Sudbury Mayor Making

Town Clerk, Jacqui Howells with Sudbury's two mace bearers in the Mayor's Parlour

On Tuesday evening Nick and I attended our first Mayor Making in Sudbury.

This ceremony takes place at the first Council Meeting in the new council year, and I was surprised at the number of people who attended.

The Town Hall is a good venue for a bit of ceremonial, and it was interesting to take part in the traditional procession comprising the old Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the Town Clerk and Town Councillors, all led by some resplendent mace bearers, who are also Freemen of the Town.

The event reminds us of Sudbury's long history.  There was another reminder of this when the outgoing Mayor, Sue Ayres, told us about one of the highlights of her year,  an invitation to take tea at the Mansion House in the City of London.

Apparently Suffolk. and Sudbury in particular, was a significant contributor to the rebuilding of the City following the Great Fire of 1666. (I have not been able to substantiate this by googling, and further information would be very interesting).  I would imagine that this generosity would have been in the Town's best interest since those in power at the time would have wanted to see life in London return to normal as quickly as possible.  It was, after all, a major market for the wool products that supported the economic wellbeing of the town.