Mayor of High Wycombe
Encyclopedia
The High Wycombe Mayoralty is the only one of its kind in the whole of the world, whereby their Mayor
and all his officers get weighed every year
The Mayor of High Wycombe
, a town in Buckinghamshire
, England, is chosen each year at the Annual Meeting of the Charter Trustees
. The Charter Trustees of the town of High Wycombe are councillors appointed to the Town Wards who have a ceremonial
role as Charter Trustees in addition to their District Council responsibilities
Annually, one of the Charter Trustees is nominated by his/her peers
to be Mayor of the town.
The office of Mayor is apolitical and the person represents the town at many civic and ceremonial events, both in the town and at other functions outside the town/district.
TV documentary series ‘B-Road Britain’ which was aired in August 2007 on ITV1.
It showed the outgoing and former mayor Darren Hayday along with the incoming mayor Valerie Razzaq.
of a new Mayor in High Wycombe are the customs of 'tolling out' and 'weighing-in'.
The former, which ceased with the Municipal Corporation Act, arose from the behaviour of Mr. Henry Shepard in 1678 who was reported as being drunk and misbehaving himself.
It was decreed that the great Bell should be rung out in testimony of his misdemeanours.
So according to this ancient custom the Mayor
was tolled out by tolling the great bell on the morning of the Mayor's election.
The party then proceeded in state to Church, and afterwards a drummer who continued to drum
the old Mayor out preceded the procession, although this tradition was lost at some point and only reintroduced in 1999. This was followed by the weighing-in ceremony, which took place in the bar Iron Warehouse in White Hart Street.
The weighing process is recorded and the result compared to the weight at the end of the mayoral year. For each of the mayor and corporation, if there has been a weight gain in that year, the person is considered to have been gaining that weight at the taxpayers' expense; they would be jeered and booed, historically accompanied with thrown tomatoes and rotten fruit.
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and all his officers get weighed every year
The Mayor of High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, a town in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England, is chosen each year at the Annual Meeting of the Charter Trustees
Charter Trustees
In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established...
. The Charter Trustees of the town of High Wycombe are councillors appointed to the Town Wards who have a ceremonial
Ceremony
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.-Ceremonial occasions:A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:* birth...
role as Charter Trustees in addition to their District Council responsibilities
Annually, one of the Charter Trustees is nominated by his/her peers
Peer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
to be Mayor of the town.
The office of Mayor is apolitical and the person represents the town at many civic and ceremonial events, both in the town and at other functions outside the town/district.
Robbie Coltrane TV Documentary
The ‘weighting in ceremony’ was shown on the first episode of Robbie Coltrane’sRobbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
TV documentary series ‘B-Road Britain’ which was aired in August 2007 on ITV1.
It showed the outgoing and former mayor Darren Hayday along with the incoming mayor Valerie Razzaq.
Tolling out and Weighing-in
Connected with the electionElection
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
of a new Mayor in High Wycombe are the customs of 'tolling out' and 'weighing-in'.
The former, which ceased with the Municipal Corporation Act, arose from the behaviour of Mr. Henry Shepard in 1678 who was reported as being drunk and misbehaving himself.
It was decreed that the great Bell should be rung out in testimony of his misdemeanours.
So according to this ancient custom the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
was tolled out by tolling the great bell on the morning of the Mayor's election.
The party then proceeded in state to Church, and afterwards a drummer who continued to drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
the old Mayor out preceded the procession, although this tradition was lost at some point and only reintroduced in 1999. This was followed by the weighing-in ceremony, which took place in the bar Iron Warehouse in White Hart Street.
The weighing process is recorded and the result compared to the weight at the end of the mayoral year. For each of the mayor and corporation, if there has been a weight gain in that year, the person is considered to have been gaining that weight at the taxpayers' expense; they would be jeered and booed, historically accompanied with thrown tomatoes and rotten fruit.