The Lord Mayor of London's State Coach is, along with the Queen's

Gold State Coach The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight-horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family. Commissioned in 1760 by Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings for King George III, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Bu ...

and the Speaker's State Coach, one of the three great State Coaches of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Unlike the other two (which are only used on rare occasions such as Coronations) the Lord Mayor's Coach is used annually at 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 ...

, and as such it is deemed to be the oldest ceremonial vehicle in regular use in the world.Report of The City Surveyor
(CS.230/12) 2 July 2012

Details of the design

The carriage is of the type known as a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. It is constructed substantially of wood, which is richly carved, ornamented and gilded. The body of the coach is attached to the undercarriage by four thick leather straps, each held in place by a huge, intricately decorated gilt buckle featuring the City's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. The roof of the coach is red painted with gilded ornamentation; there was formerly a central carved feature (depicting four boys holding baskets of fruit) only the base of which now remains. There is a large

box seat In a theatre, a box, loge, or opera box is a small, separated seating area in the auditorium or audience for a limited number of people for private viewing of a performance or event. Boxes are typically placed immediately to the front, side an ...

in front for the coachman, whose foot-rest is in the shape of a scallop shell. The Lord Mayor's Coach has undergone a number of programs of restorations, with the wheels being replaced three times between 1711 and 1731 alone. On all four sides of the coach there are painted panels attributed to renowned carriage painter

Giovanni Cipriani Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727 – 14 December 1785) was an Italian painter and engraver, who lived in England from 1755. He is also called Giuseppe Cipriani by some authors. Much of his work consisted of designs for prints, many of which ...

. Each shows an allegorical scene: The front panel shows figures representing Faith, Hope and Charity (Hope is shown pointing towards the dome of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

). The rear panels depict a figure representing the City of London receiving gifts from Riches and Plenty, Trade and Commerce. The right-hand panels include a Mayor being presented to the figure of the City, with the spire of

Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Paul of Tarsus, Saint Paul, ...

in the background. The left-hand panels include the god Mars pointing to a scroll held by Truth on which is inscribed the name of the first Mayor, Henri Fitz Alwin. The ceiling of coach has twice been painted blue, rather than the current red, and the Museum of London estimates there to be approximately 100 different layers of paint. Today, the carriage is supported by Kevlar bands, although they are disguised by more traditional-looking leather straps. The carriage measures 6.55 m (21.5 ft) in length and 2.23 m (7.3 ft) in width, with a height of 3.17 m (10.4 ft). The coach weighs 2.9 tonnes.

History

From 1711 the Lord Mayor was transported around the city using a hired coach, following an incident where the incumbent, Gilbert Heathcote, was unseated from his horse by a drunken flower girl in 1710, breaking his leg. This arrangement continued until 1757, when city banker and Lord Mayor Elect, Sir Charles Asgill, persuaded the aldermen to finance the purchase of a 'new Grand State Coach'. The coach was commissioned on 4 April 1757 and completed in good time for Asgill's inauguration on 9 November that year. It was constructed by Joseph Berry, of Leather Lane, Holborn, at a total cost of £850. It was designed by sculptor and architect

Sir Robert Taylor Sir Robert Taylor (1714–1788) was an English architect and sculptor who worked in London and the south of England. Early life Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonemason and sculptor, ...

, who had previously worked on private commissions for Asgill, as well designing the pediment fronting The Mansion House. Since then, the coach has been used regularly, generally once a year, by successive Lord Mayors. It has been more or less regularly maintained over two and a half centuries of use, and periodically regilded. The last major overhaul was in 1952, when the carriage was entirely stripped down and cleaned, with parts repaired or replaced where necessary and the wood preserved and strengthened, before being regilded, revarnished, reupholstered, and reassembled. Overall, though, changes to the original design have been minimal: an interior lamp was added in 1939, and brakes were only installed in 1951.

Present-day use

Lord Mayor of London - John Stuttard - Nov 2006

Each November, the coach is used to convey the new Lord Mayor from the Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice where they then swears allegiance to

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, travelling at the rear of the long procession that constitutes the Lord Mayor's Show. The coach is pulled by a team of six

shire horse The Shire is a British breed of draught horse. It is usually black, bay, or grey. It is a tall breed, and Shires have at various times held world records both for the largest horse and for the tallest horse. The Shire has a great capacity for ...

s, with the front pair being ridden by a

postillion A postilion or postillion is a person who guides a horse-drawn coach or post chaise while mounted on the horse or one of a pair of horses. By contrast, a coachman controls the horses from the vehicle itself. Originally the English name for a ...

and the other two pairs driven by a

coachman A coachman is an employee who drives a coach or carriage, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of passengers. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full c ...

from the

. When not in use, the coach is kept at the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

but is currently not on display. In advance of the Show, it is moved to a temporary glass carriage house outside the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, where passers-by can see it being made ready for the procession. The State Harness and the City Marshal's Saddlery are kept in the Park Street Coach House with the other carriages of the Corporation.

Other carriages of the Corporation of London

The Corporation owns six other 'semi-state' carriages (two semi-state coaches and four dress

chariots A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000 ...

) four of which are also used in the Lord Mayor's Show. They are used to transport other senior dignitaries of the Corporation: the Chief Commoner and the

Secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

, the Lay Sheriff, the Aldermanic Sheriff and the outgoing Lord Mayor and Chaplain. They are elegant carriages with plain black painted roofs and the bodies either maroon, green or blue; each has the City arms painted on its doors. In 2010 the Corporation attempted to sell two of these carriages to raise funds, but failed to attract the desired amount of money and they remain available for standby.

Horses

Aside from the six shire horses drawing the state coach which are provided by Waldburg Shires of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

the horses and attendants used in the Lord Mayor's Show are provided on a 'grace and favour' arrangement by the

Royal Mews The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British Royal Family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, an ...

which also provides other carriages where required.

References

{{Reflist Carriages City of London