Canaletto, Westminster Bridge from the North on Lord Mayor's Day, 1746-47, detail

Lord Mayor's Day, in England, is the day marked by a pageant known as the

Lord Mayor's Show The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the best-known annual events in London as well as one of the longest-established, dating back to the 13th century. A new lord mayor is appointed every year, and the public parade that takes place as his or her in ...

for the

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. It is actually styled "The Presentation of the Lord Mayor at The Royal Courts of Justice". When King John allowed the city to choose its Mayor it was with the caveat that the king should be informed as to who this was. The new office holder being ' presented ' to the Lord Chief Justice and the other senior judges (originally the Barons of the Exchequer, now represented by the

Queen's Remembrancer The King's Remembrancer (or Queen's Remembrancer) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England and Wales. Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence ...

). From 1752 until 1959, it was held on 9 November. It is now held on the second Saturday in November, whatever date that might be. The first of these pageants was held in 1215. The idea originated in the stipulation made in a charter then granted by

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

that the citizen chosen to be mayor should be presented to the king or his justice for approval. The crowd of citizens who accompanied the mayor on horseback to

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

developed into a yearly pageant, which each season became more elaborate. Until the 14th century the mayor either rode or walked to Westminster, but in 1453 Sir John Norman appears to have set a fashion of going by water. From 1639 to 1655 the show disappeared owing to Puritan opposition. With the Restoration the city pageant was revived, but interregnums occurred during the years of the plague and fire, and in 1683 when a quarrel broke out between Charles and the city, ending in the temporary abrogation of the charter. In 1711 an untoward accident befell the show, the mayor Sir Gilbert Heathcote (the original of Addison's Sir Andrew Freeport) being thrown by his horse. Sir Gilbert Heathcote broke his leg. The next year a coach was, in consequence, provided for the chief magistrate. In 1757 this was superseded by a gilded and elaborately decorated equipage costing £1,065 which was used until 1896, when a replica of it was built to replace it.

External links

Lord Mayor's Show

References

*{{1911, wstitle=Lord Mayor's Day, volume=17, page=5 Annual events in London History of the City of London Festivals in the City of London Autumn events in England