary business acumen.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34So it was that combination of skills
0:11:34 > 0:11:37that resulted in him producing silver
0:11:37 > 0:11:40which had that must-have quality.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54De Lamerie's family arrived in London by 1691,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57settling here, on Gerrard Street.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59It was once a bustling Huguenot heartland.
0:11:59 > 0:12:05De Lamerie, the son of French gentry, now the son of a refugee,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08follows silversmithing as an honourable career.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11He was apprentice to a goldsmith
0:12:11 > 0:12:15and he became free in 1713, registered a mark
0:12:15 > 0:12:19and within three years, he'd been appointed one of the goldsmiths to the King
0:12:19 > 0:12:23and in fact, Paul de Lamerie himself became a captain in the militia...
0:12:23 > 0:12:28- Yes, yes.- ..was extremely successful and died extremely rich.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34The Huguenots took silverware in Britain
0:12:34 > 0:12:37to unprecedented heights of craftsmanship.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41When a new decorative style called rococo
0:12:41 > 0:12:45swept through the French court of Louis XV from the 1720s,
0:12:45 > 0:12:50the Huguenots were poised in London to create a British interpretation.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Rococo was much freer than baroque,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00was asymmetrical, curvaceous and inspired by nature,
0:13:00 > 0:13:05featuring playful riots of flowers, shells and foliage.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08The English aristocrats were swept away by rococo
0:13:08 > 0:13:12and it's here that de Lamerie excelled.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24If you analyse this cup, it's a riot of ornament.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26If you take away the ornament,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28I'm not sure you're left with any structure.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31The structure is subsumed by the ornament.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33So if you look at the lid,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37what in the early 18th century would've been a finial,
0:13:37 > 0:13:42perhaps in the form of an acorn, has turned into a bunch of grapes
0:13:42 > 0:13:47and is asking to be viewed from every angle.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49A rococo object is really inviting you
0:13:49 > 0:13:54to inspect the detail of ornament.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56You get the rise of the art of the chaser,
0:13:56 > 0:14:01the very talented craftsmen, who thinks in three dimensions.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06To understand these techniques,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I'm visiting contemporary silversmith Theresa Nguyen
0:14:09 > 0:14:12in her Birmingham studio.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Just from one material,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19there's different examples of what can be achieved in metal,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23so you can create very fluid forms and it's a very robust and enduring material.
0:14:23 > 0:14:29'Repousse and chasing are the first methods to be unravelled.'
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Repousse is a technique where metal is formed by hammering
0:14:32 > 0:14:35from the back of the piece of metal.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39So here I'm using a steel punch and a chasing hammer.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49So repousse creates a low-relief pattern
0:14:49 > 0:14:52on the back of the design
0:14:52 > 0:14:54and this will be the front of the design
0:14:54 > 0:14:56and the next stage would be to hand-chase the details
0:14:56 > 0:14:59to add definition to this repousse relief.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05With a technique of chasing,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08you achieve this embossed impression into the silver.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18Another surface decoration technique we explore is engraving,
0:15:18 > 0:15:23used to stunning effect on this piece, called Awakening Two.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26The silver now captures and reflects every ray.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Here I'm going to use a graver tool, which has a sharp V shape'
0:15:33 > 0:15:35which then is used to cut and remove the metal.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40This is the unforgiving bit, isn't it? Every mistake, you can't put it right, can you?
0:15:40 > 0:15:42That's right, so you do need quite a steady hand
0:15:42 > 0:15:47and the angle of cut creates these light-reflecting surfaces onto the silver.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50So, here you have some examples that I've created earlier.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54It's very lively, isn't it? Gosh. The light, bouncing around, yes.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56It brings it to life, yes.
0:15:56 > 0:16:02'I want to relate Theresa's demonstrations to the glorious past masters.'
0:16:02 > 0:16:04I've got a mid-18th century sketch here,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08by Nicholas Sprimont, of a soup tureen
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and I want to find out what he was envisaging.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Well, initially I assume that the tureen was hand-raised
0:16:15 > 0:16:17from an oval sheet of silver.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20This piece is made up of several cast elements
0:16:20 > 0:16:24and the chaser would then use various steel punches
0:16:24 > 0:16:26to define all the different details.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29So, it looks like it's integrated into the whole object...
0:16:29 > 0:16:34- Oh, OK.- ..just from my own experience of working with silver,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37there's that, almost connection I have with those past makers, like Paul de Lamerie.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Although I appreciate the craftsmanship of the silversmiths I've been exploring,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48it's all too easy to romanticise their world.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53In the 18th century, the silver trade was a hungry business machine.
