The first change of holder of the office of Curator of the Pewterers' Company, almost 30 years after the original appointment, is a good opportunity for a brief article on the building up of the Company's collection of antique pewter

Surprisingly, prior to the start of the 1960s the Company had very little old pewter. Then, in the first two years of that decade, there occurred two events which changed the whole picture. Firstly, in September 1960, Dr Rex Godfrey Blake Marsh died. Not only was he Upper Warden elect of the Company, but he was also a member of the Pewter (Collectors) Society and the owner of a fine collection of antique pewter which he bequeathed to the Company along with his residuary estate. Secondly, on 11 May 1961 the new Pewterers' Hall was opened with display space.

These events were the stimuli which led the Court of the Company in 1965 to pass a resolution to set up a Pewter Committee to have the 'care, improvement and display of the Company's Pewter Collection'. A fund of £5,000, drawn from the Blake Marsh bequest and bearing the name 'the Rex Blake Marsh Pewter Fund', was set up to be used by the committee for the purchase, as opportunity offered, of representative pieces of pewter made in Great Britain or Ireland, with a view to making the Collection the finest in the country. Armed with this resolution the committee, headed by Cyril Johnson, its chairman, having enlisted the help of Richard Mundey, the leading expert in antique pewter of the time, set out to build up the Collection. Mainly through auctions but also by acquisitions and gifts from other sources and supported financially by the Company, they succeeded over the next decade in bringing together a large number of pieces which, when added to the nucleus provided by the Blake Marsh Collection provided an overview of the best of British pewterware between the mid-16th and late-18th centuries.

The office of Curator came into being in an indirect manner. Initially, the Company sought to appoint a librarian to be responsible for the libraries of the Company and the Pewter Society, both of which were housed in Pewterers' Hall. However, the committee charged with considering this also reported that steps should be taken to secure the invaluable work of Cyril Johnson on a more formal basis. The Pewter Committee did still exist but in practice did little other than periodically check the inventory of the collection. Purchases came up at short notice and were usually dealt with by Mr Johnson direct with the Court. Also, the members of the committee had little practical experience of, or information about, pewter.

The committee therefore recommended the appointment of a 'Curator of the Company' to have the care of the Pewter collection and the library. He would be a Liveryman and preferably a member of the Court, and would not be over the age of 60 in the hope that he would stay in the post for at least 15 years. He would be responsible for the day-to-day running of the collection, its condition, display, cataloguing and insurance, and also for acquisitions as appropriate. He would keep in touch with the Association of British Pewter Craftsmen (ABPC) so as to acquire examples of the best of modern pewter. He was given an annual float of £750 (1970s money!). He would be supported by a committee, on whom the duties of the former Pewter committee would devolve, and asked to appoint an Assistant Curator aged 30-35 who would hopefully succeed him.

In July 1977 Charles Hull was appointed the first Curator. He was eminently suited to the post, coming from a family which can trace its ancestry in the Company back to at least the mid-17th century and being himself a part-time working pewterer. He was a member of the Pewter Society and also the ABPC. Under Charles the collection has improved and expanded, particularly with the inclusion of fine Britannia Metal (now accepted as pewter but discarded by the Company in 1960), Art Nouveau pewter, and pewter of the 1930s. Perhaps surprisingly, the collection does not include many pieces from Pewter Live, Charles' policy having been that it should contain only articles made in reasonable quantities rather than one-offs or limited production.

Charles has also enhanced the viewability of the collection by giving more room to individual exhibits than was formerly the case. He has introduced new showcases in the Livery Room and has also supervised the installation of a new exhibition area on the first floor. Now, after near 30 years - about twice the tenure envisaged by the committee - Charles has decided to retire and to hand over to Peter Wildash, whom he made Assistant Curator when he was first appointed in 1977.

Peter is a Past Master of the Company (2004-5). He became a Liveryman in 1968 and joined the Court in 1994. At all times he has taken a keen interest in pewter and between 1998 and 2002 he was Chairman of the Pewter Live committee. Peter has a personal collection of pewter of over 200 pieces and intends to join the Pewter Society in the near future.

A number of problems will face Peter on taking up the post of Curator; the computerisation of the catalogue with images and the possibility of the issuing of print-outs, a matter which will need to be handled with considerable caution; more labelling of exhibits and deciding just how much of the collection should be displayed bearing in mind that it is considered that even more space should be given to the exhibits and that a fair proportion of the collection is not now on show. Should the Company loan out some pieces?

Peter is looking forward to his work as Curator, in which he will be grateful for the help which he will doubtless receive from both the Company and the Trade.