Here's a pub quiz question for you: how many Mayors does London have? One? Two? If you think the smart answer is two then you're wrong because the correct answer is thirty-four.
First of all we have the Lord Mayor of London (covering just the City of London), plus another one for the City of Westminster, then the actual Mayor of London that the public gets to vote for. Then we have an extra Mayor for each of the thirty-one London boroughs. So that's thirty-four big wigs in London alone.
But the one we've come to see today is the most historic: the Lord Mayor of London. That's the one who gets to ride around in a gold carriage at the Lord Mayor's Parade.
The Lord Mayor of London
Lots of people think that the Lord Mayor is just a ceremonial position but inside The City he's only got one boss: the King. And I mean that quite literally because inside the Square Mile he even outranks the Prime Minister!
He's definitely not in it for the money because he doesn't get paid a penny -- he's there to represent the interests of the City, which basically means the businesses within it. For twelve short months he's allowed to live in Mansion House and swan around in a big limo but after that it's goodbye: he gets booted out and replaced by the next one. That's how all politics should work. If you told the Westminster MPs they'd get kicked out after a year with zero wages then they'd never even consider it.
Underneath the Mayor comes the Court of Common Council (25 Aldermen and 100 Common Councilmen), and once a month they all gather together for a big meeting in the Guildhall. That's where I'm going today.
The medieval Great Hall inside the Guildhall
The Guildhall is another one of those intimidating-looking buildings that looks out of bounds to the likes of you and me, but it's actually pretty easy to get inside.
If you stand on the forecourt and look to your left then you'll see a strange building that looks like a concrete pepperpot. Head through the glass door to the left of that, and once you've emptied out your pockets and passed your bag through the scanners you need to turn right round the corner and then head down the corridor to the Great Hall. If you've never seen this room before then get ready to be impressed.
Court of Common Council
The meeting doesn't start until 1 PM but I've done my usual thing and turned up far too early. It's 12:40 PM at the moment and I'm the only member of public in here. There are a few waiters walking around the tables arranging the microphones and filling up the water jugs, and every now and then one of the Councilmen comes in and gets greeted with a very formal handshake and a "hello, sir" and gets shown to their seat behind the barrier. This goes on for the next twenty minutes as the place slowly starts to fill up.
A couple of barristers have walked in now, wearing their long black gowns and scratchy white wigs and trying to pin a stack of boxes against their chest. One guy tries to give a hearty handshake to some bearded bigwig and roughly stuffs his papers under his arm, then under his other arm, before finally surrendering to the inevitable and dumping the whole lot on the table.
It's all networking now. It's meet and greet time. A hundred Savile Row suits are strolling in from the back and the benches are buzzing at the front. These people look like the movers and shakers of the City.
At 1 PM a sudden hush descends and the Lord Mayor of London parades in wearing his ceremonial robes and chains, followed by a cacophonous clapping that carries him all the way to the top table. Then they bang a gavel on the table and he begins his opening speech.
Ten minutes later... they're plowing their way through the questions now so I won't bore you with the details beyond this point, suffice to say that the best bit has definitely passed. Some of the riveting subjects up for discussion include appointments to the commerce committee, hospitality plans for an upcoming conference, and a never-ending update on the new cycle highways.
You really have to concentrate on the words or your eyes will start wandering over the statues and stained glass windows. By the time your eyes shift back to the speaker you'll discover that you've completely missed five minutes of their speech. Even the Councilman look bored. When we started there were just ten stone statues in here, but by the time we finish there are another hundred more.
Don't let the tedious meeting put you off coming here though, because even if the actual discussions are dull it's well-worth sitting through forty minutes of them simply to see inside the Great Hall -- that's how impressive it is.
A tip: You're not allowed to take photographs inside the chamber once the meeting has begun, so if you want to take a photo of the Mayor in his ceremonial robes then it's best to wait outside on the forecourt where his limo sits idling over. He left the building at 2 PM today, and you'll have a quick thirty-seconds before he disappears into the car.
If you enjoy Guildhall then you might like to visit Mansion House (you can walk it in 4 mins) and Royal Courts of Justice (walk it in 20 mins). If you like political meetings and discussions then you might enjoy a visit to Mayor's Question Time at City Hall. You can also attend Prime Minister's Questions or watch the MPs in the House of Commons. Or how about making a speech yourself at Speakers' Corner?
The author Craig Cross owns city-guide.london and has spent the last decade reviewing the capital’s landmarks, attractions and hotels. His guidebook London Squire is available from Amazon
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Your comments and questions
P Boyle Hi, if you had limited time and had to choose between this one, the one at City Hall, and the House of Commons, which one would you recommend?
Craig Hi P Boyle. I would definitely choose the House of Commons. It's worth attending that one just to see inside Westminster Hall and afew other rooms you walk through. It's also on regularly rather than just once a month, so it's a lot easier to attend.
MrH Nearest station to Guildhall?
Craig Hi MrH. I would get off at Bank and then walk up Cheapside and straight up King Street. That walk is slightly more interesting than going up Prince's Street
Sheila batchelor Is there someone who cries ‘oyez,oyez, oyez’ at the common council meeting
Craig Hi Sheila. There is, yes, the Mayor parades in wearing ceremonial robes alongside the Sword Bearer and Sergeant-at-Arms (the Common Cryer) who calls for order at the start
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