The United Wards Club of the City of London

Guildhall Christmas Market Grand Opening
2023-11-27 17:30 - 21:00 UTC | Guildhall, Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7HH
The event raises vital funds for the work of the British Red Cross. Our President, Mike Wren, and long-standing Red Cross Christmas Market organiser and Member of the Club Audrey Tibles will be attending the opening Gala Night. Tickets for the opening night can be found here. Tickets cost £60 and includes exclusive fizz & canapé reception. Join the social soirée of the season as we celebrate the Grand Opening of the City’s traditional Christmas Market. Officially opened by a member of the Royal Family and the Lord Mayor of London. Enjoy this unique opportunity to socialize over bubby and canapes with an exclusive look at over 40 artisan stalls.

The City’s original Christmas Market
After an enforced break due to the pandemic, London’s Guildhall will once again be transformed into the ultimate shopping experience. Shop a variety of stalls selling luxury handmade, unique and exclusive gifts. The event raises vital funds for the work of the British Red Cross.
When you’re ready to take a break from shopping why not join us for a delicious afternoon tea or festive lunch in the Crypt. Refreshments and treats will also be available.

Celebrating 60 years
Founded in 1961, the Guildhall Christmas Market is the largest fundraising event for the British Red Cross and one of London’s most successful Christmas Markets. The gothic splendour of the City’s most renowned medieval building, the Guildhall, provides a truly atmospheric and memorable venue for this special event.

Lord Mayor's Show
2023-11-11 10:00 - 15:00
UNITED WARDS CLUB
There is room for up to 25 United Wards Club members to walk with our own float during the Show. If you would be interested in volunteering, please bear in mind the following:

You will need to be with our float somewhere along London Wall by 10.15am ready for a 10.30am departure.

The official programme will tell you the outward route is 1.2 miles and the return 1 mile. In reality it is nearer 1.75 miles each way, as we also have to get from London Wall to Mansion House which is where the 1.2 miles is measured from and then back again. The procession moves at a fairly brisk pace.

You will be required to walk both the outward and return legs of the route. Many people watch the return as well as the outbound leg, so it is important the float looks the same for both parts. We understand it may be possible to have different walkers for each half, so you may still be able to take part if the total distance is too much.

The weather at the beginning of November could be warm/cold/sunny/wet/windy/foggy or any combination thereof! Once you have committed to walking we will expect you to take part irrespective of the weather.

A picnic lunch will be provided at the halway point.

You will be free to go by 2.30/3pm.

