Find Spot MPM2095 - Royal Navy mess plate, Portsmouth Harbour

Royal Navy pearl ware mess plate of a design made by Morgan and known as 'Morgan pattern'. The central design has a fouled anchor with 'MESS No 14' surrounded by the inscription 'HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE' ('shame be to him who thinks evil of it') above which is a crown. Below the inscription is a floral design representing the national flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Below this is the name of the maker, 'Morgan'. The rim is decorated with naval and floral themes including a war ship and paddle steamer, rudder, cannon and ensign (flag). About half of the rim is missing.

The plate dates to between c.1850 and the 1870s and is a particularly rare example. It was probably discarded from a passing Royal Navy ship. The plate is held in the Portsmouth Museum Service collection as part of the Queen Elizabeth Class Capital Dredge Project archive 2015/462.

UID: BWL1_0053 in Queen Elizabeth Class Capital Dredge Project report.

Wessex Archaeology, 2018, Queen Elizabeth Class Capital Dredge Project Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth: Archaeological Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SPM646.