A little background:

In 1970, a York, Pennsylvania preservation group began the restoration of a double-building at the corner of Market Street and Pershing Avenue. Besides being the oldest surviving building in York County, it was the location of a significant number of strategic meetings during the American Revolutionary War. The visitors to this building, constructed in 1741 with an inn next door built in 1751, was a veritable Who's Who of war-time figures and members of Congress. The reason for the visits? This was the home of the Adjutant General of the Continental Army, Major General Horatio Gates. Prior to his adopting this as his home and operational base, it was originally known as the Golden Plough Tavern but was simply called the Plough Tavern. While he was in residence, the tavern portion remained in place as a convenient place for meetings and the rooms became the lodgings for Gates. It became collectively known as the Gates House Tavern. Today, it is on the National Historic Register and is open for tours.

In colonial days, York was a predominantly German-speaking community. German architecture and styling were used in construction of the tavern. In late 1776 into early 1777 as the English forces drew closer to Philadelphia, the colonists moved their military operations to York. German was spoken by so many colonists, not just here, that it almost became the official language of the colonies.


During the excavation into the sub-soil area, a single pewter plate was found in the muck. Who knows, it may have fallen into the loo! Battered, dented and scratched, this plate became a local icon during the renovation. Newspapers did feature articles on the plate and its picture was seen many times in "before", "during" and "after" preservation stages. The plate was an authentic American Revolutionary War period piece that could be traced to Nathaniel Austin, a noted pewterer and patriot.

Wilton had already named one of its lines after the historic Plough Tavern and soon a Nathaniel Austin inspired pattern was released as well. The celebrity of the Gates House Tavern plate inspired Wilton to create an entire line around it, too, in 1971 copying the marks as found. The Gates House pattern is the only pattern to have dents, cuts and intentional imperfections cast into the plates. By their nature, Wilton's pieces have imperfections as that is part of their beauty. But these markings were the kind that Wilton's craftsmen normally would have buffed out or even reject the piece to be re-melted.


The two pieces with the easiest marks to see are the dinner plate and the soup bowl. The cuts in the floor of the bowl are the heaviest in the set. The dinner plate has some marks near the single reed line that, with a little imagination, resemble the letters "V" and "W" about two inches apart. The pattern was discontinued in 1981.




The pattern:

The pieces in this pattern, including the original catalog numbers, are:

                                                                106-08        Dinner plate.......10 1/4"
                                                                106-06        Salad plate..........9"
                                                                106-04        Bread plate..........7"
                                                                106-02        Saucer................6"
                                                                106-18        Soup bowl...........7"
                                                                106-12        Charger.............14"

The six items above are the only pieces in the Gates House Tavern pattern that were ever made.

There is no mug or cup specific to this pattern but I believe the 166-04 Old Beat Up mug is a great accessory.



The 132- Disc Pitcher fits in very well with its matte finish and single reed line but lacks the dents and other imperfections like the mugs above. For service bowls, I prefer the 114-24 matte finish 9 1/2" Plough with its rough and irregular surface. It looks great beside the set's charger. The 242-04 spoon is the obvious choice for tableware. In colonial times, full table service was very rare and in public houses, the spoon was pretty much it. Please note that the shape of the tip of the spoon fits perfectly into the curved side of the plate. Stews were the mainstay food offering especially in an inn where a pot was simmering all day long. Knives were carried by almost everybody and were not provided, a custom still in use in portions of Europe today.


In August 1974, the Wilton catalog quoted these retail prices:



In September 1979, the Wilton catalog quoted these retail prices:




General Gates:

Horatio Lloyd Gates was born 1727 to servants in the household of the Duke of Leeds in Maldon, Essex, England. Gates entered the British Army commissioned as a second lieutenant and soon was sent to Nova Scotia in 1749 where he fought in the French and Indian War. In 1755, he was severely wounded in the attack on Fort Duquesne and he became acquainted with George Washington. In 1761, he helped capture the island of Martinique from the French. Gates retired from the British Army with disability pay in 1766 at the rank of Major and moved to Berkeley County, Virginia (now in West Virginia) in 1772.

When the Revolutionary War began to break out, he volunteered his services to Washington and was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel. Gates was one of the very few men now on the American side with any significant prior military experience. Three years later in 1775, Gates was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and given the title Adjutant General of the Army. An excellent administrator, Gates set up the systems for transfer of goods, training, recruitment and deployment of troops from the various states.

In 1776 desiring a field position, Gates was promoted to Major General and appointed to command the Northern American Army. He immediately got into a conflict with General Phillip Schuyler over who answered to who. Called home, Congress settled the matter putting Schuyler above Gates. During this brief period from about June 1776 to August 1777, Gates was living at the tavern. York was also the then home of the Continental Congress and it was here the Articles of Confederation were drawn in 1777 and remained in effect until the Constitution was ratified in 1787.

In late 1777, Schuyler lost an important battle to General John Burgoyne and Gates was put in change of the remaining troops. With those troops, Gates managed to beat Burgoyne and obtain his surrender. Some historians may comment that the tide had already turned before Gates arrived and that he just happened to be there in time for the big American victory. Regardless, historians do agree that Gates got all the credit. Shortly after that, Gates was appointed President of the Board of War by Congress. Gates was somewhat involved in a scandal to have him replace Washington as General of the Army. Thanks to the Marquis de Lafayette, the "plot" failed and Washington remained.

Gates was appointed to command the army at Boston which he did for a short while until October 1778 when he retired. In early 1780, he was recalled to serve in the Carolinas where he suffered a humiliating defeat at Camden when his poorly trained soldiers broke and ran. Gates was replaced by General Nathaniel Greene of Rhode Island and he soon re-retired to his plantation in Virginia.

Gates sold the plantation in late 1780, emancipated his slaves and moved to what was then way out of town, now is 22nd St and 2nd Ave in Manhattan, New York. Living as a gentleman, he was elected to one term in the New York legislature. After his death in 1806 he was buried in the historic Trinity Church cemetery. This is the church featured in the movie, "National Treasure".

I hope you enjoy your table service now that you know a little more of its history. Few, if any, other table services have the historic provenance that Gates House does.

We have service for 20 in this pattern and use our Wilton daily. When you make a new acquisition of used Wilton items, put them in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes. This will kill any microbes and make removal of any residual food left by the previous owner easier. Make sure you have oven mitts available. I use a Scotch-Brite pad for cleaning. It still looks great after over 35 years, 5 children and unnumbered guests. Speaking of children: we never had a piece of Gates House break!

Do Not Clean These Pieces In An Automatic Dishwasher! The harsher chemicals used in automatic dishwashers will cause severe stain damage over time. Dry these with a towel rather than let them air dry. If your local water leaves visible spots on clear glasses, those same minerals may cause damage to your Wilton.

If you ever see a stained or damaged Wilton piece at a garage sale, buy it and take it home for experimentation. Try every cleaning solution, scrubber and wire brush you have. None will work satisfactorily. Better to practice on something expendable rather than one of your good pieces. I guarantee you'll start taking better care when washing your table service.

I am not a dealer and I do not sell.

Ralph Vaughan