0:16:53 > 0:16:59Successful silversmiths like Paul de Lamerie had a huge network of staff working for them
0:16:59 > 0:17:04and they delegate or outsource work as a matter of course.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10They created a brand and they supervised, designed the label.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14They kept the quality up, they didn't actually make everything.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16I think probably the closest analogy is the car.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20You buy a car, a make of car because you think it's good,
0:17:20 > 0:17:24but of course, it's a product of lots of different processes,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28designers, manufacturers. It's something that all comes together.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31I think it in no way lessens our appreciation of Lamerie.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36This dish, made for Lord Maynard in 1736,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40is a great example of De Lamerie's outsourcing.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43It was created by a mysterious craftsman,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45known only as a Maynard Master,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49yet was hallmarked by de Lamerie.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54It stretches the possibilities of silver.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56The silhouette is broken up
0:17:56 > 0:18:00and it's broken up to invite in the four elements -
0:18:00 > 0:18:04fire, air, water and earth.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08I particularly like, again, the characteristic rococo pootie,
0:18:08 > 0:18:13who's bringing Lord Maynard's coat of arms to life.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16I think this is utterly astonishing.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20It's made for the patron as a status symbol,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23but also to indicate that the patron is aware,
0:18:23 > 0:18:29is appreciating the extraordinary heights of achievement
0:18:29 > 0:18:32in the craft of silver-making in the 1730s.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Silversmiths at the top of their profession could prosper so enormously
0:18:41 > 0:18:44that they themselves became landed gentry.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48The Willaume family,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51who worked extensively for the second Earl of Warrington,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55had an inspirational rise through society.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59They were dealing with enormous amounts of money, comparatively speaking.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04And because they had so much precious metal, they started loaning it out for interest
0:19:04 > 0:19:07and a lot of clients used them as we use a bank today.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10They would instruct them to pay other bills
0:19:10 > 0:19:12and that starts modern banking.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Some of them, like the Willaume family, were particularly successful.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18- Of course, yes.- They had a very upmarket establishment,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20that was basically a bank.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23But they also would supply you with silverware from their own workshop.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26David Willaume I, the father,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29made so much money that he became a very big landowner.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32He bought an estate in Bedfordshire - Tingrith -
0:19:32 > 0:19:34and became part of the landed gentry.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41The focus of silver craftsmanship was on dinner ware.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Fine dining held a pivotal role in society.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47For it was around the dinner table that politics,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50romance and business took place.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53'About four fifths of domestic expenditure
0:19:53 > 0:19:57'was, in effect, in the dining room, or for the dining room.'
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Dinners were written about, they were reported in the newspapers,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02dinners were written up in memoirs.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Dining was how people were judged at the top of society.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12'Fine dinnerware by London-based master craftsmen
0:20:12 > 0:20:15'was deemed a perfectly normal expression of wealth,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18'and the examples are eye-watering.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20'The 2nd Earl of Ashburnham
0:20:20 > 0:20:23'commissioned this detailed centrepiece
0:20:23 > 0:20:27'from Nicholas Sprimont, which showcased its maker's speciality,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31'the lifelike modelling of animals and fruits.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38'The Jewel Office ordered this elegant wine cooler,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41'one of a pair by Paul Crespin,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45'to decorate the 4th Earl of Chesterfield's Embassy at the Hague.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48'The new Ambassador saw the dinner table as central
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'to his diplomatic negotiations.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59'The 6th Earl of Mountrath took prized possession
0:20:59 > 0:21:02'of this Rococo Ewer by Paul de Lamerie.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07'The Earl was one of de Lamerie's most important clients,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11'and his patronage provided the opportunity for de Lamerie
0:21:11 > 0:21:14'to stretch his imagination ever further.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21'These magnificent pieces epitomise the great age of silver,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24'but there's nothing like seeing collections of silverware
0:21:24 > 0:21:28'in the great stately homes for which they were made.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31'This is Dunham Massey, the Cheshire home, in the 18th century,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'of the 2nd Earl of Warrington.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38'Between 1694 and 1758,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42'he amassed an exceptionally large portfolio of silverware.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46'And today, although the original collection's not intact,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49'what remains still amounts to the largest group
0:21:49 > 0:21:54'of early 18th century British plate in its original location.'
0:21:54 > 0:22:00This silverware sums up an era. A metal and a man.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Let's take a quick overview of the sensational silver collection.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Over 1,000 individual items. 12 dozen silver plates,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18this huge wine cistern, water fountain, bread basket.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23The prettiest little silver egg cups. There's silver all over the house.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Silver for the chapel. Silver candlesticks to light the house.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31And in the bedrooms, silver toilet surfaces.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38And, for the man who had everything, silver chamber pots.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43It's a wonderful thing. Silver, I'm serious, amazing.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47The 2nd Earl of Warrington commissioned 14 of these.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Must have made going to the loo a very exquisite experience.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58As well as a social expectation that fine houses would display silver,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02there was another core reason why the 2nd Earl of Warrington
0:23:02 > 0:23:04was such an avid collector.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07That reason was the man himself.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12'The house in which the young Earl grew up was in a state of disrepair.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17'He had painful memories of his mother scrimping for money,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21'and his father actually weeping over debt.'
0:23:22 > 0:23:26When the 2nd Earl inherited in 1694,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29he acquired not just a great family legacy -
0:23:29 > 0:23:32I love his family crest with this pair of boars -
0:23:32 > 0:23:36but also inherited tremendous debts.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39This really stayed with him.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42His upbringing gave the young Earl a determination
0:23:42 > 0:23:46and a particular attitude towards money.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51'He was determined to turn the fortunes of his estate around.'
0:23:51 > 0:23:56In 1702, the Earl cleverly but miserably married for money.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00His wife was Mary Oldbury, a daughter of a rich merchant.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05But he loathed her so much, he actually wrote a treatise on divorce.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10I'd love to show you a portrait of Mary, but one doesn't exist.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12It seemed he never had her painted.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17However, he used her money to rebuild the house and improve the estate.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25'This ready money helped drive the 60-year investment in silver,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28'proudly stamped with the family coat of arms.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31'Warrington was making his mark.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36'The man's passion clearly documented in a fanatical inventory
0:24:36 > 0:24:39'called "The Particular of my Plate and its Weight."
