www.925-1000.com

I don't recognise the mark, but I wouldn't have thought London, or even English. English Fiddle pattern spoons are mostly a 19th century style. A 19th century, or indeed late 18th century, English spoon would normally be top marked, and either fully marked or at least include a duty mark.
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http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk231/agphile/sucket.jpg http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk231/agphile/suckmarks.jpg An early Joseph Hicks mark (or so I am told) that differs from the marks shown on the website— note the barred I — and is fairly tiny, no more than 3mm.wide .

The letters are EPNS in the Gothic alphabet which was frequently used for marking silverplated objects to add a touch of "class" - buyers wanted them to look like silver and not be too obviously plated. http://www.925-1000.com/silverplate_E.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or perhaps I should have put it more simply. If you are brave enough to tear the head off a real lion, you have a torn off or "erased" head.
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Erase derives from the Latin eradere - to scrape off or scrape out. In heraldry it took the particular meaning of "tear off leaving jagged edges". Perhaps the easiest way to explain the usage in heraldry is to imagine you draw a picture of a lion and then rub out its head. The head would b...

Not sure where you get 1816 as the last date for Barker. T R Poole's "Identifying Antique British silver records the latest use of his TB mark without a pellet as 1827.
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Welz, Cape Silver, records ICL and JCL makers marks for Johannes Casparus Lotter, 1768-1823, but only on their own or with the figure of Hope. I can't spot any Cape pseudos to match those on your spoon so I hesitate to suggest they might have been those of a supplier to the trade with Lotter adding ...

Hi Welz attributes a number of mark combinations to Thomas Townsend. All have a clear "TT" punch, or"TT over JT" for the partnership of Thomas and John Townsend. In one case the TT is struck either side of a funny looking "duty head" that has similarites to that on the ...

Thomas Bradbury and Sons - a Sheffield firm that also entered marks in London. And yes, this piece London 1894
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Or bread saw?
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I think it is William Hutton and Sons of Sheffield - they had a branch factory in Birmingham.

The containers are for oil and vinegar - for dressing salads and the like.

Yes, I agree there is room for uncertainty about the initials. I think the Cape pseudos that imitate British marks were mainly, though not exclusively, used by silversmiths of British origin and were normally less crude than the ones here. There was a Joseph Ince, noted from 1823 till his death in 1...

The marks are not listed in Welz's "Cape Silver". There is an IL on its own or with a bunch of grapes attributed to Jan Lotter who is recorded 1813 -17 in Keerom St. However, he would seem to have had proper punches.
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I don't think it is English. An English maker's mark would normally have two initials and I have not come across just the letter "u".

There is a long-standing and misleading tendency in the trade to describe any miniature spoon as a snuff spoon. The only undoubted snuff spoons I know of are tiny ones, a fraction the size of yours, that are occasionally found clipped inside the lid of 18th century snuff boxes. The bowl of your spoo...

William Hutton and Sons Ltd - a Sheffield firm that also had siver assayed in London, this piece in 1898.

http://www.925-1000.com/dlLondon16.html#M
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To flesh out my earlier comments, the legislation to set up the arrangements for street improvements in Westminster was passed in 1760. I believe the City of London followed very shortly thereafter. Allow a few years for implementation and it does indeed fit very well with the timing of changes in t...

Apologies for intruding on a discussion between those keen to locate the pubs beneath the signs. Just wanted to point out that there was a deal of urban improvement to London through the 18th century and particularly from the 1760s. Roads were paved, old overhanging signs pulled down and buildings b...

Excellent. The probable maker ties in well with a date for the spoon of circa 1700. Very satisfying for you!

David

I realise that my comments in my last post would have made easier reading with an illustration. http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk231/agphile/apostleandseal.png This picture shows a seal top spoon and an apostle spoon, both provincial and from c.1630-1640, together with the short “v” heel that is...