s Silver Spoon by Robert Robinson, Hull, 1630 - Hull Museums Collections

Silver Spoon by Robert Robinson, Hull, 1630

This is called a seal top spoon. They often had the seal or badge of the owner on the end of the handle. This type of spoon was very popular in the 1600s. Not everyone would have had a silver one. A cheaper metal called pewter was also used. Robert Robinson made this spoon in Hull. His workshop was in Church Lane, near Holy Trinity Church. This was an area used by many silversmiths before him. This is a Charles I silver seal top spoon with a pear-shaped bowl and a hexagonal shaft. The seal top style was the commonest type of English spoon between the 1400s and 1600s. The earliest recorded silversmiths in Hull were working in the 1400s. During the 1500s gold and silver smiths formed ‘The Guild of Goldsmiths of Hull’. Hull silversmiths being away from London were able to work without the interference of official regulations. There is no record of an assay office in Hull. Silver pieces were normally sent to an assay office to ensure they were of the correct standard. The marks used on Hull silver never had any official recognition. From the 1500s the letter ‘H’ was used. Later, Hull’s town badge of three coronets was adopted for the stamped mark on silver. Many of Hull’s silversmiths were based in the same location on Church Lane (now demolished). This was near Holy Trinity Church. Eleven silversmiths worked at the Church Lane premises at some point, including Robert Robinson.