two of these have the maker's mark H over W; there is no date on the Bawsey cup, but that at Middleton, though it has no year mark, is inscribed with the date 1632, whilst the Congham cup, which has no maker's mark, bears an inscription with the date 1597, or thirtyfive years earlier, quite the earliest date as yet assigned to a piece of Lynn plate. I am personally of opinion that, apart from the consideration of the marks, the Congham cup is an earlier piece of workmanship than either the cup at Bawsey or that at Middleton, and if this is so, all previous ideas as to the period during which an Assay Office existed at Lynn must be altered and put thirty years earlier.

In connection with the maker's mark, H over W, found on the Lynn plate at Bawsey and Middleton, it has been of considerable interest to me to find exactly the same mark on a paten at Dersingham and a dish at South Wootton, in both cases in company with the London mark and the year mark for 1638, or six years later than the date inscribed on the Middleton cup, and arising from this fact and under the supposition that it is the mark of the same silversmith as that on the Lynn pieces, four questions have arisen in my mind. First, did this smith have a workshop in London as well as the one in Lynn? Secondly, did the Assay Office at Lynn cease to exist between 1632, the date of the Middleton cup, and 1638? Thirdly, did H W cease to work in Lynn between these dates? Fourthly, if not, and the Assay Office had closed, why did he not send his goods to be assayed at Norwich, which was so much nearer, and where an office existed until the close of the seventeenth century? My own impression is that the man in question moved to London soon after 1632.

This mark, H over W, has been attributed to William Howlett, who had a house in Checker Street, now King

Street, in Lynn, and whom I find to have been entered a freeman of Lynn in the year 1629. Reference to William Howlett will be found in Hillen's History of King's Lynn, pp. 368 and 511.

In addition to the Lynn plate, the cups at Gaywood and Grimston have proved of considerable interest owing to the similarity in the matter of the marks and the lettering and general ornamentation to what is found on the four old beaker cups formerly in the Dutch Church at Norwich. The Gaywood cup has the three marks found on the old beaker cups, concerning which marks Mr. Jackson has written so fully in his book, pp. 287 to 291. The Grimston cup has only the first two marks.

ANMER.

Chalice.-A cup and cover, the cup being 6 ins. in height and 3 ins. in diameter. The marks are OS with a trefoil slipped below, the crowned leopard, lion passant, and the year mark, 1671. There are remains of an inscription on the base of the cup, but they are not decipherable.

Paten. A small silver paten. Marks not decipherable.

ASHWICKEN.

In this parish the communion plate is all modern. Chalice. Of unusual design, has twelve sides. It is 6 ins. in height and 33 ins. in diameter. Marked I M, crowned leopard, the year mark for 1815, and the sovereign's head.

Paten. 7 ins. in diameter, with the maker's mark, RH, and the year mark for 1846.

Flagon.-101 ins. high, of elegant design, bearing the same marks as the paten, and surmounted by a cross.

Alms Dish.-9 ins. in diameter, with the same marks as the paten and flagon, and having the following inscription" This alms plate was made from the old cup and cover belonging to the Church of Ashwicken, 1846.

BABINGLEY.

Chalice. A small cup, only 4 ins. in height and 23 ins. in diameter, having for the maker's mark what appears to be W H over a star in a heart-shaped shield, but may be the W N over four pellets in a heart-shaped shield, instanced in Jackson's English Goldsmiths and their Marks, p. 127. The other marks are the crowned leopard, the lion passant, and the year mark for 1663. There is an inscription in dotted letters-"For the Towne of Babingly, 1663."

Paten.-63 ins. in diameter. Marked SS over W N, the lion passant, uncrowned leopard, the year mark for 1850, and the sovereign's head. Inscribed-"St. Felix, the Burgundian, Babingley, 1851.”

་

Dish.-Silver-plated, having the same inscription, with the addition of the word "Norfolk."

Flagon.-Small silver-plated. 7 ins. in height.

BAWSEY.

Chalice.-A cup of particular interest, from the fact that it is one of the few known pieces of plate bearing the Lynn mark. It is 5 ins. high and 23 ins. in diameter, and weighs 6 oz. 7 dwts. 14 grains. This interesting cup bears the marks:

(1) Three congers, or three dragons' heads, with cross crosslets in their mouths, being the Lynn assay mark. H

(2) as on the Middleton cup, supposed to be the W mark of William Howlett, silversmith of King's Lynn, to whom reference is made in the preface to this paper.

(3) A mark not decipherable but suggests a lion passant.

There is an inscription on this cup in rough lettering:

"FOR THE. TOWNE. OF. BAWSEY."

WEST BILNEY.

Chalice.-A cup and cover. The cup, 7 ins. in height and 4 ins. in diameter, having only one mark, that of Jno. Jackson, as on the flagon at Congham. Inscribed on both the cup and cover-"Given by Eliz. Freke to the use of her Parish Church of West Bilney in Norfolk, where the corps (sic) of her deceased husband, Percy Freke, Esq., is deposited in a vault built by her under or near the Chancell, A.D. 1711."

Alms Dish.-Diameter, 8 ins. Marked HV over A V, lion passant, uncrowned leopard, year mark for 1907.

Flagon.-Height, 13 ins. Marked Ja, as on the chalice, the Britannia mark, lion's head erased, and the year mark for 1709. Inscribed "The gift of Mrs. Eliz. Freke to her Church of West Bilney, owner of the Parish and relict of Percy Freke, Esq., September 21st, 1709, there interred June 7th, 1706."

CASTLEACRE.

The parish of Castleacre is very rich in Church Plate, all of which is silver gilt and very fine. (See Bloom's Notices of Castleacre, p. 296, which is, however, incorrect as to the date of the cup).

Chalice. A cup and cover of particular elegance, 8 ins. in height and 4 ins. in diameter, and weighing 16 oz. 8 dwts. The bowl has a very graceful taper and is of unusual depth. The marks on both the cup and the cover are, the year mark for 1593 and the maker's mark, I and G in monogram. There is an inscription

underneath the cup-"The gift of Elenor Gybbon." The date, 1598, is engraved on the foot of the cover.

Flagon. Very handsome, and of unusual design, having a particularly wide base, to which the sides very gracefully taper from a diameter of 3 ins. at the mouth to one of 8 ins. at the base. The height of the flagon is 123 ins., and it weighs 53 oz. 15 dwts. The marks are, the lion passant, A C, and the lion passant (repeated). The inscription consists of the sacred letters I HS, with a cross above the centre letter, and the word "Castleacre" beneath.

Dish.-Bearing the same marks as the flagon, 81 ins. in diameter, and weighing 11 oz. 7 dwts.

CASTLE RISING.

This Parish Church possesses a variety of interesting plate.

Chalices. (1) A small Elizabethan cup of bell shape, 5 ins. in height and 33 ins. in diameter. No marks remain. (2) A cup and cover, small and plain; the cup, 63 ins. high and 3 ins. in diameter. Both the cup and cover have the following marks:-H B conjoined, the crowned leopard, lion passant, and the year mark for 1634. Paten.-Large, bearing the inscription

"Ecclesiæ de Castle Rising in sacros usus

ddd

F G H

A.D. 1839."

(See the inscription on the chalice below).

Marks, BS, lion passant, uncrowned leopard, year mark for 1839, and the sovereign's head. In addition to the above there is a very handsome set of modern plate, consisting of chalice, paten, dish, and flagon.

Chalice.-10 ins. in height and 4 ins. in diameter, with the marks, R G, surmounted by a crown, the mark