The Armada Service facts for kids

The Armada Service is a collection of over 31 shiny silver dishes. These dishes were made between 1581 and 1601. They once belonged to Sir Christopher Harris, an important person from Devon, England. Today, 26 of these dishes are kept at the British Museum in London.

What Do the Armada Dishes Look Like?

The dishes are partly covered in gold, a process called parcel gilt. They have special ridged edges. Each dish is engraved with the family symbol, or "arms," of Sir Christopher Harris. In 1828, a newspaper reported that these symbols were clearly those of Sir Christopher Harris. They even showed the symbols of his wives. The dishes also have clear hallmarks from London. These marks show they were made in 1581, 1599, 1600, and 1601.

Who Owned the Armada Service?

The Armada Service was ordered by Sir Christopher Harris (around 1553–1625). He lived at Radford in Devon. Sir Christopher was a Member of Parliament for Plymouth in 1584. He was also a Vice-Admiral of Devon under King James I. He worked with Sir Walter Raleigh to manage captured goods in Plymouth.

Sir Christopher Harris was a close friend of Admiral Sir Francis Drake. Drake even stored some of his captured treasure at Radford House. Sir Christopher and his partner, John Hele, helped Drake get Buckland Abbey as his home. During the 1500s and 1600s, rich English families often collected a lot of silver. This showed how important they were and also acted as a way to save money.

How Were the Dishes Found?

During the English Civil War (1642–1651), many silver items were melted down. This silver was used to pay for soldiers and supplies. To protect their valuable silver, the Harris family buried the dishes. They hid them on the wild lands of Dartmoor, near Radford. This was to stop them from being stolen by Parliamentary soldiers.

The Harris family never found the silver again. But in 1827, three farm workers discovered the dishes. They were digging a cave for storing potatoes for the Splat company of Brixham. A local newspaper said that "upwards of 30 dishes" had been found. In 1911, the Splat family sold the dishes at an auction for £11,500.

Why Is the Armada Service Important?

Experts have called this collection "one of the most important groups of English silver." These dishes are quite plain. Their value might have been more about the silver itself than their artistic design. However, this service is special because it's a rare example of everyday silver items. These kinds of items were often listed in the inventories of wealthy families during the late Tudor and early Stuart times.

What Does the Name "Armada Service" Mean?

The name "Armada Service" is a guess by modern experts. It refers to the Spanish Armada of 1588. This was a time when Spain tried to invade England but failed. People believe the dishes are connected to silver captured from Spanish ships. These ships were carrying treasure from the New World around that time.

Some scholars think the 31 pieces were made to celebrate England's victory over the Spanish fleet. They might have been used at a special dinner at Harris's home. Others suggest a link to the Madre de Deus (Mother of God). This was a Portuguese ship captured by the English around 1590. Sir Christopher Harris worked for Sir Walter Raleigh in the British Admiralty during the war with Spain (1585–1604). So, he might have bought these dishes with money he earned from his work.

Where Are the Dishes Now?

In July 1992, the British Museum bought 26 of the dishes. They were valued at £900,000. In 2013, another silver spice dish from the service was shown on the BBC show Antiques Roadshow. An expert valued it at "about £100,000." Later, this expert bought two more related pieces for a client for £135,000. These pieces had been taken to the southern United States but were brought back to England. The exact location of these three pieces is not known today.