The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and leader of the
City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded
precedence over all individuals except the Sovereign and retains various
traditional powers, rights and privileges, including the title and
style The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of London.
This office differs from the Mayor of London, which has responsibility for the
much larger Greater London area. In 2006 the Corporation of London
changed its name to the City of London Corporation, when the title Lord Mayor
of the City of London was reintroduced, partly to avoid confusion with the Mayor
of London. However, the legal and commonly-used title remains Lord Mayor
of London. The Lord Mayor is elected at Common Hall
each year on Michaelmas, and takes office on the Friday before the second
Saturday in November, at The Silent Ceremony.
The Lord Mayor's Show is held on the day after taking office; the Lord Mayor,
preceded by a procession, travels to the Royal Courts of Justice at the Strand in
Westminster to swear allegiance to the Sovereign before the Justices of the
High Court. One of the world's oldest continuously
elected civic offices, the Lord Mayor's main role nowadays is to represent,
support and promote the businesses and residents in the City of London. Today,
these businesses are mostly in the financial sector and the Lord Mayor is
regarded as the champion of the entire UK-based financial sector regardless of
ownership or location throughout the country. As Leader of the Corporation of
the City of London, the Lord Mayor serves as the key spokesman for the
local authority and also has important ceremonial and social responsibilities.
All Lord Mayors of London are apolitical, which gives them added
credibility at home and abroad when representing the financial sector.
The Lord Mayor of London typically delivers dozens of speeches and
addresses per year, and attends many receptions and other events in London
and beyond. Many incumbents of the office make many overseas visits while
Lord Mayor of London. The Lord Mayor, also ex-officio Chancellor of London's
City University, is assisted in day-to-day administration by the Mansion
House staff who are senior administrative personnel in the
Corporation of London and whose titles range from the Town Clerk and Chief
Executive to Chamberlain and Remembrancer.
The present Lord Mayor is Jeffrey Evans. Titles and honours
Of the 69 cities in the United Kingdom, the City of London is among the 30 that
have Lord Mayors. The Lord Mayor is entitled to the style The Right
Honourable; the same privilege extends only to the Lord Mayors of York, Cardiff
and Belfast, and to the Lords Provost of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The style,
however, is used when referring to the office as opposed to the holder thereof;
thus, "The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London" would be correct, while
"The Rt Hon Jeffrey Evans" would be incorrect. The latter prefix applies
only to Privy Counsellors. A woman who holds the office is also
known as a Lord Mayor. The wife of a male Lord Mayor is styled as Lady
Mayoress, but no equivalent title exists for the husband of a female Lord Mayor.
A female Lord Mayor or an unmarried male Lord Mayor may appoint a female consort,
usually a fellow member of the corporation, to the role of Lady
Mayoress. In speech, a Lord Mayor is referred to as "My Lord Mayor", and a
Lady Mayoress as "My Lady Mayoress". It was once customary for Lord Mayors to
be appointed knights upon taking office and baronets upon retirement, unless
they already held such a title. This custom was followed with a few
inconsistencies from the 16th until the 19th centuries; creations became more
regular from 1889 onwards. However, from 1964 onwards, the regular creation of
hereditary titles such as baronetcies was phased out, so subsequent Lord
Mayors were offered knighthoods). Since 1993, Lord Mayors have not automatically
received any national honour upon appointment; instead, they have been
made Knights Bachelors upon retirement, although Gordon Brown's Government broke
with that tradition by making Ian Luder a CBE, after his term of office in 2009,
and the following year Nick Anstee declined offers of a national honour.
Furthermore, foreign Heads of State visiting the City of London on a UK
State Visit, diplomatically bestow upon the Lord Mayor one of their suitable
national honours. For example, in 2001, Sir David Howard was created a Grand
Cordon of the Order of Independence of Jordan by King Abdullah II. Recently
Lord Mayors have been appointed at the beginning of their term of office
Knights or Dames of St John, as a mark of respect, by HM The Queen, Sovereign
Head of the Order of St John. History
The office of Lord Mayor was instituted in 1189, the first holder of the office
being Henry Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone. The Mayor of the City of London has been
elected by the City, rather than appointed by the Sovereign, ever since a
Royal Charter providing for a Mayor was issued by King John in 1215. The title
"Lord Mayor" came to be used after 1354, when it was granted to Thomas Legge by
King Edward III. Lord Mayors are elected for one-year
terms; by custom, they do not now serve more than one consecutive term. Numerous
individuals have served multiple terms in office, including:
As Mayor: 24 terms: Henry Fitz-Ailwin de
Londonestone 9 terms: Ralph de Sandwich
8 terms: Gregory de Rokesley 7 terms: Andrew Buckerel; John le
Breton; John le Blund 6 terms: Richard Renger; Hamo de
Chigwell 5 terms: Serlo le Mercer
As Lord Mayor: Nicholas Brembre
Sir Richard Whittington The last individual to serve multiple
terms was Sir Robert Fowler. Almost 700 people have served as Lord
Mayor. Dame Mary Donaldson, elected in 1983, and Fiona Woolf, elected in 2013,
are the only women so far to have held the office.