0:24:40 > 0:24:44'The National Trust's silver expert, James Rothwell,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48'understands the Earl's unusually personal link with his silver.'
0:24:48 > 0:24:52So here's a very detailed inventory of the silver in the house,
0:24:52 > 0:24:57compiled by the Earl himself in, in rather loving detail.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01I was going to say controlling, rather than loving. Very much so.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Each piece has a life history, doesn't it?
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Its weight important because of the capital value of it,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10but also because it was a way of identifying individual pieces.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12You have the egg frame, the egg cup frame.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Oh, yes. Egg frame, yes...
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Erm, scallop shells, bread baskets.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20- There's ounces, and then this is...- Ounces and pennyweights.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Seems obsessive, a bit like collecting train numbers.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23There's pages and pages of this.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Some of the descriptions in the inventory have been scratched out.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29Does that mean they've been sold, melted down...?
0:25:29 > 0:25:30In some cases it does.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33For instance, you have here, the table or board
0:25:33 > 0:25:37to set the sweetmeat sauces on has been changed.
0:25:37 > 0:25:38That means that it would have been sent
0:25:38 > 0:25:41to be melted down for something more fashionable.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44This is all written by him. Not by his steward, but by him.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46By him personally. He didn't trust anybody else to do it.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Nothing is left to doubt in this document.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52You know precisely what happens to everything.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55'The Earl's silver was in the Baroque style,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59'which gained popularity in Britain from the late 17th century.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03'It was dramatic, grand and boldly sculptural.'
0:26:04 > 0:26:09Indeed, in front of me, all is solid, lustrous silver.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Quite clearly, the days of debt were over.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17'Such stunning silver was a financial investment of choice
0:26:17 > 0:26:19'in the 18th century.'
0:26:20 > 0:26:22A key point to understand
0:26:22 > 0:26:25is that the constituent parts of silver in "wrought plate",
0:26:25 > 0:26:27as it's called when it's made into objects,
0:26:27 > 0:26:28is the same as the coinage.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32So, this is your saved wealth, your capital.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37And it's safe, as a result of being in your hands in silver objects.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39If you ran out of money,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42then you could send it to be melted down and become coinage again.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45In times of national trouble, it could be brought in.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47So in the Civil War, an awful lot of silver went.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Is there another magical element to it?
0:26:49 > 0:26:53One thing that's obvious is that it's very shiny, so it's impressive.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58So why was a conspicuous display of wealth so important?
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Whatever position you had in society, you had to show it.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03And that was a pre-requisite. You had to show it.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07You were showing that you were both rich and cultivated
0:27:07 > 0:27:11and up to the latest fashions, so you were at the height of society.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And you were ruling society.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18'Silver was a reliable investment in the 18th century
0:27:18 > 0:27:21'because its quality was assured.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26'We can link the craftsman to the masterpiece because of hallmarks.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32'The world's largest office for testing, or assaying, silver
0:27:32 > 0:27:35'is in Birmingham. Here, I'll investigate the significance
0:27:35 > 0:27:39'behind the tiny marks on all pieces of British silver.'
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Hallmarking, really, is one of the oldest forms of consumer protection.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Essentially, even today, if you go into a jeweller's or silversmith's
0:27:47 > 0:27:49and you want to buy a piece of precious metal,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52it's a guarantee, as you buy that piece,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55that what you're buying is what it says on the tin, essentially.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Hallmarking really began in 1300,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01when a statute was passed by King Edward I,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04who then made it happen in this country
0:28:04 > 0:28:07that items of precious metal had to be assayed
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and then hallmarked before they were allowed to be sold.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14'There are four assay offices in the United Kingdom today,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17'each with its own distinctive mark.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21'London uses a leopard's head. Birmingham, an anchor.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25'Sheffield's represented by a rose.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28'And a castle is the stamp of Edinburgh.'
0:28:28 > 0:28:30The hallmark itself has always told us about the quality
0:28:30 > 0:28:33of the silver, the amount of silver, the precious metal.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35But it also tells us
0:28:35 > 0:28:38the person who brought it to be assayed can be either the maker
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and they have their own maker's mark, or what we called a sponsor.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45The date letter is no longer compulsory on silver,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48which is a shame because from a historian's point of view,
0:28:48 > 0:28:49it will make it very difficult
0:28:49 > 0:28:52to date pieces as accurately as we can now.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56You look at an item and instantly you have an information trail
0:28:56 > 0:29:00in symbols that will tell you exactly the history of your object.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04'Knowing that hallmarks can reveal
0:29:04 > 0:29:06'not just when and where a piece was made,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08'but also identify the silversmith who had it assayed,
0:29:08 > 0:29:14'I'm keen to look afresh at the marks on the Dunham Massey silver.'
0:29:14 > 0:29:19'I can read a tankard mark by James Schruder in 1743,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21'with London's leopard mark.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23'And this delightful bell...'
0:29:23 > 0:29:25BELL RINGS
0:29:25 > 0:29:30'..is by Peter Archambo, from 1738.'
0:29:30 > 0:29:31BELL RINGS
0:29:31 > 0:29:35'It's evident that ordering prestigious silver
0:29:35 > 0:29:38'from leading craftsmen was one part of the equation.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41'The actual ritual of dining off silver
0:29:41 > 0:29:44'was also a huge social statement.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47'In the 18th century, a style called "a la Francaise"
0:29:47 > 0:29:51'dominated the tables of the rich and powerful.'
