English pewter English pewter While the term pewter covers a range of tin-based alloys, the term English pewter has come to represent a strictly-controlled alloy, specified by BSEN611-1 and British Standard 5140, consisting mainly of tin (ideally 92%), with the balance made up of antimony and copper. Significantly, it is free of lead and nickel. Although the exact percentages vary between manufacturers, a typical standard for present-day pewter is approximately 91% tin, 7.5% antimony and 1.5% copper. By the 15th century, the Worshipful Company of Pewterers controlled pewter constituents in England. This company originally had two grades of pewter, but in the
Nantclwyd y Dre a lidded box containing a chamber pot - became popular in Elizabethan times as they were much more convenient than a trip to an outside privy. The table is set for dinner with its lovely pewter tableware and napery, real status symbols for the Parry family who added this room and the little ensuite next to it in about 1620. Tableware includes: pewter candlesticks, plates and porringers, a pewter ewer (or jug) and a basin for hand-washing before and after meals, a pair of "facon de Venise" drinking glasses, Bellarmines salt glazed stoneware flagons and Rhineland imported drinking jugs. This