Many of the cities, wealthier farming areas and seaports around England were also centres of silver production that were supposedly under the jurisdiction of Goldsmiths Hall in London until 1697, when an Act of Parliament demanded all silver should be sent to London. This caused great hardship in the provinces and a second Act in 1700 set up regional assay offices. Prior to that time, provincial silversmiths created and used their own systems of marking.
East Anglian silver is very sought after with Norwich being a particularly important centre. The ancient region of Wessex includes the city of Salisbury at its heart with silversmithing being a major industry to supply local wealthy landowners and yeomanry. Sussex, with the towns of Lewes and Chichester being noteworthy, and silver from the major Yorkshire cities of Leeds and Hull are especially cherished.
Numerous other English market towns and cities produced enough demand for local silversmiths to thrive; some can be firmly attributed to marks but many more currently remain unidentified until future research unravels their secrets.