0:29:51 > 0:29:54The fashionable way to eat was "a la Francaise,"
0:29:54 > 0:29:56and that actually derived
0:29:56 > 0:29:59from the great Medieval banqueting form of eating.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03That was perfected in the court of Louis XIV, hence "a la Francaise."
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Essentially, the whole table was a magnificent display
0:30:06 > 0:30:08when you came into the room.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13So there were already silver objects containing food on the table.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15It wasn't brought to you at the table.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17- You helped yourself? - You helped yourself.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19The gentleman would help himself
0:30:19 > 0:30:22- and he would also help the lady to his side.- Ah.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26We have here terrines and meat dishes,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28and you'd have vegetable dishes as well,
0:30:28 > 0:30:30and salts because salt was a pretty...
0:30:30 > 0:30:32You'll notice there's one per diner.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Yes, salt. Presumably, I can imagine, servants would, with a flourish...!
0:30:37 > 0:30:38And there it is, the steam.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42The silver in front of us is, in a sense,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44a prelude to what's going on behind.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47- The real theatre's over there on the buffet, isn't it?- Absolutely.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49It's about service to the table.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52You have all the accoutrements that are required during the meal,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55and then you have ancestral pieces.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58You're showing off your antiquity.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01'But the star attraction of the buffet
0:31:01 > 0:31:05'was the silverware for the service of wine.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09'A water fountain by Peter Archambo was decorated with the boars
0:31:09 > 0:31:11'of the family coat of arms.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16'The water would be drawn from the fountain to rinse the glasses
0:31:16 > 0:31:18'over this Baroque cistern.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23'And the wine itself was stored in a gargantuan cooler packed with ice,
0:31:23 > 0:31:27'as both red and white wine were served chilled.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31'All pieces were proudly decorated with the family coat of arms.'
0:31:33 > 0:31:36So, the guests here would read all this, wouldn't they?
0:31:36 > 0:31:40He tends to go for comparatively simple shapes,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44so all the more emphasis is put onto the arms and so forth.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52'Then the dessert course was the opportunity
0:31:52 > 0:31:54'to show your credentials
0:31:54 > 0:31:57'and indulge in more breathtakingly ornate silverware.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02'This curious object, an Epergne,
0:32:02 > 0:32:06'originated in the French court of Versailles in the 1690s.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09'The Earl's Epergne is sadly missing,
0:32:09 > 0:32:14'but the Victoria and Albert Museum has some delightful examples.'
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Here we have a wonderful elaborate piece of silver and glass,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20both sparkling materials,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23intended to grace the dessert stage of the meal.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Hothouse fruit was just as expensive to produce
0:32:26 > 0:32:28as wonderful Italian confectionary,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31and to be able to put little apricots or grapes
0:32:31 > 0:32:34or other delicacies on your table through the winter
0:32:34 > 0:32:36was another index of wealth.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43'English silversmith Thomas Pitts made this Epergne in 1764.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45'They were his speciality.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49'The Epergne was the triumphant climax of the dinner service.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52'Enjoyed from every angle,
0:32:52 > 0:32:54'the huge weight of silver
0:32:54 > 0:32:58'intricately crafted into an exquisite centrepiece
0:32:58 > 0:33:00'required the touch of a master craftsman.'
0:33:02 > 0:33:04An Epergne was going to be the one object
0:33:04 > 0:33:06that everybody looked at closely.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09It's on the table probably throughout the dinner.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14What we have here is a typical piece of Rococo silver.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17It builds up, it uses floral elements.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20The branches, as you can see, are wrapped with leaves.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Each of the little baskets
0:33:23 > 0:33:27has a repeat floral motif around the border.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30The piercing here is quite complicated.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33The cutting through, which we see more often on bread baskets.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36But here it is very pretty and gives a lightness to the whole thing,
0:33:36 > 0:33:38so that it's springing off the table.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50'The preparation of food was so important in the 18th century that,
0:33:50 > 0:33:54'as well as copper, silver could be found below stairs too.'
0:33:54 > 0:33:55Here at Dunham Massey,
0:33:55 > 0:34:00we still have this splendid silver preserving basin.
0:34:00 > 0:34:07It was used by the staff, because silver conducts heat brilliantly,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and also because of its anti-bacterial qualities.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13It was very good to use in the preparation of food.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20'But actually owning a little silver, perhaps some piece of cutlery,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24'was becoming more achievable throughout society.'
0:34:24 > 0:34:29In 1800, for example, many, many people would have silver spoons.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31We're very familiar with the idea
0:34:31 > 0:34:32that silver is a christening present,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35and of course, that is what happened in former times.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38A silver spoon was given to a child and that was personal property,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42to be carried by that individual all through their childhood
0:34:42 > 0:34:44and into their adult life, and then taken to the table
0:34:44 > 0:34:46when a meal was prepared.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Goldsmiths travelled around the country.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50If you wanted a little luxury, you didn't have to come to London.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54The goldsmiths would come to the annual fairs in each region,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56and the kind of novelty you could buy
0:34:56 > 0:34:59would be a little travelling set like this.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01A beaker and a knife and fork and spoon,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04which you take apart for travelling.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08This was a very smart present, perhaps for a young bride.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11These are particularly decorative because they're gilded.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13The silver has been covered
0:35:13 > 0:35:18with a paste of powdered gold and mercury, and that's then been fired.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20And there's a chemical reaction.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22The mercury comes off as fumes,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24and in fact, gilders notoriously died by 40
0:35:24 > 0:35:27because the mercury ate their soft tissue.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30But it produces a beautiful effect.