Please register your interest using the RSVP ticket below

THE LORD MAYOR’S SHOW
The Lord Mayor’s Show is an ancient statement of the indomitable spirit of London and a modern celebration of her vigour and diversity.
The Show dates back to the early 13th century, when a desperate King John allowed the City of London to appoint its own Mayor. The King insisted that each newly-elected Mayor should come to Westminster and swear loyalty to the Crown, and the Mayor of London has been making that journey for over 800 years. Around him (and her) grew up the noisy, colourful, joyous procession that over the centuries became known as the Lord Mayor’s Show.
THE LORD MAYOR
The 695th Lord Mayor of London, subject to election, will beAlderman Michael Mainelli. Not only is this a great personal honour for him, it is also a huge honour for the Worhipful Company of World Traders as, for the first time in their short history, they will be the Mother Company of the Lord Mayor. The United Wards Club will of course be supporting the Lord Mayor with our own float.
GETTING HERE
Sorry: cars and buses are no help on Show day. Tubes, boats and bicycles are much better, the new Elizabeth Line station at Farringdon is ideally placed and there are many nice ways to walk into the City when it is free of traffic.
WHERE TO GO
Some suggestions for different ways to watch the Show depending on how much you like a crowd and what else you might like to do that day.
HISTORY OF THE LORD MAYOR’S SHOW
The Mayor of London is an ancient office originally created by King John in a doomed attempt to get the city on his side.
It was 1215, and John’s disastrous reign was falling apart. His armies were retreating in France, his treasury was empty and his Barons were on the edge of open revolt. Soon they would force him to sign the Magna Carta, which would be largely ignored until civil war finally broke out. John died of dysentery a year later while marching his dwindling armies from one besieged city to another.
London was right in the middle of the growing conflict. It was a cosmopolitan, international place even then: rich but vulnerable, easy to take but hard to govern. The King’s taxes were high and the City was frequently held hostage by one or other group of warring Barons. The whole situation was very bad for business.
The King’s Charter for London of May 9th 1215, now in the London Metropolitan Archive
For years London had been trying to become a ‘commune’: a sort of early city state that would be able to declare its borders, make treaties and defend itself. King Richard had been an ally and King John may have thought it a smart move to go along with this. In 1215 he issued a Royal Charter that established the commune and allowed the City to choose its own Mayor every year instead of having a sheriff appointed by the King.
Know ye that we have granted … to our barons of our city of London, that they may choose to themselves every year a mayor, who to us may be faithful, discreet and fit for government of the city, so as, when he shall be chosen, to be presented unto us, or our Justice if we shall not be present… and he shall swear to be faithful to us…
At the end there you can see a careful condition: every year the newly elected Mayor must leave the safety of the City, travel upriver to Westminster and swear loyalty to the King.
London in around 1300: a walled town separated by open country from distant Westminster, where the King had his base.
In fact the loyalty of 13th century London was quite flexible and its gratitude brief. The city became a base for the rebellious barons. When they tried to get out of trouble later that year by offering the English crown to Prince Louis of France, Londoners are said to have lined the streets to welcome the invading French army.*
Later that year the King was brought to heel and the Magna Carta was signed. It was never meant to be a constitutional milestone, but just another attempt to make peace. John never put his name to it, since he could not read or write, but among its 25 signatories we can see the second elected Mayor of London, William Hardel. He probably gave us this part:
13: The city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and free customs, both by land and by water. We also will and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall enjoy all their liberties and free customs.
The Mayor became known as the “Lord Mayor” about 200 years later but it has been an elected office ever since it was created, and for the next few centuries Lord Mayor of London was by far the grandest position to which a commoner could aspire. The Lord Mayor’s Journey was the celebrity spectacle of its day and over the centuries it grew so splendid and so popular that it became known everywhere as the Lord Mayor’s Show.
The Show features in the plays of Shakespeare, the diaries of Pepys and the adventures of James Bond and of course in the pantomime story of Dick Whittington, who really was Mayor of London in three separate years. In the 20th century the Lord Mayor’s Show was the first outside event ever to be broadcast live and it still attracts a TV audience of millions.
The modern Lord Mayor’s procession is a direct descendant of that first journey to Westminster. The route and date have changed over the years but the pageantry of Hogarth and Canaletto can still be seen in its lively mixture of London’s past, present and future.
The State Coach is over 250 years old, and the pikemen who guard it are almost as old as the Show. Today you will see the City’s businesses, Livery Companies, charities, Her Majesty’s Forces, the City Police and Londoners from all walks of life come together to enjoy a splendid celebration of the City’s ancient power and prosperity, just as they did in the middle ages.
* It’s worth mentioning that England was essentially a Norman colony at the time. The real Angevin capital was in Anjou and the war was between the northern and southern Kings of France. John did very badly, lost almost all of his French kingdom and ended up, briefly, something much more like the King of England. This and the concessions that he made on the way, turned out to be some of the most important building blocks of Britain (and London).

THE FOUNDERS' DAY DINNER - 146TH ANNIVERSARY
2023-10-31 19:00 - 23:00 | Farmers & Fletchers In the City, 3 Cloth St, London, EC1A 7LD, United Kingdom
The United Wards Club of the City of London was founded on 31 October 1877, and we shall commemorate this at our Founders’ Day Dinner, which this year will be held at Farmers & Fletchers, 3 Cloth St, London EC1A 7LD on Tuesday 31st October at 7 pm for 7:30.
We have a special guest attending, Andrew Marsden, who will speak about his year as Sheriff.

