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The Company

MENTORING

The Company wishes to expand on our successful support of scholarships and awards, and we are
developing a mentoring programme whereby our members will join a group of fellow Constructors
who are willing to give their time and expertise in mentoring young people and perhaps also former
Service personnel who have suffered adversely as a result of their time on active service.
Despite sterling efforts by HCA John Sayers this initiative has not taken off as fast as we would have
liked, but we are hopeful for the future. We continue to maintain our association with Livery Schools
Link which is being restructured to provide more capability including an interactive web-site which
will look to match particular school requirements with appropriate Livery Companies. We have
confirmed that we wish to assist here and we will therefore continue to strive towards a robust
mentoring programme because we are certain that we have a lot to offer in this respect.

Dr Christine Rigden

A Year in the Life of “Your” Sheriff
At the time of writing, well over half my year in office has passed. Time has really
flown by; to date I have attended over 400 events [including 85 banquets and 80
Old Bailey lunches] and given 21 speeches.
On Admission to office at Guildhall on 28 September 2015, I entered a parallel
th
universe centred on the Old Bailey. A world inhabited by footmen and chauffeurs,
and very unlike my usual life on a farm in East Kent. Immediately following the
Admission ceremony is the Sheriffs’ Breakfast – by tradition the longest lunch in
the City. This was a tremendous occasion, surrounded by many friends, family
and City folk at the magnificent Drapers’ Hall, from whence we travelled to the
Bailey by Shrieval Rolls Royce. Having enjoyed a glass of champagne with family, and before I had
chance to settle into my apartment, I was taken aside by the Secondary & Under Sheriff Charles
Henty to sign over my powers, such as they were [to issue writs and the like on behalf of the City of
London Corporation], to him.
The second big day for the Sheriffs is the Quit Rents & Services Ceremony. Travel included Rolls
Royce to Tower Pier, the Corporation’s launch “Lady Aileen” to Temple Pier, then by foot to the Royal
Courts of Justice. The Queen’s Remembrancer presented the Sheriffs with their Royal Warrant; Her
Majesty the Queen’s approbation of our election by Liverymen of the City of London, a right
exercised by Liverymen since 1153. The ceremony also includes the quit rents of two pieces of land,
“The Moors” in Shropshire and “The Forge” in the City parish of St Clement Dane, with both
ceremonies dating from the early Thirteenth Century. The former involves testing a hazel tally stick
by bending it over a blunt knife and cutting it with a sharp knife, and the latter by the presentation of
six horseshoes and sixty-one associated nails.
The life of a Sheriff is centred on the Central Criminal Court, better known as The Old Bailey. An
important part of the role is “taking care of the comfort of Her Majesty’s Judges”, which takes the
form of hosting daily lunches. The rule of English Law is a significant factor for many foreign
businesses choosing to locate in London, so inviting guests to attend these lunches provides a
fabulous opportunity to showcase the work of the most famous Courts in the world. Three or four
times a year the normal rhythm of the Bailey is interrupted to include a formal opening ceremony.
The Lord Mayor, accompanied by the City Marshall, Sword Bearer and Sergeant-at-Arms, arrives at

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