Both
the offices of Sheriff and Alderman date back to the Middle
Ages and reflect their long-standing importance in the
government of the City of London.
The office of Sheriff is of greater
antiquity than any other in the City of London. Until the
institution of the Mayoralty in 1189, Sheriffs or 'Shire Reeves'
governed the City as the King's representatives, collected royal
revenues and enforced royal justice.
Today two Sheriffs are elected on Midsummer's Day every year in
Guildhall by the
City livery companies. Their duties include attending the
Lord Mayor in carrying out his official duties, attending the
sessions at the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey and
presenting petitions from the City to Parliament at the Bar at the
House of Commons.
Since 1385 when the
Court of Common Council stipulated that every future Lord Mayor
should "have previously been Sheriff so that he may be tried as to
his governance and bounty before he attains to the Estate of
Mayor", the shrieval year of an Aldermanic Sheriff is a sort of
testing-ground for a person who aspires one day to be elected Lord
Mayor of London.
This year's Sheriffs are Alan
Yarrow and Wendy Mead. Download their CVs
here:
Sheriff Alan Yarrow (35kb)
Sheriff Wendy Mead (41kb)
Learn more about the Sheriffs' roles.
References to aldermen or 'elder men' can
be traced back to Saxon times, but the first mention of an alderman
of London by name appears in 1111. The Court of Aldermen
administered the City before the evolution of the Court of Common
Council but its functions contracted as those of Common Council
developed. Today the full Aldermanic Court, summoned and presided
over by the Lord Mayor, meets on about nine Tuesdays in the year in
the Aldermen's Court Room in
Guildhall. At Court of Aldermen meetings, aldermen wear violet
gowns. Fur-trimmed scarlet gowns and chains of office are worn on
certain ceremonial occasions.
Aldermen have jurisdiction over their
wards and for centuries the 25
wards of the City
have each elected one alderman. They also serve on Common Council
committees, act as governors and trustees of a variety of schools,
hospitals, charitable foundations and trusts with ancient City
connections and are also occupied with
livery companies, ceremonial events and
Freedoms of the City.