Common Hall
24th June 2024The day of Common Hall turned out to be blisteringly hot - not the best day to be outiftted in traditional morning dress. Getting into London also turned to be troublesome, so much so that I missed out on the cooked breakfast on offer from Cook & Butler before the start of Common Hall. Still better for the figure that way...
After joing fellow Masters in the Guildhall Crypt to get into our finery, we processed into the Guildhall for the election of Sheriffs and other city officials for the ensuing year.
Whilst the elections of the two sheriffs and Ale Conners and most other officials were swiftly sorted, the election of the two Bridgemasters was contested for the first time in over 100 years! The electoral process was therefore explained by the officials to the audience - first a count of raised hands, and if this did not produce a result, a full poll would be carried out.
Clearly there was a significant difference in opinion between the incumbent Bridgemasters (who had been in position for over a decade) and the Lord Mayor, who had made it known that he wanted a change of leadership of the Bridgemasters fund. The Liverymen clearly took the hint and duly voted out them out by a significant margin.
This also made history as the two new Bridgemasters will include a woman for the first time!
Then off to lunch at the Stationers' to discuss the results!