A George III silver soup plate from Nelson's Copenhagen service

by Timothy Renou, London 1801

Footnotes

The inscription on the base reads:
This plate is one of a set which was presented by the committee appointed to manage the subscription raised at Lloyd's for the benefit of the wounded and the relatives of those who were killed in the bombardment of Copenhagen on the 2nd April 1801, to Vice Admiral Lord Nelson. K.B., Duke of Bronte &c, in testimony of his brilliant and gallant conduct during the whole of that memorable action.

After Nelson's victory over the French at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, an advertisement was placed in the Morning Chronicle requesting contributions to a relief fund aiming to support both the wounded and the families of those who had been killed. Out of this fund Nelson was awarded £627-2-0, with which he went on to place an order at the retailers Rundell & Bridge for a suite of first and second course dishes.

On 2nd April 1801 Nelson was again victorious, this time against the Danish fleet off Copenhagen. A similar fund was raised, and Nelson granted £500. When he received the news of this second gift, he immediately instructed one of his captains, to write to his agent asking him to contact Rundell & Bridge in order to "make what you think necessary to add to the rest, to make a complete set, such as plates or whatever you think right." The result was a set of seventy-two plates and eighteen soup plates.

The journey Nelson's silver took after his death in 1805 is multifarious. Certain pieces were retained by Lady Hamilton (it remains unclear whether this was with or without the Nelson family's approval), but all of these had been sold by the time of her death in 1815, to settle the perpetual debt which overshadowed the last years of her life. As was to be expected however, the bulk of the silver went to Nelson's [legitimate] heir, his brother William, created Earl Nelson, thereafter passing into the ownership of the Bridport family via the marriage of the first Earl's daughter to the then Lord Bridport. The Bridport family's Nelson relics, including a substantial quantity of silver, came up at auction in 1895, and is now widely dispersed.

Literature:
Anthony Twist, 'Towards the Patriotic Fund', The Silver Society Journal, Number 26, pages 75-95.