Some Lord Mayors in the Middle Ages, such as Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, did not
reside in London. Since 1435, the Lord Mayor has been chosen from amongst the
Aldermen of the City of London. Election
The Lord Mayor is elected at Common Hall, comprising Liverymen from all of
the City's Livery Companies. Common Hall is summoned by the sitting Lord Mayor;
it meets at Guildhall on Michaelmas Day or on the closest weekday. Voting is by
show of hands; if, however, any liveryman so demands, balloting is held
a fortnight later. The qualification to stand for election
is that one must have served as a City Sheriff and be a current Alderman. Since
1385, prior service as Sheriff has been mandatory for election to the Lord
Mayoralty. Two Sheriffs are selected annually by Common Hall, which meets on
Midsummer's Day for this purpose. By an ordinance of 1435, the Lord Mayor must
be chosen from amongst the Aldermen of the City of London. Those on the
electoral roll of each of the City's 25 Wards select one Alderman, who formerly
held office for life or until resignation. Now each Alderman must
submit for re-election at least once in every six years.
The Lord Mayor is then sworn in November, on the day before the Lord
Mayor's Show. The ceremony is known as the "Silent Ceremony" because, aside
from a short declaration by the incoming Lord Mayor, no speeches are made. At
Guildhall, the outgoing Lord Mayor transfers the mayoral insignia—the Seal,
the Purse, the Sword and the Mace—to the incoming Lord Mayor.
Lord Mayor's Show The day after being sworn in to office,
the Lord Mayor leads a procession from the City of London to the Royal Courts
of Justice in the City of Westminster, where the Lord Mayor swears allegiance
to the Crown. This pageantry has evolved into one of London's longest-running and
most popular annual events, known as the "Lord Mayor's Show". The Lord Mayor
travels in the City's State Coach that was built in 1757 at a cost of
£1,065.0s.3d.. Nowadays, this festival combines traditional British pageantry
with the element of carnival, and since 1959 it has been held on the second
Saturday in November. Participants include the Livery Companies, bands and
members of the military, charities and schools. In the evening, a fireworks
display is held. Role
The Lord Mayor is a member of the City of London's governing body, the City of
London Corporation. The Corporation comprises the Court of Aldermen and the
Court of Common Council; the former includes only the Aldermen, while the
latter includes both Aldermen and Common Councilmen. The Lord Mayor belongs to
and presides over both bodies. As noted earlier, the main role of the
Lord Mayor is to represent, support and promote all aspects of UK-financial
service industries, including maritime. They undertake this as head of the City
of London Corporation and, during the year, host visiting foreign Ministers,
businessmen and dignitaries; furthermore, they conduct several
foreign visits of their own so as to promote British financial sectors.
Banquets hosted by the Lord Mayor serve as opportunities for senior Government
figures to deliver major speeches. At the Lord Mayor's Banquet, the Prime
Minister delivers the keynote address. At the Banker's Dinner in June, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers a speech known as the Mansion House
Speech, which takes its name from the Lord Mayor's residence. At the Easter
Banquet, also hosted each year at the Mansion House, the Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs addresses an audience of international
dignitaries. In 2013, The Lord Mayor carried the
Sword of Mourning at Baroness Thatcher's Funeral processing ahead of HM The Queen
and HRH Prince Philip into St Paul's Cathedral.
