Competition: Design a fancy dinner plate for a chance to win a £100 goody bag!
Learn all about the Duke of Wellington, the amazing banquets that he hosted at Apsley House in London, and the snazzy dinner services they were served on. Then use our template to come up with a design for your very own patterned plate!
The Iron Duke
The 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, was a distinguished British military leader and statesman. Born in 1769, he rose to prominence through his exceptional leadership on the battlefield. His biggest achievement was his victory over Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, an important moment in European history that ended the Napoleonic Wars. Following this triumph, he became a celebrated figure throughout Britain and Europe, and was known as the Iron Duke.
In 1816, he bought Apsley House in London and turned it into a luxurious home. Known as Number One London, the house has changed very little since Wellington lived there.
In addition to his military exploits, Wellington held various political positions, including serving twice as prime minister, first from 1828 to 1830, and again in 1834.
The Waterloo Banquets
In 1820, Wellington invited 35 senior officers from the Battle of Waterloo to attend a feast called the Waterloo Banquet. It became an annual event. In 1828, Wellington employed Benjamin Dean Wyatt to construct a larger dining room in Apsley House, called the Waterloo Gallery, which could seat 85 people.
The new dining room was completed in time for the banquet in 1830 and hung with around 100 pictures. The dinner was a private occasion but a few members of the public were admitted to see the table setting from the gallery before the dinner.
The Waterloo Banquet took place every year until 1852, when the duke died. You can still see the duke's treasures at Apsley House today. These include nearly 3,000 fine paintings, sculptures and works of art in silver and porcelain, given to him by emperors, tsars and kings.
The Prussian Service
Among the gifts given to the duke were a number of very fancy dinner services. One of these is known as the Prussian service. This incredible set was commissioned in 1817 by King Frederick William III of Prussia. It was made by the Berlin Porcelain Factory and it took them more than two years to complete!
It featured over 400 pieces that were gilded (covered in gold), including 100 dinner plates and 62 dessert plates. There were also vases, wine coolers, ice-cream pails (special serving bowls with layers of crushed ice to keep the ice cream cold), fruit baskets and decorative statues.
The dessert plates each show a place or event connected to the duke's life. These include his birthplace of Dublin, the battles he took part in, and the opening of Waterloo Bridge with George IV. Visitors to Apsley House can see the service laid out on a grand dining room table in the Waterloo Gallery.
The Portuguese Service
Another dining service that you can see at Apsley House is the Portuguese service, which is made of silver and silver-gilt. The dining set includes a huge ornament known as a centrepiece. It was designed by a leading painter at the Portuguese royal court and made in Lisbon, Portugal. It took 150 craftsmen nearly four years to make it. The centrepiece was given to the Duke of Wellington by the Portuguese Council of Regency as a thank you for his part in driving the French army from Portugal, and later Spain, during the Peninsular War, which took place from 1807-14.
The service was sent from Portugal by ship in 55 packing cases, and arrived in Portsmouth in 1816. The whole service has more than a thousand different pieces and it was always used when Wellington hosted his Waterloo Banquets. But even these weren't the only dinner services that the duke received. He was also given sets known as the Egyptian and Saxon services. That's a lot of plates!
Send us your own plate design
Now you've read all about the extravagant dinner services that you can see at Apsley House, we'd like you to design your own delightful dinner plate. Click the button below to download a template, print it out and then colour it in using coloured pencils, felt-tip pens or crayons.
The picture in the middle of the plate can be of anything you like. It could be something from your life — similar to the dessert plates that the Duke of Wellington was given by the King of Prussia. Or you could draw a picture of a pet or a favourite place that you have visited — maybe even an English Heritage site that you love going to. Make sure you come up with a cool design for the border too!
Download your templateHow To Enter
Once you've created your fancy plate, you can enter it into our competition to be in with a chance of winning a goody bag of prizes worth £100 from our online shop. Ask an adult to scan or take a clear photograph of your plate design and send it to us at membersmagazine@ourmedia.co.uk, along with your full name and age, and your parent or guardian's membership number, name and address.
Please make sure you have your parent or guardian's permission to enter, and check the terms and conditions below. Entries must be in by midnight on Monday 6 May. Good luck!
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