On this occasion we will be buying our own wines from the Wine Society so we hope we can get some interesting wines.

The President has chosen the following menu
Chalk farm cured trout, pickled cucumber, dill and lemon pancake, parsley oil, mustard cress

Roast chicken breast, thyme and garlic potato terrine, spiced carrot puree, spinach, chicken jus

Glazed, lemon tart, crème fraiche, berries

The following announcment appeard in the Daily Telegraph on the 1st November 2023 in the Court notices:
UNITED WARDS CLUB
Mr Michael Wren, President of the United Wards Club of the City of London, took the chair at the Founder’s Day Dinner held last night at Farmers & Fletchers Hall to celebrate the Club’s 146th anniversary.
Mr Andrew Marsden, former Sheriff of the City of London, proposed the toast and the minutes from the Club’s first meeting in 1877 were read out.
Mr Stephen Lane, President of the Royal Society of St George City Branch, Mr Chris Walton, Master of the Guild of Freemen, and Mr Alan Cook, Senior Vice-President of the City Livery Club, were among others present.

Lake Annecy
2023-09-24 - 2023-09-30
Bookings are through our agents Travel Editions, the tour is now full, but if you wish to join the waiting list please contact Travel Editions direct.
https://www.traveleditions.co.uk
Send your enquiry to:
Travel Editions
3 Young’s Buildings
London EC1V 9DB
Call on
020 7251 0045
Email us:
tours@traveleditions.co.uk
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday: 9am to 5pm Speak to a person
Sat & Sun: Speak to an Answerphone

Zoom WREN talk follow-up after the walk
2023-09-12 18:30 - 20:00
Following on from the club’s guided Wren walk on Saturday 26 August, club member and City of London guide Stephen Willis will give a Zoom talk on the great architect Sir Christopher Wren as one of the events to mark the 300th anniversary of his death. The talk will focus on the stunning interiors of those City of London churches that the group will have passed on the walk, as well as other masterpieces among Wren’s buildings in the City and beyond.

The ticket price is per screen so bring friends and family around to join in.

The name's Wren.......
2023-08-26 14:00 - 15:30
2023 is a special year for several notable individuals with the surname Wren. It marks the 200th anniversary of the death (at the grand age of 90) of London’s greatest architect, Sir Christopher Wren. And, of course, it also marks the start of the year at the helm of the United Wards Club’s current President, Mike Wren.
To celebrate this remarkable double, we have arranged for the Club a special Wren walking tour of the City of London. This will be led by the Club’s Banner Bearer Stephen Willis, a qualified guide both in the City of London and the City of Westminster. A number of you will remember the fascinating walk that Stephen led last summer, which explored the very special history and heritage of our club.
This year’s walk will take place on the afternoon of Saturday 26th August, which will hopefully enable plenty of people to take part. Up to 30 places will be available. The cost for the walk will be £20 per head. We shall meet at The Monument ready for a 2pm departure and the walk will finish an hour and a half or so later at the front of St Paul’s Cathedral. The walk will take in a wide range of different sites/sights that are connected with London’s remarkable architecture of the years following the Great Fire.
If you would be interested in staying on afterwards to enjoy a drink, we had intended to make a booking nearby at The Wardrobe, located in Wardrobe Place, where the Club’s founder Joseph Newbon had his business premises, but this has closed so wewill be going to Ye Olde Watling on Watling Street just up the road from St Paul’s for 4.15pm drinks

Andrew Dyke's retirement lunch
2023-08-24 12:30 - 16:00 | Butchers Hall, 87 Bartholomew Close,, London, EC1A 7EB, United Kingdom
Retirement lunch for Andrew Dyke; for Past Presidents and Governing Body members and their wives or husbands only.
Menu

