Glasgow's 850th Anniversary Plate

This striking commemorative plate was specially commissioned by the Lord Provost of Glasgow to mark the city's 850th anniversary.

The design celebrates Glasgow’s rich ceramic heritage, inspired by a plate produced at Bell’s Pottery in the late 1880s. Layered with symbols and imagery, it reflects the city’s vibrant past and evolving present.

Crafted in Stoke-on-Trent, the historic heart of British ceramics, the plate also renews the centuries-old connection between Glasgow and the Potteries — a shared clay story brought into the present.

Design Elements Include:

• Mackintosh Rose, representing the values and virtues of Faith, Hope, Love, Charity
• Thistle, representing the values and virtues of Citizenship, Courage, Kindness, Justice
• Tree, Fish, Bird, Bell
• Buildings: MacLennan Arch, University Tower, Finnieston Crane, Armadillo
• Billy Connolly’s Big Banana Boots
• The Duke of Wellington’s Cone
• Barrowland Stars
• Clockwork Orange Subway Carriage
• The River Clyde and the Forth and Clyde Canal represented by the two blue lines
• Glasgow’s City Crest