0:35:31 > 0:35:36'Cutlery was a mere trifle for those at the top of society,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39'like the 2nd Earl of Warrington.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42'Their splendid houses had to reflect the latest tastes,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45'and following silver fashions
0:35:45 > 0:35:48'was a non-negotiable and persistent demand.'
0:35:48 > 0:35:49In the 18th century,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52as the British Empire and foreign trade expanded,
0:35:52 > 0:35:57new, exotic commodities came from far and wide.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02Tea from China, coffee from the Ottoman Empire.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04And chocolate from Central and South America.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08These were all true luxury items.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11'But luckily enough for the silversmiths, an almost endless list
0:36:11 > 0:36:17'of new items were required to house, display and dish up these goods.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21'Teapots, hot water urns, sugar bowls, coffee pots, cream jugs,
0:36:21 > 0:36:23'tea caddies, teaspoons.'
0:36:27 > 0:36:31In the Earl's time, commissioning a portrait was a great expense,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33and a lot of thought went into it.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37In the 16th century, a man might like to be shown
0:36:37 > 0:36:41in his best suit of armour to display his prowess and status.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44A woman, bedecked in jewels.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48But silver soon entered the language of portraiture.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Now, sitters liked to be shown
0:36:50 > 0:36:56indulging the new expensive luxury of tea drinking,
0:36:56 > 0:37:01with their silver set out on the table in front of them.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03This, of course, displayed their taste, their wealth
0:37:03 > 0:37:09and their familiarity with the new fashionable business of taking tea.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17Tea was the principal drink that was had if you had anybody visiting you
0:37:17 > 0:37:20at any time of day, essentially. Very much a luxury,
0:37:20 > 0:37:22and you can see that in some of the objects.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24These tea canisters which have locks in them
0:37:24 > 0:37:27because it was such an expensive commodity.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31By custom, the women of the household would preside over the ritual of tea.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Because the Earl's relationship with his wife was difficult,
0:37:34 > 0:37:36I suppose things here were different.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40In this house, Lord Warrington was on such bad terms with his wife,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42it's very probable the Earl would have had to
0:37:42 > 0:37:44perform the ceremony of tea himself.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47That's absolutely right.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50'On top of a great silver tea table by David Willaume the Younger
0:37:50 > 0:37:52'sits the Earl's tea service,
0:37:52 > 0:37:57'complete apart from two teapots by John Jacob.'
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- We have these phantom teapots. Got to imagine teapots, two teapots.- We do.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04'The serving of tea was a very precise ceremony,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07'starting with this tea canister by Isaac Liger.'
0:38:07 > 0:38:12And it has a cap which acts as a measure, so that comes off.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14- So it's a very precise ritual? - It is.- Yes.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19And you would pour the tea out into the cap,
0:38:19 > 0:38:21and then into our imaginary teapot.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23You then put water in.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26It would have been a maid who would have performed the task.
0:38:26 > 0:38:31'Milk is dispensed from a silver Ewer by David Willaume the Younger.'
0:38:31 > 0:38:33THEY LAUGH
0:38:33 > 0:38:35That's more like it.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37And then, the tea.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41'Then sugar taken from a sparkling sugar box by John Liger.'
0:38:41 > 0:38:45And sugar being also a very expensive commodity,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49so the wealth you were showing by performing this ceremony...
0:38:49 > 0:38:53- Of course. In front of one is a small fortune.- Yes.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57I mean, not, actually, not a small fortune, a significant fortune.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02'All this talk of entertaining,
0:39:02 > 0:39:07'but the one thing I want to do is experience dining from solid silver.'
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Right, all feels very special, of course.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Erm, the objects are valuable,
0:39:14 > 0:39:18and one, therefore, treats them with extra respect.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21I mean, it creates a sense of ritual and theatre and specialness.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Does it affect the taste of things as well?
0:39:24 > 0:39:26I think it does. Other thing, of course,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29eating off a polished silver plate, I can see myself eat!
0:39:29 > 0:39:32Bit disconcerting, never mind.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Mmm...
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Delicious.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Also feels, of course, rather hygienic.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Silver has these qualities of being anti-bacterial, so it's clean.
0:39:42 > 0:39:47Gets one's senses enflamed, and also, of course,
0:39:47 > 0:39:53in terms of the beauty, one's senses are delighted artistically.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56I recommend it.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00'What's incredible about the British silver I've seen
0:40:00 > 0:40:02'is the fact it exists at all.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05'In the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:40:05 > 0:40:07'people didn't have quite the same respect
0:40:07 > 0:40:11'for antiquity or craftsmanship that we now have.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13'Many of the pieces we see here are the survivors.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18'So much plate was melted down to be born again in the latest fashions.'
0:40:20 > 0:40:24'But the very wealthiest Britons had no need to melt plate at all.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26'They could buy more.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31'As the 18th century gave way to the 19th century,
0:40:31 > 0:40:35'one family able to keep adding to its considerable silver collection
0:40:35 > 0:40:37'was the Royal Family.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43'The Prince Regent was a legendary example.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47'Becoming Regent in 1811, then King George IV in 1820,
0:40:47 > 0:40:53'his lavish taste and spending sprees knew no limits.'