Double-baked cheddar and Gruyère cheese soufflé with pomegranate salad

Roasted guinea fowl, Parmentier potatoes, purple sprouting

broccoli and light jus

Chocolate boîte with raspberry coulis base and chocolate cremeux topped with

hazelnut crumb and salted caramel

Tour of the Theatre Royal, Dury Lane
2023-06-09 09:30 - 11:30 | Theatre Royal Dury Lane, Drury Lane, Russell Street ,, London, WC2R 0NS, United Kingdom

Fenton House
2023-05-12 10:00 - 12:00

The King's Chapel of the Savoy
2023-04-17 10:00 - 11:30 | Savoy Chapel, Savoy Hill, London, WC2R 0DA

AGM & Installation Dinner
2023-03-29 18:00 - 21:00
Wednesday 29 March at Bakers’ Hall = AGM 6:00 pm Dinner 7:00 for 7:30

Civic Luncheon
2023-03-10
Civic Luncheon at Bakers’ Hall to entertain our Patron the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor, the Lady Mayoress and the Sheriffs

Treasures of the Tower
2023-01-11 17:30 - 19:30
Talk by Garry Wykes on Zoom
6:30 pm Wednesday 11 January 2023
Cost £5 per person which will be donated to St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney

Carol service at St Margaret Lothbury
2022-12-11 - 2022-12-12
Carol service at St Margaret Lothbury and Christmas luncheon in the Old Library at Guildhall
Bookings have now closed

Music for Youth Prom at the Royal Albert Hall
2022-11-14 - 2022-11-15

Lord Mayor’s Show
2022-11-11 - 2022-11-12

Visit to the City of London Freemen's School
2022-10-19 - 2022-10-20
Visit to the City of London Freemen’s School
Bookings have now closed.

A Royal Tribute: a tour of the Royal Pavilion
2022-10-07 - 2022-10-08
A Royal Tribute: a tour of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and luncheon in the Red Drawing Room

Holiday in Crete
2022-09-17 - 2022-09-18
Book via Travel Editions – details from the Secretary

A United Wards Club Heritage City Walk
2022-08-24 - 2022-08-25
A walk to explore the club’s early history.
Waiting list – please contact the Secretary as this walk is now fully subscribed

Polo Day at Ham Polo Club
2022-06-25 - 2022-06-26
Bookings for this event have now closed

Civic Luncheon
2022-02-02 - 2022-02-11
Thursday 3 February 2022 at Farmers & Fletchers Hall
The President is honoured and delighted that the Club’s Patron, The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, Alderman Vincent Keaveny has accepted an invitation to luncheon. He will be accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, and by Sheriff and Alderman Nicholas Lyons and Mrs Felicity Lyons.
Members are asked to gather at Farmers & Fletchers Hall, 3 Cloth Street, London EC1A 7LD, at 12:15 pm, for luncheon at 1:00 pm. This is a particularly appropriate venue, since the Lady Mayoress is a Liveryman of the Fletchers. Dress will be morning suit or dark lounge suit for gentlemen and equivalent for ladies. This is an occasion when, as well as members of this Club and their guests, we welcome members of the City’s Ward Clubs and we hope that many Clubs will be represented. The ticket price will be £110. Please book your party as soon as possible and certainly no later than Monday 24 January.

January Lunch
2022-01-11 - 2022-01-12
Following the Special General Meeting we have arranged to have a three-course lunch with wine in the Grenier Room at Le Café du Marché in Charterhouse Square. Tucked away in the heart of London, Le Café du Marché has been serving French cuisine over thirty years. Housed in a converted warehouse, built on the foundations of the coach houses for the neighbouring Charterhouse and once a storage warehouse for St Barts, the structural heritage is fitting as one of the area’s oldest restaurants and little has been done to alter the original features of the building.
The cost of the lunch is £70 per person. It would be helpful to have an indication of numbers by Monday 20 December, but late bookings will be entertained up to Wednesday 5 January. Guests are particularly welcome and this might be a good opportunity to introduce friends to the Club.

Online Christmas Quiz 2021
2021-12-24 - 2021-12-25
