Lord Mayor's Day
Lord Mayor's Day is the day marked by a pageant known as the
Queen's Remembrancer
). From 1752 until 1959, it was held on 9 November. It is now held on the second Saturday in November.
History
The first of these pageants was held in 1215. The idea originated in the stipulation made in a charter then granted by
John 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
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
£
1,065 which was used until 1896, when a replica of it was built to replace it.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lord Mayor's Day". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 5.