0:40:53 > 0:40:55The Prince created idiosyncratic buildings
0:40:55 > 0:40:57such as the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00He also commissioned four silver dinner services
0:41:00 > 0:41:04from the Royal jewellers, Rundle, Bridge & Rundle
0:41:04 > 0:41:08that cost him over £111,000.
0:41:08 > 0:41:13That's around £3.5 million in today's money. Excess!
0:41:13 > 0:41:18'Caricatures of the time show the Prince Regent's
0:41:18 > 0:41:20'relentless love of fine dining.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23'And in a cartoon of 1811,
0:41:23 > 0:41:29'an audience playfully covet the Prince's extensive silverware.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37'As the 19th century progressed, one great innovation
0:41:37 > 0:41:42'provided the golden age of silver with a spectacular flourish.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45'A new way of dining was introduced
0:41:45 > 0:41:49'that became a catalyst for innovatory table pieces.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03'The banqueting style of dining "a la Francaise" was losing favour.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06'A new fashion called "dining a la Russe"
0:42:06 > 0:42:08'would take the 19th century
0:42:08 > 0:42:11'to headier heights of creative indulgence.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15'I'm visiting Chatsworth House in Derbyshire to experience it.'
0:42:22 > 0:42:25'This is the country seat of one of the wealthiest
0:42:25 > 0:42:29'and most powerful families of the 18th and 19th centuries.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31'The Devonshires.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37'This sculpture gallery reveals their continuing patronage
0:42:37 > 0:42:40'and collecting as a family.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49'And what draws me here is the table in the great dining room,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52'sparkling with silverware.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55'It's set for a prestigious visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
0:42:55 > 0:43:00'to the 6th Duke of Devonshire in December 1843.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05'The "a la Russe" fashion really gripped the nation's imagination.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09'It changed the way we dined and socialised.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12'Indeed, "a la Russe" is still with us today.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16'It's how most of us dine, particularly in restaurants.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19'But what exactly is it?'
0:43:22 > 0:43:26Dining "a la Francaise," all of your food was put on the table
0:43:26 > 0:43:30in various terrines and platters and covered dishes.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32All the diners would have helped themselves.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35In dining "a la Russe," which is what we have here,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38the individual diners have their food brought to them
0:43:38 > 0:43:42by a footman, a bit like we have in a restaurant today.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45The absence, then, of all of the pieces
0:43:45 > 0:43:48in the middle of the table that would have been used to serve,
0:43:48 > 0:43:52gets eaten up with this great wealth of display.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56It's all about show, there's no practical function
0:43:56 > 0:43:59other than that some of it provides lighting.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02It's really just a sort of miniature sculpture gallery
0:44:02 > 0:44:04running down the middle of the table.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07And also, I observe, it becomes more of an individual affair,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10cos individual wine coolers, even little glass receptacles
0:44:10 > 0:44:15for cooling one's individual champagne glass, I suppose.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18I mean, where did this fashion come from? Presumably from Russia.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Yes, dining "a la Russe," it comes from Russia.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25It was the Russian Ambassador to the French court at the beginning
0:44:25 > 0:44:29of the 19th century, he became Ambassador in 1808, and then,
0:44:29 > 0:44:36as with so many things at that date, France sort of spread the fashion.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40And presumably, it was regarded as fashionable but also more practical.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42I mean, food would turn around more quickly?
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Yes. I think the main, sort of, advantage of it
0:44:45 > 0:44:47is that your food would be hot.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50If you, sort of, the traditional "a la Francaise,"
0:44:50 > 0:44:53the food would be sitting around for a very long time,
0:44:53 > 0:44:54and it would go cold.
0:44:56 > 0:45:02'The Duke commissioned much of this plate between 1813 and 1823,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05'from English silversmiths Robert Garrard
0:45:05 > 0:45:07'and Paul Storr, pictured here.'
0:45:08 > 0:45:11'The silver could be easily interpreted
0:45:11 > 0:45:16'by contemporary audiences. The family coat of arms is prominent,
0:45:16 > 0:45:20'represented by stags which support the vase candelabra.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25'And signs of hospitality, such as grapes, festoon the silverware.'
0:45:32 > 0:45:36This dinner for Queen Victoria, the Duke would have wanted
0:45:36 > 0:45:42to give her a really grand event. We know that the local newspapers
0:45:42 > 0:45:45described the silver that ran down the centre of the table.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47- So the silver stole the show?- It did.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52One paper wrote,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56"The display on the table was splendid beyond description.
0:45:56 > 0:46:02"Urns, vases, candelabra of the most elaborate workmanship,
0:46:02 > 0:46:04"in the greatest profusion.
0:46:04 > 0:46:10"The room is worthy to be the dining room of royalty." What a rave review.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21'In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution
0:46:21 > 0:46:24'inspired a frenzy of activity.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27'Machines and factories were taking over our cities.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31'Mass production would bring the price of silver down.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35'Rail and steam power provided a distribution network
0:46:35 > 0:46:36'all over the country.'
