The Lord Mayor’s Show – London
History of the Lord Mayor’s Show
The Mayor of London is an ancient office originally created by King John in 1215, presumably in an attempt to win the City over to his side.
By this time King John’s reign was falling apart. His armies were retreating in France, his treasury was empty and his Barons were on the edge of revolt. Soon they would force him to sign the Magna Carta, which would be largely ignored until civil war finally broke out. John died of dysentery a year later while marching his dwindling armies from one besieged city to another.
London sat in the middle of the growing conflict. It was a cosmopolitan, mercantile place even then: rich but vulnerable, easy to capture, hard to govern. The city was frequently captured, held hostage or used as a base by some warring Baron.
Lord Mayor’s Procession
The procession will be revealed gradually over the course of the year, building up to an announcement of the full running order when the election of the new Lord Mayor is confirmed at the start of October.
State Coach
Restored in 2018 to a splendour that we have not seen for many years, the State Coach has carried almost every new Lord Mayor since it was commissioned and paid for by the Aldermen of 1757.
Marching Bands
The procession is led off and kept in shape by its many military bands. Walking at 120 well-drilled 30 inch paces per minute, they take 26 minutes and 51 seconds to march from from Mansion House to the Royal Courts.
Pageantmaster
All of this is devised, assembled, set in motion and eventually delivered home again by the Pageantmaster, Dominic Reid OBE, who will be directing his 28th Lord Mayor’s Show from the ceremonial Land Rover as usual.
Gog and Magog
Near the front of the procession you will see the ancient figures of Gog and Magog, guardians of London since antiquity and a regular feature of the Show since the Middle Ages.
The Ash Cart
An ancient London saying will tell you that ‘after the Show comes the ash cart’, usually to imply that the fun you are having now comes with a cost later. The last entry in the Show always belongs to the City of London Sanitation department and as it has been for hundreds of years, most of their work is provided by the horses.
PICK UPS – WEYMOUTH STN, WEYMOUTH PARK AND RIDE, DORCHESTER SOUTH STN, BERE REGIS, RINGWOOD & CROSSWAYS.
If you would like to book this tour or ask us a question please call 01305 851697, send us an email or complete our enquiry form.
