The Silver Trust is a registered UK charitable foundation . Its initial aim was to provide 10 Downing Street, residence of the British Prime Minister, with a collection of contemporary silver. [1] The Trust was established in 1987 [2] by Rupert Hambro, Lady Falkender, Lady Henderson [3] and Jean Muir. The Trust helps encourage and publicise the work of practising British silversmiths; silver commissioned and owned by the trust is made available on loan for use in British government buildings and embassies overseas.
The Trust's earliest commissioned work (1987) was a cruet set by Malcolm Appleby. In 1991 a large donation from an anonymous benefactor allowed the Trust to commission a sizeable collection. By 1993 a sufficient amount of silverwork had been made and was presented to Prime Minister John Major, to be used for government and state occasions. During the summer Parliamentary recess the Trust started a series of exhibitions; the venue alternates yearly between the United Kingdom and a destination abroad. These exhibitions have helped the Silver Trust become more widely known and also helped gain commissions for many of the silversmiths represented in the collection. The Trust also uses the exhibitions to show new pieces that have been commissioned into the Silver Trust National Collection.
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British stateswoman and Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to Chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the chancellor is a high-ranking member of the British Cabinet.
10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is in Downing Street, off Whitehall in the City of Westminster.
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1987 to 2015, representing Edinburgh Central and Edinburgh South West.
Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman,, is a British politician and solicitor. She was a member of Parliament (MP) for more than 40 years, from 1982 to 2024, making her one of the longest-serving MPs in British history. Harman was MP for Camberwell and Peckham from 1997 to 2024 and MP for Peckham from 1982 to 1997. A member of the Labour Party, she served in various Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet positions. She has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024.
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, was a British politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1992 to 2000. She was previously a Deputy Speaker from 1987 to 1992. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Speaker. Boothroyd later sat in the House of Lords as, in accordance with tradition, a crossbench peer.
Antony Harold Newton, Baron Newton of Braintree, OBE, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and former Cabinet member. He was the member of Parliament for Braintree from 1974 to 1997, and was later a member of the House of Lords.
John Quentin Davies, Baron Davies of Stamford is a British Labour politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Grantham and Stamford from 1987 to 2010. He served as a junior defence minister in the Brown ministry from 2008 to 2010.
Andrew John Bower Mitchell is a British politician who has been Shadow Foreign Secretary since July 2024. He previously served as Deputy Foreign Secretary between February and July 2024 and Minister of State for Development and Africa between October 2022 and July 2024 respectively. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001 and previously served as the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1997. Mitchell served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2010 to 2012 and then briefly as Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons in late 2012.
Marcia Matilda Williams, Baroness Falkender, CBE, also known as Marcia Falkender, was known as the private secretary for, and then the political secretary and head of political office to, UK Labour prime minister Harold Wilson.
Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota is a British art historian and curator.
The Commonwealth Education Trust was a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational products and services to achieve both a beneficial and a financial reward to fund future charitable initiatives.
Robert James Kenneth Peston is an English journalist, presenter, and author. He is the political editor of ITV News and host of the weekly political discussion show Peston. From 2006 until 2014, he was the business editor of BBC News and its economics editor from 2014 to 2015. He became known to the wider public with his reporting on the 2007–2008 financial crisis, especially with his exclusive information on the Northern Rock crisis. He is the founder of the education charity Speakers for Schools.
David Rogerson Mellor was an English designer, manufacturer, craftsman and retailer.
Terence James O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of Gatley is a British economist best known for coining BRIC, the acronym that stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China—the four once rapidly developing countries that he predicted would challenge the global economic power of the developed G7 economies. He is also a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and former Conservative government minister.
Sara Jocelyn Margarita Elissa Burton was an award-winning British silver and goldsmith. Burton was the first woman to receive the City and Guilds of London Institute top award, the Prince Philip Medal.
Francis Alfred Skidmore was a British metalworker best known for high-profile commissions, including the glass and metal roof of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (1859), the Hereford Cathedral choir screen (1862) and the Albert Memorial (1866–73) in London. Skidmore was heavily influenced by Gothic Revival style, a movement characterised by its use of medieval designs and styles. He was a member of both the Oxford Architectural Society and the Ecclesiological Society, two organisations which endorsed the Gothic Revival style. Skidmore also worked closely with architect Sir George Gilbert Scott.
Martin Yeoman is an English painter and draughtsman who drew members of the British Royal Family. He was commissioned to draw the Queen's grandchildren and accompanied Charles, Prince of Wales, on overseas tours as tour artist. He is described as one of the finest draughtsmen working today and is a member of Senior Faculty at the Royal Drawing School.
Ceremonial maces in the United Kingdom began as lethal weapons of medieval knights in England, Scotland, and Wales, evolving into ceremonial objects carried by sergeants-at-arms.
Joyce Rosemary Himsworth was a British independent designer silversmith. From an early age she worked with her father, the polymath Joseph Beeston Himsworth (1874–1968) making small spoons and items of jewellery. She went on to study at Sheffield College of Arts and Craft, focusing on jewellery manufacture and enamelling. Her undoubted talents were not enough for her to gain a position within the family cutlery firm, B. Worth & Sons.