31 October 2007
New team for Lord Mayor’s Show 2007
The icon of the Lord Mayor’s Show, the gold State Coach, is
under new management this year as the role of pulling the
250-year-old coach through the streets of the City of London has
been handed over to a new team.
Brewers’ horses have traditionally led the new Lord Mayor of the
City of London in the State Coach to the Royal Courts of Justice in
the City of Westminster. But for the first time in more than a
generation, responsibility will this year fall to six strapping
shire horses from Waldburg Shires, based at Sacrewell Farm and
Country Centre near Peterborough. The six, led by David Lawless and
Elspeth Ross, are:
Wheelers:
Nearside – Waldburg Macy, eight years
Offside – Waldburg Scott, six years
Centre horses:
Nearside – Waldburg Horace, nine years
Offside – Waldburg William, eight years
Leaders:
Nearside (Postillion) – Waldburg Comet, 10 years
Offside – Waldburg Beatrice, 12 years
On the Show day itself, Saturday 10 November, they will be
expertly guided by another new face – coachman Alan Tillier.
Although it may seem a far cry from Alan’s current job as a
lorry driver, he is in fact an expert coachman, having worked with
shire horses in the UK and across the world for almost 30 years.
Alan, 50, from Cullompton in Devon has been making the 223 mile
journey from his home to Peterborough every week to train with the
new horses in preparation for the big day.
Alan said: “I have known David and Elspeth for many years, and
when they asked me to take on this role I was honoured and
delighted.
“I have been a coachman for many years, but this particular role
is prestigious and of course we have been rehearsing to get
everything as near perfection as possible.”
The first time Alan, the Waldburg shires and the State Coach
will get together will be during a pre-dawn rehearsal through the
streets of the City on Wednesday 7 November.
The Lord Mayor’s Show is the first public engagement of the new
Lord Mayor (elected annually) as he travels through the City from
the Mansion house to the Royal Courts of Justice and back to pledge
allegiance to the sovereign. He is preceded by a three-mile long
procession celebrating music, dance, culture and the history of the
City and beyond. A spectacular fireworks show, set off from a barge
on the Thames between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges, at 5.00pm
finishes the day off with a real bang.
Ends
Notes to editors
Media are welcome to attend the early morning rehearsal on
Wednesday 7 November. Coach leaves Guildhall at 5.00am. For further
information contact City of London Press Office.
Facts about Lord Mayor’s State Coach:
- Weighs almost three tonnes
- Travels at 5mph
- Elaborate Rococo exterior includes panels painted by Italian
artist Giovanni Battista Cipriani
- The interior is lined in red silk, with a dyed red sheepskin
rug.
- Built over six months in 1757 by Joseph Berry of Holborn and
costing £1,065.0s.3d
- The coach is now owned by the Court of Common Council of the
City of London.
- When not in the Show, it is usually housed at the Museum of
London. But while refurbishment works take place on the coach house
there, it will be in storage.
Further facts, figures, press releases and high-resolution
images for publication can all be found at
http://www.lordmayorshow.org/
Press enquiries
Lesley Mair, City of London
T: 020 7332 1754; 07785 528 453
E:
lesley.mair@cityoflondon.gov.uk