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Cities were crammed with people looking for jobs and apprenticeships.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44The silver trade was an attractive option
0:46:44 > 0:46:47because it combined the benefits of machinery
0:46:47 > 0:46:49with hand crafted workmanship.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56'In the Machine Age, silverware became more widely available.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58'Bit by bit, the middle classes were getting their hands
0:46:58 > 0:47:02'on what had once been the preserve of the super rich.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06'Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter is still a thriving hub
0:47:06 > 0:47:11'for silversmiths, but I'm here to visit a factory frozen in time,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14'to get a glimpse of what it would have been like to work here
0:47:14 > 0:47:16'in the 19th century.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27'Now, the dies lie still.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31'The stamps are silent.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39'And the people have vanished.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50'This factory, the creation of Jenkin William Evans,
0:47:50 > 0:47:54'reveals how the business of silver once operated.
0:47:59 > 0:48:05Jenkin's' grandson Tony worked here till he retired in 2008,
0:48:05 > 0:48:08'and sold this snapshot of 19th century silversmithing
0:48:08 > 0:48:12'to English Heritage for preservation and restoration.'
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Of course, the Jewellery Quarter would have been a thriving place then,
0:48:17 > 0:48:19sending products out all over the Empire.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22I heard people say that after the end of the working day,
0:48:22 > 0:48:25the roads would be filled, almost like a football crowd.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27There would have been thousands of people.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29The work here was a team effort.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Everyone was working on maybe the same object. It went down the line.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35Each product, as it went out the door,
0:48:35 > 0:48:40was a product of the skill which each individual had put upon it.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44It was a very prolific company, I imagine.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48And prolific to, I suppose, to not mass-produce exactly,
0:48:48 > 0:48:50you wanted to keep the prices down of the objects.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53Silver has never been known as cheap,
0:48:53 > 0:48:57but it certainly isn't in the same area as bespoke silverware.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59This is silverware which anybody could buy.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01Tell me about the young chaps, the apprentices.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03What was their life like?
0:49:03 > 0:49:06The apprentices would have started at the age of 14 or 15,
0:49:06 > 0:49:08but the life would have been fairly hard.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10They would have started their day in the simple way,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13making the tea and watching the master craftsmen,
0:49:13 > 0:49:18and bit by bit, being allowed to do more and more complex things.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21And what about the girls? They had a role here, I imagine, women.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25The tasks within the factory were basically divided
0:49:25 > 0:49:26according to the strengths required.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29The finer work, piercing work and so on,
0:49:29 > 0:49:34the ladies' more deft fingers and better touch would come to plate.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41'Barry Abbotts spent over 20 years at the Evans Factory.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46'He'll demonstrate drop stamping for me on a piece of copper.'
0:49:48 > 0:49:52- Hello.- Hello.- We're going to make something, aren't we?
0:49:52 > 0:49:56- Yeah.- Oh, copper? - Wine label.- Wine label.- Yeah.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59Well, I assume the object's going to be stamped.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Can you talk me through the process?
0:50:01 > 0:50:05Right, basically, what I do, I've got a blank, a copper blank.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09Put it on the die. So I'll give it a tap.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12- Oh!- Then a tough blow. - Watch your fingers. Ahh...
0:50:12 > 0:50:16- Ooh!- Which...- Gosh, it's quite violent, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:50:16 > 0:50:17So that's the label.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21- That's right.- Gosh, you could make a lot of those in a day, I suppose.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Yes, you could make about 500, 600.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26You have to have your wits about you. After lunch down the pub,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28you couldn't work this, could you?
0:50:28 > 0:50:30You'd get your finger stamped into a wine label!
0:50:30 > 0:50:33- You did get used to 'em. - You've got your fingers, have you?
0:50:33 > 0:50:35- Yes, yes, all of them. - Well done.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39But you can imagine, I mean, this is just the one hammer going.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42The noise, of course, that's the thing. And you're OK?
0:50:42 > 0:50:46Yeah, yeah, fine, fine. You know, you just get used to 'em.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49Well, thank you very much for my wine label.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52- That's fine.- I'll treasure it. - OK, then. Bye, then.
0:50:57 > 0:51:02'The silver trade was a network, a huge network,
0:51:02 > 0:51:06'and Evans was a wholesaler supplying goods to leading manufacturers.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10'Curiously, it didn't have its own maker's mark.'
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Tell me a little bit how the industry worked.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16There were distinct layers to the trade.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18You'd both have the quality or county jewellers,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21if you like, being the retailers,
0:51:21 > 0:51:25and they were being supplied by manufacturing silversmiths.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27They might be very large firms, like Elkingtons,
0:51:27 > 0:51:29or Walker & Hall, Mappin & Webb.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32We were one step below that, where they could just buy in from us,
0:51:32 > 0:51:35but they would buy things as components
0:51:35 > 0:51:38- and then finish them off in their own factory.- Right.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40And when they went through to be hallmarked, of course,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44they would bear their hallmark, and so Evans never existed.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47Quite deliberately, Jenkin never registered a hallmark.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50He wouldn't want to destroy any confidence that we would stay
0:51:50 > 0:51:54at that level, cos potentially we could have undercut customers.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58'What this 19th century factory reveals
0:51:58 > 0:52:03'is the impact of the Industrial Revolution on silver production.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07'Silver moved from an elitist luxury
0:52:07 > 0:52:09'that the likes of the Earl of Warrington
0:52:09 > 0:52:11'or Duke of Devonshire could afford
0:52:11 > 0:52:14'to something attainable for all of us.'
