page_title: Ceremonial maces in the United Kingdom
section_title: The Mace of the City of London
hierarchical_section_title: Ceremonial maces in the United Kingdom / England / The Mace of the City of London
caption_attribution_description: English: The Sword and Mace of the City of London, being carried out of the Royal Courts of Justice, at the end of half-time during the Lord Mayor's Show, November 2011
context_page_description: Ceremonial maces in the United Kingdom began as lethal weapons of medieval knights, evolving into ceremonial objects carried by sergeants-at-arms, and now represent a monarch's authority in parliaments and councils, and at the State Opening of Parliament and British coronations.
  Some British universities also have their own mace for ceremonial purposes.
context_section_description: The Lord Mayor of London is preceded by both a Mace Bearer and a Serjeant-at-Arms. This is only for his status as head of the City of London Corporation: as an alderman he is also accompanied, as are the other 25 aldermen, by his ward beadle, carrying the ward mace. All are displayed and used on the City's eight grand ceremonial occasions of each year. There are many more maces in store than the current number in use, because each division of the wards and their parishes also had its own mace. The City also has a Crystal Sceptre, not strictly a mace, made of crystal and gold set with pearls; the head dates from the 15th century, while the mounts of the shaft are older, dating from the early Middle Ages. These various maces take many forms and are from different periods, but most are no earlier than the Restoration of Charles II. A mace of a most unusual form from that period is that of the Tower Ward of London, whose head resembles the White Tower in the Tower of London, complete with tiny cannons.
  In 2017, the City of London mace travelled with the Lord Mayor to Dublin, Ireland, as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.
caption: The State Sword and Mace of the City of London, 2011
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