History

The position of Mayor is steeped in history and there is a wealth of documents, insignia and other trappings surrounding the role.

The History of the Office

The word “Mayor” is derived from the same root as “Major”, from the Latin “Magnus” meaning the greater or superior.

The Normans introduced the word to England around the time of the Domesday Book and it was used variously thereafter relating to those in governance of an area.

The widespread use of the title in modern day understanding of the term was an innovation introduced by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The Municipal Corporations Acts of 1835 and 1882 entitled the people of an area to apply for “incorporation” as a District administered by an elected Council and this was often followed by the inhabitants of an area petitioning the Sovereign for the status of a Borough which included the rights and privileges of being granted a Mayoralty.

The right of a District to become a Borough and to have a Mayor can only be granted by Royal Charter. The Authority must first demonstrate that they are able to operate a Mayoralty with the required level of protocol and dignity, and will not allow the Mayoralty to be used for political purposes.

The Mayor is the representative of the Crown in the Borough and as such is the First Citizen of the Borough. The only people to take precedence over the Mayor are members of the Royal family or the Lord Lieutenant of the County when he is officially representing the Sovereign. The Mayor is also the Chairman of the Council.

Charnwood was created when the Local Government Act 1972, which came into operation on 1st April 1974, reorganised local government in England and Wales. Many of the small and medium sized Boroughs and Urban District Councils disappeared to become reorganised District Councils. Loughborough Borough, Barrow upon Soar Rural District Council, and Shepshed Urban District Council being reorganised as Charnwood. Charnwood District Council then petitioned the Queen asking for the grant of a Charter conferring the Borough status previously held by Loughborough over the whole of the new District.

Past Mayors, Chairmen, Freemen and Honorary Aldermen

For the lists of former Mayors of Loughborough and Charnwood, and the former Chairmen of Barrow Upon Soar Rural District Council and Shepshed Urban District Council, and the Freemen and Honorary Aldermen of the Borough click on the appropriate link.

The Freedom of the Borough can be conferred upon anybody deemed suitable by the Council. The first (and currently the only) person to have been awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Charnwood is Paula Radcliffe M.B.E. who had the honour conferred upon her at the Council Meeting on 28th June 2004.

In September 2006 the Royal Anglian Regiment was granted "Freedom of Entry" to the Borough which entitles them to parade through the area with drums beating, bands playing, colours flying and bayonets fixed.

Past Councillors who have completed long and meritorious service can be awarded the title "Honorary Alderman". There are currently three, all of whom were awarded the honour in 2003.

The Borough Charters

The town of Loughborough was granted it's first Charter in 1888 by Queen Victoria. This granted the people of Loughborough Borough status including the right to be governed by an elected Council and a Mayor. The new Council then requested a coat of arms to be used as their "corporate logo" and was granted a charter by the College of Heralds describing their award. In 1974 the Borough of Loughborough was merged with Shepshed Urban District and Barrow Rural District to become the District of Charnwood. Charnwood then successfully applied to Queen Elizabeth II for another Charter conferring all the rights previously held by Loughborough over the whole of the new District. The heraldic charter and the 1974 Charnwood charter are both framed and hanging in the Mayor's Parlour at Loughborough Town Hall.

The Borough Coat of Arms

The Charter from the Kings of Arms at the College of Heralds describes the coat of arms designed for the new Corporation.

The coat of arms was formed using designs taken from the achievements of three families who had once owned the town, the Despensers, the Beaumonts and the Hastings. The lives of these noble families had been full of interesting little incidents. The last two Despensers were hanged in 1326. The last Beaumont went mad, and on his death in 1507 his widow married the Earl of Oxford who, by coincidence, had been her husband's guardian. The Hastings interest survived until the early nineteenth century, but Richard III had one of them executed in 1483; later members of the family were on the losing side in the Civil War and were obliged to sell large acreages of land in Loughborough and elsewhere to restore their fortunes.

The Borough Coat of Arms

The Bull's Head (bottom left) and the Maunch [lady's sleeve] (top right) are symbolic of the Hastings family.

The Lion (the crest) is taken from the Beaumont Family.

The Escallopes (cockleshells) and the Fret (lace pattern) diagonally on the bend come from the Arms of the Despencer Family.

The Motto "IN VERITATE VICTORIA" can be translated as "IN TRUTH LIETH VICTORY".

This was the motto of the former Barons of Loughborough.

In 1974 the new Borough of Charnwood was granted the use of the Arms, although it is now reserved for official documents and use by the Mayor's Office. The Council use the fox logo for their corporate image.

The Mayoral Chains of Office

The Mayor and Mayoress are both provided with magnificent gold chains of office to wear whilst on official business. They are looked after by the Mayoral Officer and are never stored at the Mayor's house!

The Mayor's Chain of Office

The Mayor's chain was presented by Alderman Joseph Griggs, the first Mayor of the Borough of Loughborough, in 1888. The Mayoral chains of Loughborough became the Mayoral chains of Charnwood and a change was made to the inscription when the status of Borough was conferred upon the District of Charnwood on 15th May 1974. The Chain is made of 18ct gold.

The Mayoress' Chain of Office

The interlinking on both the Mayor's and the Mayoress' chains takes the shape of the letter L for Loughborough.

The Mayoress' chain was presented by Alderman Hiram Coltman, who was the Mayor in 1896/97, and commemorates Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrated that year. Twenty diamonds surround a cameo of Queen Victoria, which is believed to be unique on a Mayoral chain.

Other Badges of Office

Silver gilt badges of office are worn by the Mayor's Consort (if male) the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress (or Deputy Consort) and by the Mayor and Mayoress if attending a purely business meeting.

The Mayoral Robes

The Mayoral robes presented by the first Mayor of Loughborough, Joseph Griggs, in 1888, are still in use today and are worn for all Council meetings and other ceremonial occasions such as Remembrance Day, the opening of the Fair, the Civic Church Service and the University Degree Congregations.

The Mayor wears a scarlet wool robe, lined in silk, with black velvet facings and an ermine fur edging.

The Deputy Mayor wears a similar robe with narrower fur and velvet bands.

The Chief Executive or Head of Legal Services, as the modern equivalent of the Town Clerk, wears a black legal gown with tassels and a white wig.

Civic Procession Picture

The Mace

The Mace

The Loughborough mace was presented by Alderman Marmaduke Barrowcliffe on the occasion of the first election of Alderman under the Charter of 1888. It is made of silver formed in five pieces secured around a central wooden pole by the threaded pieces at both ends. The shaft, divided by knops, is adorned with roses, the knops bearing the arms of the donor and etched line drawings representing the chief industries of the town (Bell casting, agriculture, hosiery and engineering). The mace head bears the royal arms on one side with those of the borough on the reverse, both executed in enamel and is surrounded at the top by a circlet of alternate crosses and fleurs-de-lis, out of which spring the four arches of the crown, surmounted in the midst by the figure of a lion rampant.

When carried or resting the mace is shown with the Borough coat of arms facing forwards, indicating that the Mayor is presiding. Should a member of the royal family be present the mace is turned to show the royal arms, or in the presence of the sovereign it is carried upside down to demonstrate that in the sovereign's presence the delegated authority it represents is redundant.

Maces were originally primitive weapons of war and the Bayeaux Tapestry clearly shows one being wielded by Bishop Odo of Bayeaux. The mace is the only weapon approved for ecclesiastics to carry. In later years, maces, in the form of a heavy club embellished with spikes, were carried by bodyguards before wealthy and important people.

Further information on the history and use of maces is available from the Guild of Mace Bearers.

How do you rate this information / service?