The Lord Mayor performs numerous other functions, including serving as the
Chief Magistrate of the City of London, Admiral of the Port of London,
Chancellor of City University, President of Gresham College, President of City of
London Reserve Forces and Cadets Association, and Trustee of St Paul's
Cathedral. The Lord Mayor also heads the City's Commission of Lieutenancy, which
represents the Sovereign in the City of London, and annually attends the Treloar
Trust, in Hampshire. The Treloar Trust runs two educational sites for disabled
children, a school and college. The Lord Mayor is ex officio the Admiral
of the Port of London. Rights and privileges
The residence of the Lord Mayor is known as Mansion House. The creation of the
residence was considered after the Great Fire of London, but construction did not
commence until 1739. It was first occupied by a Lord Mayor in 1752, when
Sir Crispin Gascoigne took up residence. In each of the eighteen courtrooms of
the Old Bailey, the centre of the judges' bench is reserved for the Lord
Mayor, in his capacity of Chief Justice of the City of London. The presiding
judge therefore sits to one side. It is sometimes asserted that the Lord
Mayor may exclude the Sovereign from the City of London. The legend is based on
the misinterpretation of the ceremony observed each time the Sovereign enters
the City. At Temple Bar the Lord Mayor presents the City's pearl-encrusted
Sword of State to the Sovereign as a symbol of the latter's overlordship. The
Sovereign does not, as is often purported, wait for the Lord Mayor's
permission to enter the City. When the Sovereign enters the city, a short
ceremony usually takes place where the Lord Mayor symbolically surrenders his
or her authority to the Sovereign by presenting the sword to them. If the
Sovereign is attending a service at St Paul's this ceremony would take place
there rather than at the boundary of the City for matters of convenience.
The importance of the office is reflected by the composition of the
Accession Council, a body which proclaims the accession of new
Sovereigns. The Council includes the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, as
well as the Lords Spiritual, Lords Temporal and Privy Counsellors. At the
coronation banquet which followed, the Lord Mayor of the City of London had the
right to assist the Royal Butler. The same privilege is held by the Lord Mayor
of Oxford; the Mayor of Winchester may assist the Royal Cook. Such privileges
have not been exercised since 1821, when the last coronation banquet was held.
Official dress The Lord Mayor still continues to wear a
form of court dress long abandoned by many modern day officials on a regular,
almost daily, basis. Their basic under dress is of the traditional black velvet
court dress consisting of a coat, waistcoat and knee breeches with steel
cut buttons. This is worn with black silk stockings, patent court shoes with
steel buckles, white shirt with lace cuffs and a large jabot stock. This form
of court dress is worn by all Lord Mayors regardless of gender.
Over his or her underdress for ceremonial occasions is worn a black
silk damask robe trimmed with gold lace of a design exactly the same as that of
the Lord Chancellor's. When outdoors, they wear a black beaver plush tricorne
hat trimmed with white ostrich feathers and a steel 'loop' for the cockade. This
has been traditionally made by Patey's commissioned by the Worshipful Company
of Feltmakers for each incumbent Lord Mayor.
For state occasions when the Sovereign is present, the Lord Mayor, instead of
the gold-lace robe, wears a crimson velvet cape trimmed with an ermine cape
and facings that have black sealskin spots on, very similar to a royal earl's
coronation robe. It is tied with gold cordons.
Since 1545 the Lord Mayor of London has worn a Royal Livery Collar of Esses.
However, the Collar's origins are not royal, Sir John Alen, thrice Lord Mayor,
having bequeathed it to the next Lord Mayor and his successors "to use and
occupie yerely at and uppon principall and festivall dayes." It was enlarged in
1567, and in its present shape has 28 Esses, the Tudor rose, the tasselled
knots of the Garter and also the Portcullis. The collar is worn over
whatever the Lord Mayor maybe wearing, secured onto their underdress or state
robes by means of black or white silk satin ribbons on the shoulders.
At coronations, the Lord Mayor wears a special coronation robe made especially
for the incumbent by Ede & Ravenscroft. This is a cape-like mantle of scarlet
superfine wool trimmed with bars of gold lace and ermine spotted with black
sealskin. It is lined with white silk satin. They also carry a baton of
office. After the coronation, the incumbent may personally keep their
coronation robe as a token. List of Lord Mayors of London
See also City status in the United Kingdom
List of Lord Mayors of London Lord Mayor of Dublin
Mayor of London List of lord mayoralties and lord
provostships in the United Kingdom Town Clerk of London
References City of London Corporation home page
Jenkins, S.. "Royal Coronations and Oxford Mayors."
"London.". Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
"Lord Mayor's Show.". "The Lord Mayor's Show Saturday 13th
November 2004.". "Temple Bar.". Encyclopædia Britannica,
11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
Stuttard, John. Whittington to World Financial Centre – The City of London
and its Lord Mayor. Phillimore & Co. ISBN 978-1-86077-586-4.
Notes External links
Official website BBC – Lord Mayor's Show