Preston Guild Collectables
Preston Guild is a civic celebration held in Preston, Lancashire, every 20 years. The right to hold a Guild Merchant was granted in 1179, and from 1542 has been held regularly, every 20 years, without any breaks except for the Second World War, when it was postponed until 1952.
My Grandparents, John (known as Jack) Wilkinson and Anne Ogden were born in Preston, and my Mum was evacuated there in the Second World War. She therefore has a long standing affinity with what was then the town of Preston. She met my step-father, who has a long standing interest in antiques, china and collectables and it was almost inevitable that this combination of interests would lead them to start a collection of Preston Guild memorabilia. They have found pieces in antique shops, flea markets, car boot sales and more recently ebay from all over the country over a twenty year period.
This website is for them and others interested in seeing examples of an important part of Preston's history, especially in the lead up to the 2012 Guild.
This website has existed since 2002, but was off the internet in 2008 while it was overhauled. Hopefully it is now easier to read.
I would be very happy to add to this site any other pieces of Guild memorabilia. You can upload pictures and any comments about them directly to the photo album, the link to which is on each year page. Alternatively, you can send pictures as an attachment to an email.
Many of the pictures I have were sent by other collectors, or people that found themselves owners of a Preston Guild item. Unfortunately, in the process of updating the website, I have lost the information as to which items they were and what the owners had to say about them. If anyone who did send me this information would like to contact me again, I would love to hear from you.
Much of the information on this site is with kind permission from the book Commemorative China for Preston Guild 1822-1992, by Christina Sbresni. Thanks also to Vince, another collector, for the pictures of items from his collection.
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