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Dating English Registry Marks

Starting in 1842 England has offered registration of it's decorative designs for pottery, china, porcelain, glass, wood, paper, and other materials. By using the information below you can find the date a design was registered. Not every piece registered was marked. Remember this date is just when the design was registered. An item with a registry mark or number could have been produced after the date of the registry mark.

English Registry Marks:

The following two diamond shaped marks were used from 1842-1883:

Mark I: Used from 1842-1867

Each letter on the diagram represents one of the tables below:

D.-Day of the Month

E.-Bundle Number

Exceptions:

In 1857 the letter R was used during 1-19 of September, during 1860 the letter K was used for December.

To give an example using the mark above the chart, you get the following information: Material-Ceramics, Design registered-April 7, 1857.

The Bundle number is unimportant to most collectors.

Here is the picture of a registry mark on a J. Meir & Son plate:

Using the diagram, and chart above gives you February 4, 1857

Mark II: Used from 1868-1883

Each letter on the diagram represents one of the tables below:

D.-Day of the Month

E.-Bundle Number

Exceptions:

1st-6th of March 1878, W was used for the year instead of D, and G was used for the month in place of W.

To give an example using the mark above the chart, you get the following information: Material-Ceramics, Design registered-August 9, 1870.

The Bundle number is unimportant to most collectors.

English Registry Numbers:

After 1883 a Numerical mark was used in the following form:

Rd 742833 or Rd No. 742833

The number listed for each year in the table is the first number issued that year. . If your number is higher, but less than the number for the next year, then your item had it's design registered during that year.

In July 1990 the numbering sequence changed as indicated on the chart. The last number issued in July 1990 was 1061406 and began again In August starting with number 2000000.

To give an example using the number above the chart, Rd 742833 means: Design of your item was registered during 1929.

The Public Record office and the British Government tend to enforce these marks and registration numbers. Companies located outside the UK who have reproduced items, and tried to use a facsimile of the marks or numbering system have been sued, and have had sanctions imposed against them. This tends to protect the use of these marks, and in general restricts them to use on pieces made in the UK. This protects both collectors and the companies who registered the marks.

The information for this page was compiled with the assistance of the British Public Record Office, and the British Designs Registry Office. © Crown Copyright 1998. Their help, and permission to use the data, is certainly appreciated.

For more information you can write either of the following addresses, depending on the year your mark was registered:

Registered after and in 1909:

Designs Registry
Patent Office
Chancery Lane
London WC2A
1 LR England

Registered before 1909:

Public Record Office
Ruskin Avenue
Kew, Richmond
Surrey,England

Or you can e-mail the English Public Records Office at:

enquiries@pro.gov.uk

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