City of London swords

The **City of London swords** are five swords that the City of London has for special occasions. They are the Mourning Sword (or Black Sword), the Pearl Sword, the State Sword (or Sunday Sword), the Old Bailey Sword and the Mansion House Justice Room Sword. When the Lord Mayor goes outside the City of London sometimes he or she takes the Travelling Sword of State, which is different from the State Sword. They are kept at Mansion House, where the Lord Mayor of London lives.

## Mourning Sword

The **Mourning Sword** is used for funerals and related events. It has also been known as the Black Sword and the Lenten Sword. The facts behind the sword's history are unclear; however, speculations have been made. _The Telegraph_ says some people think it is from the 16th century and that it might have been found in the River Thames. More than one sword has been used as the Mourning Sword.

Samuel Pepys wrote about this sword in his diary on September 1663. He is writing about talking to Anthony Bateman, who was the Lord Mayor:

Writing about that part of Pepys' diary, Henry Benjamin Wheatley says that William St John Hope says places like the City of London have had simple, black swords for this reason for a long time. He also says that the blade of the sword is old but the rest of it is newer.

In _Ceremonial Swords of Britain: State and Civic Swords_ (2017), Edward Barrett says that the Mourning Sword they have now is from 1615 or 1623. It has a blade  long and  wide, and a  hilt.

Lord Mayor Roger Gifford carried the Mourning Sword at the funeral of Margaret Thatcher in 2013. He led the Queen and Prince Philip in and out of St Paul's Cathedral. The last time it was used at a funeral before that was in 1965 for Winston Churchill. It is also used on Good Friday, feast days and the anniversary of the Great Fire of London.

## Pearl Sword

The **Pearl Sword** is supposed to have been given to the City of London Corporation by Elizabeth I of England in 1571 when the Royal Exchange was opened. The Pearl Sword derives its name from the roughly 2,500 pearls on the scabbard. Wheatley says that Hope says it might not be from 1571, but from 1554 or 1555.

Its blade is  long and  wide, and it has a  hilt. It weighs  without the scabbard. The first  of the blade have been made blue and scratched with pictures of fruit, arrows, a ship and other things. Its scabbard is from at least as long ago as 1808.

When the Queen comes to the City in State, she is met at the border between the City and Westminster, where Temple Bar used to be, by the Lord Mayor of London. He offers her the sword to touch. Before 1641, the king or queen would take the sword and keep it while they were in the City. In 1641 Charles I gave it back to the Lord Mayor instead of keeping it for himself during his travels, and from that point forward this became the new tradition. This ceremony traces its roots to 1215, when the Mayor (now the Lord Mayor) began to be elected.

When George III became king on 22 September 1761, they had to use the Pearl Sword because someone forgot to bring the royal Sword of State.

Lord Montbatten wrote in his diary that Queen Elizabeth was going to hit Idi Amin on the head with the pearl sword if he came to her Silver Jubilee (when she had been Queen for 25 years) in 1977. She was probably joking. It was used at her Diamond Jubilee (60 years). It was also used at her 90th official birthday.

## State Sword

The **State Sword** is one half of the Sword and Mace. Thye are symbols of the authority of the Lord Mayor and the City of London Corporation. It is carried by the Sword Bearer. The mace is carried by the Serjeant-at-Arms. The City of London has had a Sword of State since before 1373. The first known sword-bearer of the City was John Blytone. He left the job in 1395. The current sword is from the middle of the 17th century. It is also called the Sunday Sword. It was made in about 1670.

The blade is  long and  wide. The hilt is  long and it weighs  without the scabbard. It used to have a blue and gold pattern on the blade but that has worn off.

### Travelling State Sword

Because the State Sword is so valuable, it isn't taken outside the City of London. Instead there is a **Travelling State Sword**. It looks the same but it is lighter and slightly longer. It was made by Wilkinson Sword in 1962 and given to the City by Lord Mayor Sir Ralph Perring.

It was first taken out of the country to Canada in 1963 by Ralph Perring.

## Old Bailey Sword

The **Old Bailey Sword** stays at the Old Bailey, which is one of the buildings of the Crown Court in London. It is on the wall behind the most senior judge. The Cutlers' Society says it was made by Richard Mathew in 1562 or 1563 and given to the City in 1563.

It has a blade  long and  wide, and an  hilt. It weighs  without the scabbard. It has some decorations on the blade, like the Pearl Sword. The scabbard is covered with crimson (dark red) velvet and decorated with gold lace and decorative metal.

## Mansion House Justice Room Sword

The last sword is the **Mansion House Justice Room Sword**. The Lord Mayor is chief magistrate of the City, so the Swordbearer's room was made into a court in 1849. That's where this sword gets its name. Its blade is  long and  wide. It has an  hilt and weighs  without the scabbard. It is from around 1830 and it might be Portuguese.

## Swords like this in other cities

Other cities have swords similar to the City of London's swords. Bristol, Lincoln and Exeter each have four. Thirteen other places in Britain have two swords each. So does Dublin.

The swords of the Lord Mayor of Bristol are:
- A Mourning Sword from before 1373 when Bristol became a county corporate. It was first used as a Sword of State
- A Pearl Sword from the 14th century given by Lord Mayor of London John de Welles in 1431. Ewart Oakeshott says it is "of superlative quality" (very good) with a "beautiful silver gilt hilt".
- A Lent Sword from the 15th century, which used to be carried at the Lent assizes
- A State Sword from 1752. Barrett (2017) says it is a "bit ugly but very big."

## Related pages

- Sword of State
- Sword of Justice