Pembroke College silver goes on public display for a day

An extensive collection of college Silver, tableware, books and manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries will be on display tomorrow in the Pembroke College Old Library. An extensive collection of college Silver, books and manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries will be on display tomorrow in the Pembroke College Old Library. Silver formed an important part of daily life in College at that time - candlesticks facilitated reading and drinking vessels were used in Hall for example - and by the turn of the seventeenth century it had become customary for Fellow Commoners to present pieces when they left. The finest and most famous of the pieces are the Anathema Cup, the Foundress' Cup and the Matthew Wren Chapel Plate, and the Pitt Tureen which was presented to the College by William Pitt in 1784. William Pitt the Younger resided in College off and on for seven years and was Fellow-Commoner in 1773. The Pitt Tureen is 15 inches high, was made in London in 1778 and bears the College crest, with a stork and anchor forming the Pitt crest on the crown. These and many other fine and historical objects can be viewed in the Old Library between 12 noon and 4pm on Wednesday 5 May.