The most recent Preston Guild was held in 1992. Unsurprisingly there are a substantial number of commemorative items to be found.
Many of the ones here were bought either before or at the Guild.
1992 was the year of a General Election. John Major won against most expectations.
It was also the year that Bill Clinton became the 42nd President of the United States of America.
Whitney Houston had a massive hit with "I Will Always Love You" and the much flaunted new BBC soap Eldorado was an expensive disaster. (Was that really 10 years ago?)
The 1992 Guild was one of the most successful ever and attracted over 1 million visitors to the town.
Some of the commemorative china was relatively expensive in comparison to other Guilds and made by well known makers such as Spode.
It also continued in the trend begun in 1952 of not having the picture of the Mayor on the pieces.
The plate (above left) has the Preston coat of arms in the centre and is inscribed "To commemorate the Preston Guild Merchant 1992".
The design of the plate is based on the designer and sculptor Sir Alfred Gilbert's mayoral chain.
The plate was manufactured by Spode and there is a limited edition of 1,000.
The small fine bone china bowl (right) is also inscribed with "To commemorate the Preston Guild merchant 1992."
It is a gilt edged white bowl with the Preston coat of arms and the inscription.
It was manufactured by Spode in association with the Lancashire Evening Post.
Wedgewood also made a commemorative plate for the 1992 Guild.
The plate is very ornate with the central crest segmented by the Cross of St George and incorporating the ancient Preston lamb and the red rose of Lancashire as well as the dates "1179" and "1992."
The illustrations on the plate are of the Harris Museum, Arkwright House, Preston Parish Church, Christ Church and the Guild Hall.
The plate was especially commissioned by Amalco Gift Co of Preston from Josiah Wedgewood and Sons Ltd.
It is one of a limited edition of 500.
The mug (below left) is gilt edged bone china depicting the Preston coat of arms, and "Preston Guild 1992".
It has "Bone China, England" on the base.
The mug (right) has been made to look like an older mug from the 1972 Guild.
It depicts the Harris Museum and Art Gallery and has "Preston Guild 1992" in a scroll above and below the print.
On the reverse of the print is the same inscription as the
Even the 1992 medal is the only medal in our collection without the mayor on one side.
However, Harold Parker said of the 1992 Guild:"While (The Guild) centers largely on the historic and civic traditions of the town, the Guild celebration has also been described as England's greatest carnival."
The medal (right) shows an image of the Harris Museum on one side and on the other is the Preston coat of arms with "Preston Guild 1992."
Some of the Patrons of the 1992 Guild are names that are still well known nationally today.
Both the leaders of the Labour and Liberal parties were patrons.
Neil Kinnock had just lost the election he was expected to win, and no doubt gained some comfort from supporting the Guild in a town with a strong Labour tradition.
The decanter and two glasses (left) are square in design.
The decanter has a print commemorating the 1992 Guild.
The teaspoon (right) shows the Preston coat of arms and commemorates Preston Guild 1992 in association with the Lancashire Evening Post.
The minature whisky bottle (left) is a recent purchase of ours.
On the box it says "Signatory Vintage Scotch Whiskey" and on the label on the whisky itself it says "Preston Guild Royal Charter 1328-1992 Deluxe blended scotch whiskey specially bottled for THE WEE DRAM Blackpool.
It also says "No 40" so presumably the minature is a limited edition.
By 1992 the different kinds of commemorative ware manufactured and available for purchase were very varied.
As well as the traditional china, pottery and glass objects from previous guilds there were now teddy bears, hankerchiefs, bottles of beer, tins of sweets, lorries and buses.
Many of these items are very collectable and still regularly come up for sale.
A new tradition has begun in recent Guilds, that of the "Scrolls of Friendship."
However long they have lived away, Preston exiles always think of the town as home.
Scrolls of Friendship are sent around the world so that exiled Prestonians can put their names to them.
One scroll travels west around the world around the Americas and the other goes east via Australia and New Zealand.
Many exiles take the opportunity of the Guild to return home for the celebrations and some are invited to a reception with the Guild Mayor.
In this unique way both people exiled from Preston and new immigrants over the years to the town can share in
the carnival atmosphere.
The pieces in the picture below left were kindly sent to me by another enthusiast of Preston Guild to be included on this website.
The plate is to commemorate Park School's involvement in the 1992 Guild.
The delivery van and our truck (left) are fairly common pieces of Guild memorabilia and regularly come up for sale.
There is also a thimble and some mugs.
If you are interested in starting a collection of Preston Guild memorabilia, you could start a collection by picking up 1992 and 1972 pieces quite cheaply.
There are often items on Ebay, the internet auction site for a few pounds.
If you have any items for me to include on this, or any of the other pages of this website, please
The next Preston Guild is due to take place in 2012.
It is perhaps a little early for the manufacturers of commemorative ware to be coming up with their new designs but it
It will be interesting to see whether the current trend continues or whether there will be some retro pieces with a view to the past.
| 1822 1842 |
1862 1882 |
1902 | 1922 | 1952 | 1972 | 1992 |