0:52:15 > 0:52:18Ultimately, the 19th century saw a huge rise
0:52:18 > 0:52:22in the consumption of middle class silver, but it was,
0:52:22 > 0:52:28of course, a class conscious age, and no ordinary person would ever dream
0:52:28 > 0:52:34of attempting to emulate our Earl, the Prince Regent or Queen Victoria.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37You can see a completely different range of products
0:52:37 > 0:52:43in the 19th century, being produced and consumed by the middle classes,
0:52:43 > 0:52:46because, of course, in a middle class household, you didn't have
0:52:46 > 0:52:49a large number of servants, and managing silver,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52managing a silver cupboard, plate cupboard, took a lot of care.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55Household manuals laid out the rules most clearly
0:52:55 > 0:52:58for the middle class ownership of silver.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00For example, we read,
0:53:00 > 0:53:05"Families who cannot afford plate should economise till they can obtain
0:53:05 > 0:53:11"at least four or five cover dishes, a sufficient quantity of forks
0:53:11 > 0:53:17"and two sauce boats of silver, made perfectly plain for everyday use.
0:53:17 > 0:53:22"The service or plate must depend on the fortune."
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Well, that makes things absolutely clear.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28The manufacturers fed that hunger to be acceptable,
0:53:28 > 0:53:32to know what you should do, by inventing objects
0:53:32 > 0:53:36that middle class families felt they needed to have.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40And one prime example of that is, of course, fish knives and forks.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Fish knives and forks proliferated in designs because, of course,
0:53:47 > 0:53:50you can decorate the blade in all sorts of ways.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54You can create fishy motifs and so on, you can gild the blade.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56You can have a handle which might be,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58as this one is, of mother of pearl.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00And the silver gives it all class.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04Fish knives and forks absolutely did not penetrate the upper classes,
0:54:04 > 0:54:07and indeed still feel uneasy or mock the middle classes
0:54:07 > 0:54:12for the pretension of eating fish with a particular tool.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23'What the middle classes now had,
0:54:23 > 0:54:29'the working classes also wanted on their dining tables.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33'And new technologies would send the price of silverware plummeting.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36'It had started with the invention of Sheffield plate,
0:54:36 > 0:54:38'which looked like solid silver,
0:54:38 > 0:54:42'when it was, in fact, a layer of silver on top of copper.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48'But this was soon usurped by electroplating.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52Patented in the 1840s
0:54:52 > 0:54:56and championed by businessman George Richard Elkington.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02'Now anything, however big or small,
0:55:02 > 0:55:06'could be covered with a layer of tantalising silver,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09'and look almost as good as the real thing.'
0:55:11 > 0:55:14Silver had moved with the times,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18from the favoured material for upper class luxury items
0:55:18 > 0:55:23made by the finest craftsmen, to popular status symbols
0:55:23 > 0:55:29for every man, from dining "a la Francaise," to dining "a la Russe."
0:55:29 > 0:55:35And if the rise of silver had been dramatic, so was its fall,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37and that fall was fast.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43'Today, most people no longer have silver on their dining tables.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47'So what happened to silver the moment we could all afford it?'
0:55:49 > 0:55:53You could argue that it was electric light which essentially drove silver
0:55:53 > 0:55:57from its pre-eminent place, because candles have the wonderful effect
0:55:57 > 0:56:00of bringing out the ripples in silver, bringing out the handiwork.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Electric light is a flat light,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06and so there's no longer that mystery and that flattering glow.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08Sheffield plate, initially,
0:56:08 > 0:56:12and then electroplating in the mid-19th century,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15brought down the cost but also reduced silver's status.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17So it was no longer smart.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19If your butcher, baker, candlestick maker
0:56:19 > 0:56:22could have what appeared to be silver on the table,
0:56:22 > 0:56:26why would grand families think it was part of their status any more?
0:56:28 > 0:56:33'New objects of desire began to tempt the social elite.'
0:56:33 > 0:56:35I think ceramics and glass
0:56:35 > 0:56:42were great competitors for silver in the 19th century.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45They were coming up with colourful styles,
0:56:45 > 0:56:47so you would get different patterns.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49I think it was about colour at this period.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00'And silver couldn't really compete with cheaper modern materials.'
0:57:00 > 0:57:04Today, of course, the easy availability
0:57:04 > 0:57:06of cutlery in stainless steel
0:57:06 > 0:57:11has, for the most part, replaced the use of silver flatware.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22'As I return to Dunham Massey,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26'home of the 2nd Earl of Warrington's silver collection,
0:57:26 > 0:57:30'it's clear that a huge part of the metal's fall from favour
0:57:30 > 0:57:32'was the change in Britain's class society.'
0:57:37 > 0:57:41In the early 20th century, many country houses like this
0:57:41 > 0:57:46struggled to afford the servants needed to keep them running smoothly.
0:57:46 > 0:57:50Silver needs a lot of work to keep clean.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54It's an act of love or a job you're paid to do.
0:57:54 > 0:57:59Sadly, many country houses simply couldn't afford to keep their silver.
0:58:00 > 0:58:05'Today, all these fine houses, museums and factories
0:58:05 > 0:58:08'reveal an obsession with a precious metal
0:58:08 > 0:58:12'that was once a mainstay of British society.'
0:58:14 > 0:58:18Fortunately, collectors like the 2nd Earl of Warrington
0:58:18 > 0:58:23allow us a tantalising glimpse into the shimmering world of silver.
0:58:23 > 0:58:24The stuff of dreams.
0:58:24 > 0:58:29A love affair that utterly gripped the British for centuries.
0:58:40 > 0:58:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd