Story of Worcester's maces and why they're sometimes held upside down

These processions usually start with Mayor’s Sunday in May or June. Mayor’s Sunday follows the local elections and the council’s decision to choose a councillor to become the next mayor for 12 months.

Edward Hurdman was the first mayor of the city and we helped celebrate this fact with the Charter400 events last year.

Walking in front of the Right Worshipful Mayor are four sergeants at mace. Each mace bearer, as they are usually known, carrying on the traditions of the first sergeants to take office in the medieval period. each proudly carry a silver ceremonial mace.

We do not have an exact date of when the city first had sergeants at mace. They may have originated from the 1227 Charter, gifted to the City by Henry III. It was at this time the city was growing in importance and starting to govern itself using the powerful guilds.

Macebearers on Mayor’s Sunday

We know the city had them in 1462 for sure because a document says “their Maces might be borne before them...”

Ceremonial maces are used by the sergeants to show the power of the monarch and the governance the city had on their behalf. In the past the sergeants carried out numerous duties including making arrests or reading summons and proclamations on behalf of the guilds.

The mace as a practical weapon can be traced back thousands of years. They were used to bludgeon a person and our Stone Age ancestors used simple maces made of wood and stone. These evolved to be made from bronze and later still, iron. If needed the sergeants would have used their ceremonial maces for the same purpose!

The Charter of Worcester, from 1554, makes a specific reference to ceremonial maces – “The four Serjeants shall carry Maces before the Bailiffs of the City, gilded or silvered and engraved and ornamented with the sign of the Arms of this Kingdom of England.”

Unfortunately these original maces were lost during the English Civil Wars. It was during this period a number of items were stolen from the city by the occupying soldiers of both Parliament and the king. Other items lost included the two silver bowls commissioned by Edward Hurdman on his death (now replaced during the Charter400 celebrations in 2021).

The City Arms shown on the reverse of the Royal Arms

In the 1748 council minute books, known as the chamber order books, we see the chamberlain began to look at purchasing replacement ceremonial maces for the city. However, it was not until December 1760 when silver plate was collected up to be used in making four new maces.

These are the maces still carried by the sergeants today. The maces are carried by sergeants at mace, whose duties were updated in 1867 – “Carrying the Civic Maces before the Corporation at any time, and assisting in the collection of chief-rents, they also occasionally attend the sittings of the Magistrates.”

The uniform styles worn today also date from this period.

The Royal Coat of Arms shown on the top of the maces

The silver maces unscrew at the bottom and can hold a court summons. Mace bearers would read the summons to the person being called to court.

The maces still represent the monarch, as they did in the past. When a monarch is present, as was the case in 2012 the maces are carried upside down. This is because the Queen is no longer requiring representation.

You may recognise me in the photographs too. I was privileged to be made a sergeant at mace in the 1990s, a civic duty I continue with, whilst running Discover History with my wife Helen.