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 Alderman Ian Luder (Castle Baynard) and Alderman
Michael Bear (Portsoken) .
Download their
CVs here:
Alderman Ian Luder (26kb)
Alderman Michael Bear (27kb)
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. Upon admission to the
Court of Aldermen, an alderman automatically becomes a Justice of
the Peace for the City of London. 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.